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Domestic Horse
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Perissodactyla
Family:
Equidae
Genus:
Equus
Species:
E. caballus
Binomial name
Equus caballus
Linnaeus, 1758 nugget
For other uses, see Horse (disambiguation).

The horse (Equus caballus) is a sizeable ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. Horses have long been one of the most economically important domesticated animals, and have played an important role in the transport of people and cargo for thousands of years. Most notably, horses can be ridden by a person perched on a saddle attached to the animal, and are also widely harnessed to pull objects like wheeled vehicles or plows. In some human cultures, horses are also widely used as a source of food. Though isolated domestication may have occurred as early as 4500 BC, clear evidence of widespread use by humans dates to no earlier than 2000 BC, as evidenced by the Sintashta chariot burials, thus firmly establishing the domestication of the horse.

Presently, there are many types of horses. Some are very well known for certain particular qualities or abilities: Thoroughbreds are known for being race horses, while miniature horses serve as mounts for very small children, if they are ridden at all.

Until the middle of the 20th century, armies used horses extensively in warfare; soldiers still refer to the groups of machines that have replaced horses on the battlefield as "cavalry" units, and sometimes preserve traditional horse-oriented names for military units (Lord Strathcona's Horse).

Domestication of the horse and surviving wild species

The earliest evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from Central Asia and dates to approximately 4,000 BCE. Competing theories exist as to the time and place of initial domestication. Wild species continued to survive into historic times. For example, the Forest Horse (Equus ferus silvaticus, also called the Diluvial Horse) is thought to have evolved into Equus ferus germanicus, and may have contributed to the development of the heavy horses of northern Europe, such as Ardennais.

The tarpan, Equus ferus ferus, became extinct in 1880. Its genetic line is lost, but its phenotype has been recreated by a "breeding back" process, in which living domesticated horses with primitive features were repeatedly interbred. Thanks to the efforts of the brothers Lutz Heck (director of the Berlin zoo) and Heinz Heck (director of Tierpark Munich Hellabrunn), the resulting Wild Polish Horse or Konik more closely resembles the tarpan than any other living horse.

Horse's profile, Australia

Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), a rare Asian species, is the only true wild horse alive today. Mongolians know it as the taki, while the Kirghiz people call it a kirtag. Small wild breeding populations of this animal exist in Mongolia. [1]

Wild vs. feral horses

Wild animals, whose ancestors have never undergone domestication, are distinct from feral animals, who had domesticated ancestors but now live in the wild. Several populations of feral horses exist, including those in the West of the United States and Canada (often called "mustangs") and in parts of Australia ("brumbies") and New Zealand ("Kaimanawa horses"). Isolated feral populations are often named for their geographic location; in Namiba feral animals known as Namib Desert Horses live in the desert, while the Sable Island Horses are resident on Sable Island, Canada. Feral horses may provide useful insights into the behavior of ancestral wild horses.

The Icelandic horse (pony-sized but called a horse) provides an opportunity to compare contemporary and historical breed appearances and behaviour. Introduced by the Vikings into Iceland, Icelandic horses did not subsequently undergo the intensive selective breeding that took place in the rest of Europe from the Middle Ages onwards, and consequently bear a closer resemblance to pre-Medieval breeds. The Icelandic horse has a four-beat gait called the "tölt", which the rack exhibited by several American gaited breeds equates to.

Other modern equids

Other members of the horse family include zebras, donkeys, and hemionids. The Donkey, Burro or Domestic Ass, Equus asinus, like the horse, has many breeds. A mule is a hybrid of a male ass (jack) and a mare and is infertile. A hinny is the less common hybrid of a female ass (jenny) and a stallion. Recently breeders have begun crossing various species of zebra with mares or female asses to produce "zebra mules"—zorses and zonkeys (also called zedonks). This will probably remain a novelty hybrid as these individuals tend to inherit some of the nervous, difficult nature of their zebra parent.

See Equidae for full species list.

