![]() ![]() There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, developed for many different uses. 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. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years. Most domesticated horses begin training under a saddle or in a harness between the ages of two and four. 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. 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, with younger horses tending to sleep significantly more than adults. Horses are adapted to run, allowing them to quickly escape predators, and possess an excellent sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight response. 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. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term refers to horses that have never been domesticated. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BCE, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BCE. ![]() The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, close to Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse ( Equus ferus caballus) is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |