Horse
hide48, listed here
The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a hoofed (ungulate) mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC; by 2000 BC the use of domesticated horses had spread throughout the Eurasian continent. Although most horses today are domesticated, there are still endangered populations of the Przewalski's Horse, the only remaining true wild horse, as well as more common feral horses which live in the wild but are descended from domesticated ancestors.
There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior. Horses are anatomically designed to use speed to escape predators, and have a well-developed sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight instinct. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down. Female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.
Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited "hot bloods" with speed and endurance; "cold bloods", such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and "warmbloods", developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe. There are over 300 breeds of horses in the world today, developed for many different uses.
Horses and humans interact in many ways, not only in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, but also in working activities including police work, agriculture, entertainment, assisted learning and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare. A wide variety of riding and driving techniques have been developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, and pharmaceuticals extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. Humans provide domesticated horses with food, water and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers.
For more information about Horse, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with horses
Genome sequence for the domestic horse unveiled
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that ...
Iberian wolves prefer wild roe deer to domestic animals
Oct 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
A Spanish researcher has analysed the preferences of wolves from the north east of the Iberian Peninsula to demonstrate that, in reality, their favourite prey are roe deer, deer and wild boar, ahead of domestic ...
Veterinarians using stem cells to treat animals
Aug 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Lucy the Labradoodle scoots along the ground to grab a bone.
Fossil teeth of browsing horse found in Panama Canal earthworks
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 08, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
0
Rushing to salvage fossils from the Panama Canal earthworks, Aldo Rincon, paleontology intern at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, unearthed a set of fossil teeth. Bruce J. MacFadden, curator of ...
Mystery about domestication of horse has been unravelled -- now location and time are proofed
Apr 23, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
0
Wild horses were domesticated in the Ponto-Caspian steppe region (today Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania) in the 3rd millennium B.C. Despite the pivotal role horses have played in the history of human societies, the process ...
Minimizing the spread of deadly Hendra virus
Apr 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Groundbreaking CSIRO research into how the deadly Hendra virus spreads promises to save the lives of both horses and humans in the future.
Minimising the spread of deadly Hendra virus
Mar 31, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- CSIRO Livestock Industries' scientists working at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), in Geelong Victoria, have made a major breakthrough in better understanding how Hendra spreads ...
Young dinosaurs roamed together, died together (w/Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 16, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (10) |
0
A herd of young birdlike dinosaurs met their death on the muddy margins of a lake some 90 million years ago, according to a team of Chinese and American paleontologists that excavated the site in the Gobi ...
Archaeologists find earliest known domestic horses
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Mar 05, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of archaeologists has uncovered the earliest known evidence of horses being domesticated by humans. The discovery suggests that horses were both ridden and milked. The ...
Non-native lionfish reaches Keys, and industries brace for this 'perfect predator'
Jan 22, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
0
Becky Fowler was shipwreck-diving 66 feet below the surface, exploring a watery paradise, when she came face to face with a 4-inch-long, zebra-striped Cujo of the deep.
New research shows how horses recognise their neighbours
Biology /
Dec 16, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study into how horses recognise members of the same herd suggests that it's not just humans who use complex memory processes to identify each other.
Stem cell research to benefit horse owners and trainers
Biology /
Oct 21, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
In a potential breakthrough for the performance horse industry (such as racing and polo), Melbourne scientists are aiming to harness stem cells to repair tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone damage in horses.
New and improved test for West Nile virus in horses
Aug 20, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
A new test for West Nile virus in horses that could be modified for use on humans and wildlife may help track the spread of the disease, according to an article in the September issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Sweets make young horses harder to train in Montana State study
Biology /
Aug 15, 2008 |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
Young horses may be easier to train if they temporarily lay off the sweets, says a Montana State University study where two-year-olds wore pedometers, wrist watches and Ace bandages.
Scientists uncover the key to predicting the price of a show-jumper
Jul 23, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- The higher a horse can tuck up its front legs the higher its price on the international market, scientists at Newcastle University have revealed.