Evolution of the horse

Eohippus, the ancestor of all modern horses, was only 20cm (0.6 feet) in height

Main article: Evolution of the horse

All equids are part of the family Equidae, which dates back approximately 54 million years to the Eocene period. Horses and other equids are odd-toed ungulates of the order Perissodactyla, a relatively ancient group of browsing and grazing animals that first arose less than 10 million years after the dinosaurs became extinct. Perissodactyls were the dominant group of large terrestrial browsing animals until the Miocene (about 20 million years ago), when even-toed ungulates, with stomachs better adapted to grass digestion, began to outcompete them. At one time there were twelve families of odd-toed ungulates, though today only three survive; tapirs and rhinoceroses are the closest living relatives of the modern horse. Horses are believed by scientists to have first evolved in what is now North America.

One of the first true horse species was the tiny Hyracotherium, also known as eohippus, "the dawn horse". In the course of about 5 million years, this early equid evolved into the Orohippus. The vestiges of the 1st and 2nd toes vanished, but the addition of a new "grinding" tooth was significant in that it signalled a transition to improved browsing of tougher plant material. This would allowing grazing not just leafy plants but plains grasses. Their primary food source could transition from leaf-eating forest-dwellers to grass-eating inhabitants of the Great Plains.

Horse evolution was characterized by a reduction in the number of toes, from 5 per foot, to 3 per foot, to only 1 toe per foot (late Myocine 5.3 million years ago). The genus Equus, to which all living equids belong, evolved a few million years ago. Examples of extinct horse genera include: Propalaeotherium, Mesohippus, Miohippus, Orohippus, Pliohippus, Anchitherium, Merychippus, Parahippus, Hipparion, and Hippidion.

Horse behavior

Gray Horse

Horses are prey animals with flight or fight instinct. Their first response to threat is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend in cases where less capable horses would be left exposed, such as when a foal would be threatened. Horse people commonly say that inside every domestic horse is a wild horse. Through selective breeding, some horses have been made more docile, but most sport horse breeds are based on the principle of preserving the natural qualities of bravery, honesty, and athleticism that existed in horses that were taken from wild herds hundreds of years ago.

Horses are highly social and intelligent herd animals. Like many other herd animals, their society is derived, or has evolved from survival instincts. At the center of the herd is the alpha or dominant mare. The center of the herd is the safest because it is further away from predators than any other part. The edge of the herd is where the lowest on the social order are found. Punishment is delivered in the form of expulsion from the herd on a temporary or even permanent basis.

Herds are made up of mares, foals and immature horses of both sexes. Survival of the species dictates that females and foals are of primary importance, because they give and nurture life. Only a few males are needed--on a very temporary basis--to continue the species. The herd of twenty mares could produce twenty foals in one year. They only need one or more stallions to impregnate all of them.

When colts become mature stallions they leave to roam in small bachelor herds. They are no longer welcome in the herd. Some of these horses may battle for the privilege of the most dangerous position in the equine world: dominant stallion.

The dominant stallion lives in the most dangerous and tenuous position in the equine world. He lives on the periphery of the herd, exposed to predators and other bachelors who will fight him for that role. In stark contrast to the mythology of the stallion and his (ownership implied) harem, he has no value to the herd. He is totally dispensable since he is easily replaced. The male dominance hierarchy insures an immediate replacement by a strong and healthy successor at any time.

Horses graze in a field near London, England

The ability of humans to work in cooperation with the horse is based on the strong social bonds that horses have with each other. Horses do not like to be separated from the herd, because to be alone is to be exposed to predators on all sides. Horse training principles are based upon having the horse accept a person as the dominant herd member, not through force, but by virtue of ability and confidence. It is those attributes that are highly valued because they point the way to survival. A horse that is afraid more than necessary will expend energy needlessly and may not be able to escape when the threat is real. In pastures, it is the rule that horses tend to gravitate around the most mature and confident members.

As with many animals that live in large groups, establishment of a stable hierarchy or pecking order is important to smooth group functioning. Contention for dominance can be risky since one well placed kick to a leg could cripple another horse to such an extent that it would be defenseless, exposed, and possibly unable to get to water. Survival dictates that the herd members ultimately cooperate and stick together. The alpha or dominant mare exercises control over herd members to moderate aggressive behavior.

