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Domestic Horse
Conservation status
Template:StatusDomesticated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Equidae
Genus:	Equus
Subgenus:	Equus
Species:	E. caballus
Binomial name
Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758

The horse (Equus caballus or Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed 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. While isolated domestication may have occurred as early as 10,000 years ago, clear evidence of widespread horse use by humans dates to around 2000 BC.

Horses have been carefully bred so that they can be ridden, usually with a saddle. They can also be harnessed to pull objects like carriages or plows. In some cultures, horses are a source of food, including horse meat and sometimes milk; in other cultures it is taboo to eat them.

Today, in wealthy countries, horses are predominently kept for leisure and sporting pursuits. However, around the world they continue to fulfill a wide range of economic functions.

Humans have bred horses for millennia, resulting in many different breeds. As with dog breeding, horses have been bred in order to develop particular, specialised qualities and abilities; for example, Thoroughbreds were developed for the speed required in racing.

Biology of the horse

Depending on breed, management, and environment, the domestic horse today has an average life expectancy of 25 to 30 years, though there are many exceptions in both directions.

The mare is pregnant for 11 months and usually gives birth to one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins are rare, but do occur on occasion. Horses may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months, particularly colts, but in practice rarely are allowed to breed until the age of 2 or 3 years at the earliest. Fillies are rarely bred until they are at least 3 years old. Horses are not considered completely grown until an average age of 4 years, though age of achieving full growth also varies by breed and by individual genetics. In the strenuous sport of endurance riding, horses are not allowed to compete until they are a full 60 months (5 years) old.

The size of horses varies, depending on the breed. The cutoff in height between what is considered a horse and a pony is generally 14.2 hands (58 inches, 145 cm), though some smaller horse breeds are considered "horses" regardless of height. Light horses such as Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Paints and Thoroughbreds usually range in height from 14.0 to 17.0 hands, and can weigh up to 1300lbs (about 595kg). Heavy or draft horses such as the Clydesdale, Belgian, Percheron, and Shire are usually at least 16.0 hands tall and can weigh up to 2000lbs (about 907kg). Ponies are no taller than 14.2 hands, but can be much smaller, down to the miniature horse which can be the size of a large dog.

Evolution of the horse

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 digesting grass, began to outcompete them.

The horse as it is known today adapted by evolution to survive in areas of wide-open terrain with sparse vegetation, surviving in an ecosystem where other large grazing animals, especially ruminants, could not.

All equids are part of the family Equidae, which dates back approximately 54 million years to the Eocene period. 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.

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.

Horses as a species are believed by scientists to have first evolved in what is now North America, though by the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 10,000 BCE, the horse died out on that continent and did not return until the arrival of the Conquistadors in the 15th century.

Horse evolution was characterized by a reduction in the number of toes, from five per foot, to three per foot, to only one toe per foot (late Miocene 5.3 million years ago); essentially, the animal was standing on tiptoe. One of the first true horse species was the tiny Hyracotherium, also known as Eohippus, "the dawn horse", which had 4 toes on each front foot (missing the thumb) and 3 toes on each back foot (missing toes 1 and 5). Over about five million years, this early equid evolved into the Orohippus. The 5th fingers vanished, and new grinding teeth evolved. This was significant in that it signalled a transition to improved browsing of tougher plant material, allowing grazing of not just leafy plants but also tougher plains grasses. Thus the proto-horses changed from leaf-eating forest-dwellers to grass-eating inhabitants of the Great Plains.

More recently the 2nd and 4th toes disappeared on all feet, and horses became bigger. This may be because horses' feet developed check ligaments, making the extra toes unnecessary. These side toes were shrinking in Hipparion and have vanished in modern horses (but they occasionally reappear as a congenital deformity).

Domestication of the horse and surviving wild species

Competing theories exist as to the time and place of initial domestication. The earliest evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from Central Asia and dates to approximately 4,500 BCE. Archaeological finds such as the Sintashta chariot burials provided unequivocal evidence that the horse was definitely domesticated by 2000 BCE.

