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Horse

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Horse
Two Nokota horses standing in open grassland with rolling hills and trees visible in the background.
Domesticated
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species:
E. ferus
Subspecies:
E. f. caballus
Trinomial name
Equus ferus caballus
Synonyms[2]

at least 48 words

Horses niegh
Horses galloping


Horses are a group of animals of the family Equidae.

The standard horse is the species Equus caballus. It was domesticated from wild horses by humans at least 5000 years ago. They are large, strong animals and some breeds are used to pull heavy loads.

A male horse is a stallion, and a female horse is a mare, while the general term for a young horse is a foal. A young female horse is a filly, and a young male horse is a colt. A castrated horse is a gelding. A small adult horse is called a pony. A pack of horses, called a herd, can be led by a top stallion and a top mare.

Horses are related to the rhino and tapir in the order Perissodactyla.[3] Equus is the old Latin word for horse.

Early horses

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A group of horses

The evolution of horses has been well studied. Fifty million years ago, there were no horses as we know them now. Of the earliest fossil horse, the North American one is called Eohippus, and the Eurasian one is called Hyracotherium. Both were small animals: Eohippus was the larger of the two at twice the size of a terrier dog.

Many changes occurred between those little animals and today's horses. These changes are best explained as adaptations to its changing ecological niche, from a small forest-dweller eating nuts and fruit to a more significant forest browser eating leaves and small branches. Finally, the modern horse is a grazer on open grassland, with different teeth, legs for running, and a much larger size. Significant changes happened in the mid-Miocene when the climate cooled and grassland replaced forests. This change continued, and several groups of mammals changed from browsers to grazers.

Ancient horse species were present in the Americas up to ~8000-12000 years ago. They went extinct around the same time as other large American mammals such as woolly mammoths. The Spanish reintroduced horses to the Americas in the 15th century.[4]

Horse characteristics

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Adult horses stand 14-17 "hands" tall, which equates to ~52-72 inches in height.[5] They have long hair along the neck, called a mane, as well as a long tail of similar hair. Horses are fast, running over 30 mph,[6] and majestic, with four different ways they can move: walking, trotting, cantering, and galloping. Horses have hooves which sometimes have protection called horseshoes from hard or rough ground. They are herbivores, which means they eat grass and other plants, especially alfalfa. Some plants are dangerous for them, like ragwort, lemongrass (oil grass) and sometimes acorns.[7] Domestic horses typically live between 25 and 30 years, although some may live longer.

Horses and humans

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Horses pulling a plough

Humans have used horses in many different ways for travel, work, food, pleasure and show.

Horses were used in war as cavalry until the mid-20th century. They are still used today for riding and transport, but much less since cars were invented. They are also used for carrying things, pulling carts, or helping plough farmers' fields in agriculture. People have used selective breeding to make more giant horses do heavy work.

Some people keep horses as pets. Today, horses are mainly used for entertainment and sports. Horses are used in equestrianism, and equine sports such as cross-country, show jumping, and other events. Show jumping, cross-country, and dressage are Olympic sports.

Horses are often seen as friendly companions. Horses have been used as therapy animals for people with mental health issues and physical problems.[8]

Humans have used the skin of horses as a rugged leather, called horsehide. Humans have used horsehair to create a stiff fabric, to stuff furniture, as strings on musical instruments, and even mixed it with plaster to make it strong.

Breeding horses

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A stallion is a male horse and a mare is a female horse. Other female equines are also sometimes called mares. Before a horse's fourth birthday, females are called fillies and males are called colts.[9][10] A mare for breeding is called a broodmare. When a mare wants to mate, the mare is called in heat. This part of the oestrous cycle lasts about three weeks. During this time, mares can be temperamental. Some people call this being "mare-ish".

Horse colors

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A black horse, a grey horse, and a chesnut horse.

Horse colors have specific names.

  • Chestnut: Chestnut horses have a reddish-brown coat, with a light mane and tail.[11]
  • Black: Black horses are fully black.[11] For example, Friesian horses are always black.
  • Cream: A specific gene gives horses a pale yellow, or cream color.
  • Bay: Bay horses are brown with black points (legs, mane and tail).[11] Very dark bay horses might look black, but the hair around their eyes is lighter than true black horses' hair.
  • Sorrel: Sorrel horses are brown with yellow points.
  • Grey or gray: Grey horses look white, but they are called "grey" because their skin is black. They have white hair mixed with few dark hairs.[11] Most grey horses are born dark, but they get white hair as they age.
  • White: True white horses have pink skin. They are born white. Many are white because of "White Dominant" genes. Some die very young because of a "Lethal white" gene.
  • Pinto: Pinto horses are spotted.

There are many more coat colors.

Horse breeds

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These are some well-known horse breeds among the hundreds that exist:

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References

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  1. ↑ Linnaeus, Carolus (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae :secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Laurentii Salvii). p. 73. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  2. ↑ Grubb, P. (2005). "Order Perissodactyla". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 630–631. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ↑ "What Horses and Rhinos Have in Common: An Ancestor in India". NBC News. 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  4. ↑ Singer, Ben (May 2005). A brief history of the horse in America. Canadian Geographic Magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083344/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/Magazine/ma05/indepth/#cnd
  5. ↑ "A Look at Different Horse Heights". 25 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "How Fast Can a Horse Run? | PetMD".
  7. ↑ "Plants Poisonous To Horses | The British Horse Society". www.bhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  8. ↑ "Equine Assisted Therapy". The Anxiety Treatment Center. Archived from the original on 2023-10-07. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  9. ↑ Skoglund, Nadja (2023-06-04). "What is a Filly Horse?". Strathorn Farm Stables. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  10. ↑ "Definition of COLT".
  11. 1 2 3 4 "APPUNTI per l'esame del I Grado" (PDF). Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri (in Italian). 2023. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 2024-11-06. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
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