Horses and Humans

File:Barebackonarabmare.jpg
Trail riding bareback on an Arabian mare

To a wild horse, humans are treated as an object of no consequence. However, they are innately curious and may investigate any creature that is interesting but not threatening. Any domesticated horse will have had some experience with humans and may act accordingly e.g. people bring food or possibly have treats.

People who train horses first have to educate horses that normal herd behavior is inappropriate for people. The biting and shadow boxing (rearing, striking) that is common among males in particular could be injurious or fatal to people. This is not aggressive behavior to a horse, but normal play. Even when trained, horses test boundaries and challenge dominance. They may nip or try other things that they have been trained not to do. Without consistent training most horses will revert back to their untrained ways. Horses are creatures of habit and have excellent memories, which make consistent training the most valuable component of the horse. Sport horse foals with top bloodlines can be bought relatively cheaply compared to one with training. Once started under saddle with some demonstrable rideability, the price easily triples.

These insights are based upon natural horsemanship principles. The first known instances of natural horsemanship were writtten by Xenophon in On Horsemanship. Lost during the dark ages; natural horsemanship was reborn again during the Renaissance in the schools that trained horses for military cavalry. There is an unbroken line from these trainers and institutions to the Olympic Equestrian sport of Dressage. This discipline is still the foundation which other equestrian sports such as Eventing and Stadium Jumping build upon. One of the most revered institutions of the art of dressage is the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.

Specialized vocabulary

Because horses and humans have lived and worked together for thousands of years, an extensive specialized vocabulary has arisen to describe virtually every horse behavioral and anatomical characteristic with a high degree of precision.

The English-speaking world measures the height of horses in hands. One hand is defined in British law as 101.6 mm, a figure derived from the previous measure of 4 Imperial inches. Horse height is measured at the highest point of an animal's withers. Perhaps because of extensive selective breeding, modern adult horses vary widely in size, ranging from miniature horses measuring 5 hands (0.5 m) to draft animals measuring 19 hands (1.8 m) or more. By convention, 15.2 hh means 15 hands, 2 inches (1.57 m) in height.

Horses vs. ponies

Usually, size alone marks the difference between horses and ponies. The threshold is 14.2 hh (1.47 m) for an adult.When a horse is 14.2 hh exactly, it is called borderline and is either a horse or a pony depending on the breed. Below the threshold an animal is a pony, while above the threshold it is a horse. Thus normal variations can mean that a horse stallion and horse mare can become the parents of an adult pony. However, a distinct set of characteristic pony traits, developed in northwest Europe and further evolved in the British Isles, make it less clear whether it is more appropriate to use the word "pony" to describe a size or a type. Many people consider the Shetland pony as the archetypal pony, as its proportions are so different from those of horses. Several small breeds are mostly referred to as "horses" but occasionally as "ponies", though that is generally considered improper by those familiar with the breeds. These include the Icelandic horse, Fjord horse and Caspian horse breeds. Breeders of miniature horses favor that name because they strive to reproduce horse-like attributes in a much smaller animal, even though their horses undeniably descend from horses of small stature, which are thereby classifiable as ponies by size.

Words for gaits

All horses move naturally with four basic gaits; these are referred to as the walk, the trot/jog, the canter/lope ("canter" in English riding, "lope" in Western), and the gallop.

The walk

A walk is a "four-beat" lateral gait in which a horse must have three feet on the ground and only one foot in the air at any time. The walking horse will lift first a hind leg, then the foreleg on the same side, then the remaining hind leg, then the foreleg on the same side. A rider on a trained horse gently squeezes the sides of the animal and releases the pressure on its reins in order to initiate a walk from a stationary position. To initiate a walk when a horse is trotting or proceeding at a faster gait, the rider gently applies pressure on the reins and sits more firmly in the saddle (or on the horse's back in the absence of a saddle), gently gripping the horse's sides with the thighs.

The trot/jog

A trot is a "two beat" diagonal gait in which a foreleg and opposite hindleg (often called "diagonals") touch the ground at the same time. In this gait, each leg bears weight separately, making it ideal to check for lameness or for stiffness in the joints. A rider on a walking horse initiates a trot by reducing tautness on the reins and applying more leg pressure. There are three types of trot a rider can perform; these are called posting trot, in which the rider stands up slightly in the saddle each time the animal's outside front leg goes forward, and sitting trot, in which the rider sits in the saddle and matches the horse's movement, and a two point when you are out of the saddle and slightly leaning foward at the hips not pulling back. A jog is only used in western riding and is slower than the trot. When jogging your horse you are sitting deeply in the saddle moving along with your horses' movement.

The canter/lope

A canter is a "three beat" gait in which a foreleg and opposite hindleg strike the ground together, and the other two legs strike separately. A cantering horse will first stride off with the outside hind leg, then the inside hind and outside fore together, then the inside front leg, and finally a period of suspension in which all four legs are off the ground. the rhythm should be 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc. When cantering in a straight line, it does not usually matter which foreleg (or leading leg) goes first, but both leads should receive equal practice time, as otherwise the horse may become "one-sided" or develop a reluctance to canter on a specific lead. In the arena, the horse should canter on the inside lead. In making a fairly tight turn, the inside leg (the one nearest to the center of the turn) should lead, as this prevents the horse from "falling in". To get a horse to canter on the correct leg from trot, one must go into sitting trot, place their outside leg slightly behind the girth and squeeze with the inside leg. To get a horse to canter from gallop, one must alter the position of the body slightly back in the saddle, then you must place the outside leg behind the girth to allow the horse to canter on the correct leg, and apply pressure on the reins. Also called "lope" when riding in a Western show class at a slower pace. The canter is not a natural gait, but a restrained form of a gallop.

The gallop

At the gallop, with all four feet off the ground

The gallop is another "four beat" gait which follows a similar progression to the canter, except the two paired legs land separately, the hind leg landing slightly before the foreleg. The gallop also involves having a leading leg. In turning at a very rapid rate, it is even more important that the horse use the appropriate lead, leading with the left leg if making a left turn, and the right leg if making a right turn, since the faster the turn the more the horse needs to lean into the turn. Horses that usually are galloped in a straight line need to be caused to alternate leads so that they do not suffer a muscular imbalance and subsequent difficulty making turns in one direction or the other. To get a horse into gallop, the rider must alter their position so they are slightly more forward in the saddle, then they should allow the horse to head and gently kick the horse's sides. The gallop is usually used in races or fox hunting. However, one would not gallop a horse during training in a ring or enclosed area, due to the fact that the horse may slip in attempting to gallop in such an area. Although a race track is an enclosed area, it is designed for a horse to gallop around, without being too enclosed which may cause the horse to slip while turning.

Some horses, called Gaited Horses, have gaits other than the most common four above. For details, see Horse gaits.

Words relating to horses

You can view an entire equine dictionary at: The Horse Dictionary

  • Bronco - a wild, untamed horse, typically used in reference to the American mustang.
  • Brumby - a wild or untrained Australian horse
  • Charger - a medieval war horse of lighter build not to be confused with a destrier
  • cob - any horse of a short-legged, stout variety, with short legs, and a compact body, neck and back
  • colt - an unaltered male horse from birth till the age of 4.
  • destrier - a heavy, strong medieval war horse not to be confused with a charger or palfrey
  • draught horse - heavy, muscular beast of burden
  • filly - female horse from birth till the age of 4.
  • foal - infant horse of either sex
  • garron - small and disdained horse
  • gelding - a castrated male horse of any age
  • god dog - how the Apaches referred to horses
  • green - a term used to describe an inexperienced horse
  • hack - A horseback ride taken for the purpose of pleasure, either for horse or rider. Not a trail ride or schooling ride. Generally used only by English-style riders. eg. I'm going out on a hack."
  • hackney - a specific breed of flashy, elegant driving pony
  • Hand - a unit of measuring used frequently to measure a horses height. One hand is equal to 4 inches (appox. 10 cm)
  • horse - adult equine of either sex over 14.2 hh (58 inches, 1.47 m)
  • jenny - a female donkey
  • Mule- a jenny and a stallion mated
  • mare - adult female horse
  • mustang - a feral horse found in the western plains of North America. According to BLM, though, a mustang is an unclaimed, unbranded, free-roaming horse.
  • nag - An over-worked horse. Only more recently has it become closely associated with the 'old' modifier ( i.e nag = old tired horse )
  • palfrey - a smooth gaited type, a riding horse, often used incorrectly to mean a woman's horse, but in fact, was ridden by knights and ladies and instead refers to the light build of the riding horses body. The word being derived from the latin for 'light horse'.
  • pony - equine 14.2 hh or less (58 inches, 1.47 metres)
  • School Horse/Pony- A horse owned by a riding academy
  • shelt or shelty - a Shetland pony
  • stallion - adult, male horse that is able to produce offspring
  • weanling - a young horse that has just been weaned from their mother (usually 6 months or a little older)
  • yearling - male or female horse one to two years old