Wild species

Most "wild" horses today are actually feral horses, animals who had domesticated ancestors but were themselves born and live in the wild, often for generations. However, there are also some truly wild horses whose ancestors were never successfully domesticated.

see also Wild Horse

Wild species existed into historical times and a very few still exist today.

Historical wild species include the Forest Horse (Equus ferus silvaticus, also called the Diluvial Horse), 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.

There is a theory that there were additional "proto" horses that developed with adaptations to their environment prior to domestication. There are competing theories, but in addition to the Forest Horse, three other types are thought to have developed:

• A small, sturdy, heavyset pony-sized animal with a heavy hair coat, arising in northern Europe, adapted to cold, damp climates, somewhat resembling today's Shetland pony
• A taller, slim, refined and agile animal arising in western Asia, adapted to hot, dry climates, thought to be the progenitor of the modern Arabian horse and Akhal-Teke
• A dun-colored, sturdy animal, the size of a large pony, adapted to the cold, dry climates of northern Asia, the predecessor to the Tarpan and Przewalski's Horse.

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 Munich Tierpark Hellabrunn), the resulting Wild Polish Horse or Konik more closely resembles the tarpan than any other living horse.

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, named after the Russian explorer Przewalski, exist in Mongolia. There are also small populations maintained at zoos throughout the world.

Other truly wild equids alive today include the zebra and the onager.

Feral horses

Wild animals, whose ancestors have never undergone domestication, are distinct from feral ones, who had domesticated ancestors but were born and live in the wild. Several populations of feral horses exist, including those in the western 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: Namibia has its Namib Desert Horses; the Sorraia lives in Spain; Sable Island Horses reside in Nova Scotia, Canada; and New Forest ponies have been part of Hampshire, England for a thousand years.

Studies of feral horses have provided useful insights into the behavior of ancestral wild horses, as well as greater understanding of the instincts and behaviors that drive "tame" horses.

Other modern equids

Main article: see Equidae for full species list.

Other members of the horse family include zebras, donkeys, and onagers. 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 usually infertile. A hinny is the less common hybrid of a female ass (jenny) and a stallion. Breeders have also tried 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 undomesticated nature of their zebra parent, but they may inherit the zebra's resistance to nagana pest: zorses, also called zebroids, have been used in Central African game parks for light haulage.

Horse behavior

Horses are prey animals with a well-developed Fight-or-flight instinct. Their first response to threat is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend themselves or their offspring in cases where flight is not possible, such as when a foal would be threatened. Through selective breeding, some breeds of horses have been bred to be quite docile, particularly certain large draft horses. However, most light horse riding breeds were developed for speed, agility, alertness and endurance; natural qualities that extend from their wild ancestors.

Horses are herd animals, and become very attatched to their species and to humans. They communicate in various ways, such as nickering, grooming, and body language. Some horses will become flighty, and hard to manage if they are away from their herd. This is called being "herd-bound."

Horses within the human economy

Horses in rich countries are primarily kept for leisure or sport purposes. Around the world, they play a role within human economies.

Horses for leisure

Many countries use horses for leisure. Some countries are more adept than others at producing quality horses and using them for leisure and sport. Such as: Britain, Germany, Australia, Denmark and Spain. When the British parliament banned fox-hunting, countryside stables prophesied a disastrous effect on their industry. Australia is known for their well mannered, elegant and hardy Australian stock horses and fast racing Thoroughbreds. Germany produces fine quality Holsteiner horses for dressage, stunning Friesians for harness and dressage, Percherons mainly for harness and Warmbloods for eventing. Spain breeds the beautiful and magnificent Andalusians (Pura Raza Espanola) and Lipizzaner horses, because of their beauty and agility, are used mainly for dressage and High School work in Vienna and other places. Denmark produces similar horse to Germany, while Britain breeds fast Thoroughbreds, heavy horses and an array of tough ponies, such as the Dartmoor, Exmoor and Welsh mountain. Many people find being around horses soothing and therapeutic. Therefore many people may not have horses for work or play, they sometimes simply have companion horses or breed them.

Horses for sport

Horses are used in two ways for sports: as mounts for competitors and as competitors themselves. Sports such as polo and horseball use horses as mounts on which the main competitors ride. Although their riders perform the main actions, horses serve as a necessary part of the game. In medeival jousting, for example, the main goal is for one rider to dismount the other. Although the horse is important to this, its overall performance has a negligible impact on the outcome of the event. Horses used as competitors, however, are trained to be ridden through a particular event. Examples include barrel racing, eventing, horse racing, dressage, and show jumping. Although the scoring depends on the event, most emphasize the horse's speed, maneuverability, and precision, along with the equitation of the rider.

Horses for work

There are certain jobs that horses do very well, and no amount of technology appears able to supercede. Mounted police are used for crowd control. Some land management practices such as logging are most efficiently done with horses, to avoid vehicular disruption to delicate soil such as a nature reserve. Forestry rangers may choose to use horses for their patrols.

In poor countries such as Romania, horses are widely used for agriculture, mainly pulling plows.

In countries such as Kyrgyzstan, horse-riding is still the most common means of transport, at least in the countryside.

Horses in warfare

Horses have played a role in warfare since at least the 19th century BC, when they were used in chariot warfare, and have been used ever since until today in wars. Today, horses are still used in the armies of some third world countries although in western societies, they are now largely used for peaceful applications.

Horse products

Horse meat has been used as food for animals and humans throughout the ages. It is eaten in many parts of the world and is an export industry in the USA and other countries.

Mare's milk is used by people 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.

A different horse product is the extraction of female hormones from pregnant mares. Premarin is a mixture of estrogens isolated from horse urine (PREgnant MARes' urINe), and is a widely used drug for hormone replacement therapy. Premarin has created much controversy amongst horse lovers, since its productions necessitates that the mare is kept pregnant, and as a by product many foals are produced. Unfortunately, the foal is often of no economic use and may be sent to slaughter.

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.

In horse racing the definitions of colt, filly, mare, and horse may differ from those given above. In the United Kingdom, 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.

The anatomy of the horse comes with a large number of horse specific terms.

Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings, and a specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them. Often, one will refer to a horse in the field by its coat color rather than by breed or by sex. The genetics of the coat colors has largely been resolved, although discussion continues about some of the details.

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.

An entire equine dictionary can be found at: The Horse Dictionary

Horses versus ponies

Ponies are smaller than horses and stay that way through their lives. To be a pony the equus in question must stand 14.2hh or lower at the withers. Many breeds do not grow bigger than this measurement of size, and part of the breed charicteristics is pony. Therefore, any equus in that breed must be pony sized to be registered.

However, some breeds are both pony and horse sized. Take the Arabian for example. It only grows to be around 15.0hh. Some horses of this breed stand under 14.2hh. Even so, this does not happen very often. The Rocky Mountain Pony is another case. Even though it stands around 14.2hh, it is often called a horse. This is because it has many horse conformation features such as a rifined head, and clean legs. Being fine-boned, it has a very delacate appearance. The strides of this equus are long and flowing, unlike the short, choppy strides of a pony.

Gaits

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

Besides these basic gaits, additional gaits such as pace, slow gait, rack, fox trot and tölt can be distinguished. These special gaits are often found in specific breeds, and are referred to as "gaited" because they naturally possess additional "single-footed" gaits that are approximately the same speed as the trot but smoother to ride.

Horse breeds with additional gaits include the Tennessee Walking Horse with its running walk, the American Saddlebred with its "slow gait" and rack, the Paso Fino horse with the paso corto and paso largo and Icelandic horse which are known for the tölt. The Fox Trot is found in several gaited breeds, while some Standardbreds, pace instead of trot.

The origin of modern horse breeds

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

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, these 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", similar to the "rack" of certain American gaited breeds.

Breeds, studbooks, purebreds, and landraces

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, 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 Arabian 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.