Racing

In horse racing the definitions of colt, filly, mare, and horse differ from those given above. Thoroughbred racing defines a colt as a male horse less than five years old and a filly as a female horse less than five years old; harness racing defines colts and fillies as less than four years old. Horses older than colts and fillies become known as horses and mares respectively.

Words relating to horse anatomy

File:Horse parts.jpg
Horse parts
withers
the highest point of the shoulder seen best with horse standing square and head slightly lowered. The tops of the two shoulder blades and the space between them define the withers. Should be even with the croup, otherwise a "sway-back" may be present.
mane and forelock
long and relatively coarse hair growing from the dorsal ridge of the neck, lying on either the left or right side of the neck, and the continuation of that hair on the top of the head, where it generally hangs forward. (See illustration.)
Dock
the point where the tail connects to the rear of the horse.
Flank
Where the hind legs and the stomach of the horse meet.
Pastern
The connection between the coronet and the fetlock. Made up of the middle and proximal phalanx.
Fetlock
Resembles the ankle of the horse. Known to anatomists as the metacarpophalangeal joint.
Coronet
The part of the hoof that connects the hoof to the pastern.
Cannon
Resembles the shin of the horse. Consists of metacarpal III.
Muzzle
the chin, mouth, and nostrils make up the muzzle on the horse's face.
Crest
the point on the neck where the mane grows out of.
Poll
the portion of the horse's neck right behind the ears.
Hock
Hindlimb equivalent to the Heel, the main joint on the hind leg.
Stifle
corresponds to the elbow of a horse, except on the hind limb.
Gaskin
also known as the "second thigh," the large muscle on the hind leg, just above the hock, below the stifle.
Jowl
the cheek bone under the horses ear on both sides
Chestnut
on the inside of every leg
Frog
inside of horses foot (the triangular part) that is very sensitive

Horse coat colors and markings

horses

Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings, and a specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them. In fact, one will often refer to a horse in the field by his or her coat color rather than by breed or by sex.

Coat colors include:

  • Leopard or Appaloosa - There are a group of coat patterns caused by the leopard gene. There are several distinct leopard patterns:
    • blanket: white over the hip that may extend from the tail to the base of the neck. The spots inside the blanket (if present) are the same color as the horse's base coat.
    • varnish roan: a mix of body and white hairs that extends over the entire body--no relation to true roan
    • snowflake: white spots on a dark body. Typically the white spots increase in number and size as the horse ages.
    • leopard: dark spots of varying sizes over a white body.
    • few spot leopard: a nearly white horse from birth that retains colour just above the hooves, the knees, 'armpits', mane and tail, wind pipe, and face
    • frost: similar to varnish but the white hairs are limited to the back, loins, and neck.

Many horses develop a more extensive coloration than they were born with over the course of several years. It is not unusual for markings to change over time and with the seasons. It should be noted that not every horse with the leopard gene will exhibit spotting. However, even solid individuals will exhibit 'characteristics' such as vertically striped hooves, mottles skin around the eyes, lips, and genetalia, and visible scelera of the eye. Several breeds of horse can boast leopard (a term used collectively for all patterns) individuals including the Knabstrup, Noriker, and most famously the Appaloosa.

  • Bay- From light brown to very dark brown with black points and intermingling red or blue hairs in some cases. (Points refer to the main, tail, muzzle, lower legs, and tips of the ears). Four types - Dark bay (mixed blue hair), blood bay (mixed red hair), light bay and just bay.
  • Black- There are two types of black, fading black and jet black. Ordinary black horses will fade to a rusty brownish color if the horse is exposed to sunlight on a regular basis, this though would be considered brown as soon as any black coat gets any brown. Jet black is a blue-black shade that is fadeproof. Black foals are usually born a mousy grey color. As their foal coat begins to shed out, their black color will show through, but jet black foals are born jet black. Usually for a horse to be considered black it must be completely black with no brown at all, only white markings.
  • Brindle - One of the rarest colors of horse. Characterisics are any color with "zebra-like" stripes.
  • Brown - A bay without any black points.
  • Buckskin- A bay horse with a gene that 'dilutes' the coat colour to a yellow, cream, or gold while keeping the black points (mane, tail, muzzle, ears, legs).
  • Chestnut- A reddish body color with no black.
  • Cremello - A chestnut horse with two dilute genes that washes out almost all colour. Often called pseudo albinos, they have blue eyes. There are no true albino horses.
  • Dapple gray: a gray colored horse with lighter gray spots, or dapples, scattered throughout.
  • Dun - Yellowish brown with a dorsal stripe along the back and occasionally zebra stripings on the legs.
  • Fleabitten gray - refers to usually red hairs flecked in the coat of a gray horse.
  • Gray - A horse with black skin and clear hairs. Gray horses can be born any color, and eventually most will turn gray or white with age. If you would define the horse as white it is still grey unless it is albino. Some gray horses that are very light must wear sunscreen.
  • Grulla- A black horse with a dun gene. It is often a grayish/silver colored horse with dark dun factors
  • Pinto - a multi-colored horse with large patches of brown, white, and/or black and white. Piebald is black and white, while Skewbald is white and brown. Specific patterns such as tobiano, overo, and tovero refer to the orientation of white on the body.
  • Paint - In 1962, the American Paint Horse Association began to recognize pinto horses with known Quarter Horse and/or Thoroughbred bloodlines as a separate breed. Today, Paint horses are the world's fifth most popular breed.
  • Palomino-chestnut horse that has one cream dilute gene that turns the horse to a golden, yellow, or tan shade with a flaxen (white) mane and tail. Often cited as being a color "within three shades of a newly minted coin", palominos actually come in all shades from extremely light, to deep chocolate. Normally referred to as "blonde" horses.
  • Perlino - Exactly like a cremello but a bay horse with two dilute genes.
  • Roan - a color pattern that causes white hairs to be sprinkled over the horse's body color. Red roans are chesnut and white hairs, blue roans are black/bay with white hairs. Roan can happen on any body color; for example, there are palomino roans and dun roans. Roans are distinguishable from greys because roans typically do not change colour in their lifetimes, unlike gray that gradually gets lighter as a horse ages. Roans also have solid colored heads that do not lighten.
  • Rose gray: a gray horse with a pinkish tinge to its coat. This color occurs while the horse is "graying out."
  • Sorrel - a light brown coat with a flaxen mane and tail.
  • Splash - a genetically controlled horse coat variation.
  • Tobiano - a genetic trait among horses which produces a characteristic white pattern in the coat.
  • White - Any non-albino white horse is called a gray, even though they appear white. All white, may be the result of overlapping pinto, appaloosa, or sabino markings. Rarely there are true white horses born and are documented to have a dominant white gene (see Gray (horse) for a discussion of these). These horses have normal eye colour, and they stay white for life.