Standardbreds are another racing breed. They have an additional gait, the pace, and are usually driven, pulling a light carriage known as a sulky, rather than ridden.

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 constraints can, however, become part of the Performance Horse Registry.

Many breed registries allow artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfer, or both. The high value of 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 mating.

Hotbloods, warmbloods, and coldbloods

Horses are mammals and as such are all warm-blooded creatures, as opposed to reptiles, which are cold-blooded. However, these words have developed a separate meaning in the context of equine description, with the "hot-bloods" generally originating from hotter countries and exhibiting more sensitivity and energy, while the "cold-bloods" are heavier, calmer creatures such as the draft giants.

Hotbloods

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, characterised by 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. The European breeders 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 dams to enhance the sensitivity of the offspring for use in equestrian sports. This Arabian/Thoroughbred cross is known as an Anglo-Arabian.

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 sometimes decide that a new flowerpot is really a dragon, and the rider must spend the next five minutes calming them down.

Coldbloods

Muscular and heavy draft horses are 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. One of the most common draft breeds in the United States is the Belgian. The best known coldbloods would probably be the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Warmbloods

Warmblood breeds began in much the same way as the Thoroughbred. The best of the European 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, Trakehner, 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

Main article: Horse tack

"Tack" (also known as saddlery) 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 equipment a horse requires includes:

• A bridle, including a bit and reins
• A saddle, which includes stirrup leathers, stirrups, and a girth or cinch.
• A saddle pad or blanket
• A halter and lead rope
• Grooming supplies, including brushes, a currycomb (a rubber brush-like device used to remove mud and deep dirt), and hoof pick for cleaning out the horse's feet.

Miscellaneous

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 practice of right-handed fighters carrying their sheathed sword on their left hip, making it easier to throw their right leg over the horse when mounting. However, several other explanations are equally plausible.

Horses can be mounted bareback with a vault from the ground or by grabbing the mane to provide leverage as a rider makes a small jump and scrambles up onto the horse's back (an awkward but popular method used by children). In actual practice, however, most bareback riders use a fence or mounting block.

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

1. Budiansky, Stephen. The Nature of Horses. Free Press, 1997. ISBN 0684827689
2. Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition 1998. ISBN 0965853306
3. http://www.treemail.nl/takh/
4. http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/tbred.html#hist
5. http://images.google.com/images?&q=budweiser+clydesdale&btnG=Search

Bibliography

• 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.
• Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition 1998. ISBN 0965853306
• Budiansky, Stephen. The Nature of Horses. Free Press, 1997. ISBN 0684827689

See also

• List of equine topics
• classic equitation books
• horse teeth
• Horseshoe
• Equine forelimb anatomy
• Equine colic
• List of fictional and mythological horses
• List of historical horses
• List of horse accidents
• Horsecart
• Ehwaz, a Proto-Germanic rune meaning horse
• Ashvamedha, a ritual in Hindu mythology
• Horse reproduction
• Horse care

External links

• Article on slaughter of horses for meat
• Breeding and reintroduction program of the Przewalski's horse at Zoo Hellabrunn Munich
• Animals Pictures - Horses Breeds
• Breeds of horses - Encyclopaedic dictionary from Oklahoma State University
• Primal Nature Essay: The Przewalski Horse
• EquestrianMag.com The online magazine for Horse Enthusiasts.
• Horse Breeds
• Horse Coat Color Genetics
• Horse Diseases - Information about common horse diseases
• Horse Forums - Equestrian community dedicated to all aspects of riding and horsemanship
• "International Museum of the Horse" for a brief overview of horse history from 55 million B.C. to present
• New insight into horse evolution
• Pictures of horses published on USENET stored with a search function
• Tapestry Institute's Horse-Human Relationship Program - Research on and education about the horse-human relationship
• Bureau of Land Management National Wild Horse and Burro Program - Wild Horse and Burro Adoption
• léarned paper on the topic

• Horses
• Livestock
• Transportation