Markings include:

On the face:

  • Star (a white patch between the eyes)
  • Snip (a white patch on the muzzle)
  • Stripe (narrow white stripe down the middle of the face)
  • Interrupted Stripe (a narrow white stripe down the middle of the face that is interrupted and not continous.
  • Blaze (broad white stripe down the middle of the face)
  • White Face (sometimes called Bald Face)
  • Glass Eye (blue eye, having a glassy look to it, also called China Eye)
  • Mascara (the effect of a horse in contact with the Santa Cruz Tarweed or other sticky plant, which comes in contact with soil and creates a temporary mascara)

On the legs:

  • Ermine marks (black marks on the white just above the hoof)
  • Sock (white marking that does not extend as high as the knee or hockbut is taller than a pastern)
  • Stocking (white marking that extends as high as the knee or hock)
  • Pastern (white marking that extends only a few inches above the top of the hoof)

Elsewhere:

  • Whorls, coloquially known as "cow licks" - are divergent or convergent patches of hair found anywhere on the body but mostly on the head, neck and just in front of the stifles.

For horse color and marking genetics see Equine coat color genetics. Another good resource for horse color is: Horse color, markings, and genetics. Another that has numerous photographs of various colors and markings is Equine color.

The origin of modern horse breeds

File:Orse.jpg
A horse of mixed breed, Dorset, UK

Horses come in various sizes and shapes. The draft breeds can top 20 hands (80 inches, 2 metres) while the smallest miniature horses can stand as low as 5.2 hands (22 inches, 0.56 metres). The Patagonian Fallabella, usually considered the smallest horse in the world, compares in size to a German Shepherd Dog.

Several schools of thought exist to explain how this range of size and shape came about. These schools grew up reasoning from the type of dentition and from the horses' outward appearance. One school, which we can call the "Four Foundations", suggests that the modern horse evolved from two types of early domesticated pony and two types of early domesticated horse; the differences between these types account for the differences in type of the modern breeds. A second school -- the "Single Foundation" -- holds only one breed of horse underwent domestication, and it diverged in form after domestication through human selective breeding (or in the case of feral horses, through ecological pressures). Finally, certain geneticists have started evaluating the DNA and mitochondrial DNA to construct family trees. See: Domestication of the horse

Breeds, studbooks, purebreds and landraces

Registered Arabian mare

Selective breeding of horses has occurred as long as man has domesticated them. However, the concept of controlled breed registries has gained much wider importance during the 20th century. One of the earliest formal registries was General Stud Book for thoroughbreds[2], a process that started in 1791 tracing back to the foundation sires for that breed. These sires were Arabians, brought to England from the Middle East.

The Arabs had a reputation for breeding their prize mares to only the most worthy stallions, and kept extensive pedigrees of their "asil" (purebred) horses. During the late middle ages the Carthusian monks of southern Spain, themselves forbidden to ride, bred horses which nobles throughout Europe prized; the lineage survives to this day in the Andalusian horse or caballo de pura raza español.

The modern landscape of breed designation presents a complicated picture. Some breeds have closed studbooks; a registered Thoroughbred, Arabian, or Quarter Horse must have two registered parents of the same breed, and no other criteria for registration apply. Other breeds tolerate limited infusions from other breeds—the modern Appaloosa for instance must have at least one Appaloosa parent but may also have a Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, or Arabian parent and must also exhibit spotted coloration to gain full registration. Still other breeds, such as most of the warmblood sporthorses, require individual judging of an individual animal's quality before registration or breeding approval.

Breed registries also differ as to their acceptance or rejection of breeding technology. For example, all (Jockey Club) Thoroughbred registries require that a registered Thoroughbred be a product of a natural mating ('live cover' in horse parlance). A foal born of two Thoroughbred parents, but by means of artificial insemination, is barred from the Thoroughbred studbook. Any Thoroughbred bred outside of these contraints can become part of the Performance Horse Registry.

Many breed registries allow artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfer, or both. The high value of breed stallions has helped with the acceptance of these techniques because they 1.) allow for more doses with each stallion 'collection' and 2.) take away the risk of injury during breeding.

Hotbloods, Warmbloods, and Coldbloods

The Arabian horses, whether originating on the Arabian peninsula or from the European studs (breeding establishments) of the 18th and 19th centuries, gained the title of "hotbloods", for their temperament. Arabians are known and valued for their sensitivity, keen awareness, athleticism, and energy. It was these traits, combined with the lighter aesthetically refined bone structure which was used as the foundation of the Thoroughbreds. They wished to infuse some of this energy and athleticism into their own best cavalry horses.

The Thoroughbred is unique to all breeds in that its muscles can be trained for either fast-twitch (for sprinting) or slow-twitch (for endurance) making them an extremely versatile breed. Arabians are used in the sport horse world almost exclusively for endurance competitions. Breeders continue to use Arabian sires with Thoroughbred mares to enhance the sensitivity of the offspring for use in equestrian sports. An Arabian/Thoroughbred cross is known as an Anglo-Arabian. Horsed in this group are commonly called 'hotbloods.'

True hotbloods usually offer greater riding challenges and rewards than other horses. Their sensitivity and intelligence enable quick learning, and greater communication and cooperation with their riders. However, they can sometimes also decide that new flowerpot is really a dragon, and you will spend the next five minutes calming them down.

Muscular and heavy draft horses are more or less known as "coldbloods", as they have been bred to be workhorses and carriage horses with calm temperaments. Harnessing a horse to a carriage requires some level of trust in the horse to remain calm when restrained. The best known coldbloods would probably be the Budweiser Clydesdales [3].

Warmblood breeds began in much the same way as the Thoroughbred. The best of their carriage or cavalry horses were bred to Arabian, Anglo-Arabian and Thoroughbred sires. The term "warmbloods" is sometimes used to mean any draft/Thoroughbred cross although this is becoming less common. The warmblood name has become the term to specifically refer to the sporthorse breed registries than began in Europe, although now worldwide. These registries, or societies, such as the Hanoverian, Oldenburg, Trakkhener, and Holsteiner have dominated the Olympics and World Equestrian Games in Dressage and Show Jumping since the 1950s.

The list of horse breeds provides a partial alphabetical list of breeds of horse extant today, plus a discussion of rare breeds' conservation.


Tack and equipment

See also Horse tack

"Tack" refers to equipment worn by the horse, normally when being ridden or longed for exercise. The tack may be made from leather or from a synthetic material, which tends to be lighter to carry and cheaper to buy.

The basic tack a horse requires is:

  • A bridle, including a bit and reins
  • A saddle, including stirrup leathers, stirrup irons, and a girth
  • A saddlepad
  • A halter and lead rope

Miscellaneous

Horse meat

Main article: horse meat

Horse meat has been used as food for animals and humans throughout the ages. Although consumption by humans is considered abhorrent by some people, it is eaten in many in various parts of the world and is an export industry in the USA.

Mare's milk is used by peoples with large horse-herds, such as the Mongols. They may let it ferment to produce kumis. However, mares produce a much lower yield of milk than do cows. Horse blood was also used as food by the Mongols and other nomadic tribes.

Saddling and mounting

The common European practice and tradition of saddling and mounting the horse from the left hand side is sometimes said to originate from the need to avoid inadvertantly striking the horse with a carried sword in the process. However, several other explanations are equally plausible.

Bareback horses, lacking stirrups, can be mounted with a vault from the ground, although in practice most riders use a mounting block.

Weight

Light horses such as Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Paints and Thoroughbreds weigh up to 1300lbs (about 595kg). "Heavy" or draft horses such as Clydesdale, Draft, Percherons, and Shire horses can weigh up to 2000lbs (about 907kg).

Zodiac

The horse features in the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. According to Chinese folklore, each animal is associated with certain personality traits, and those born in the year of the horse are: intelligent, independent and free-spirited. See: Horse (Zodiac).

References

  • Book of Horses: A Complete Medical Reference Guide for Horses and Foals, edited by Mordecai Siegal. (By members of the faculty and staff, University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.) Harper Collins, 1996.
  • Illustrated Atlas of Clinical Equine Anatomy and Common Disorders of the Horse, by Ronald J. Riegal, D.V.M. and Susan E. Hakola, B.S., R.N., C.M.I. Equistar Publications, Ltd., 1996.
  • International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 2003. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010). Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bull.Zool.Nomencl., 60:81-84.

See also

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