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HORSE. Horses have long been among the most economically important domesticated animals; however their importance has declined with the introduction of mechanization. .
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Horses have long been among the most economically important domesticated animals; however their importance has declined with the introduction of mechanization.
The horse is a prominent figure in the ideals of religion, mythology, and art, as well as playing an important role in transportation, agriculture, and warfare.
Most horses perform work such as carrying humans on their backs or are harnessed to pull objects such as carts or plows. However, hundreds of distinct horse breeds were developed, allowing horses to be specialized for certain tasks; lighter horses for racing or riding, heavier horses for farming and other tasks requiring pulling power.
Some horses, such as the miniature horse, can be kept as pets. In some societies, horses are a source of food, both meat and milk; in others it is taboo to consume these products.
In industrialized countries, horses are predominantly kept for leisure and sporting pursuits, while in other parts of the world they are used as working animals.
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.
AGE • Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. It is uncommon, but a few horses live into their 40s, and, occasionally, beyond. The oldest verifiable record was "Old Billy," a horse that lived in the 19th century to the age of 62.In modern times, Sugar Puff, who had been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest then-living pony, died at age 56.
SIZE • The English-speaking world measures the height of horses in hands, abbreviated "h" or "hh," and is measured at the highest point of an animal's withers. One hand is 4 inches, or 10.16 cm. Intermediate heights are defined by hands and inches, rounding to the lower measurement in hands, followed by a decimal point and the number of additional inches between 1 and 3. Thus a horse described as 15.2 hh tall, means it is 15 hands, 2 inches, or 62 inches/1.57 m in height.
COLOUR AND • 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 first rather than by breed or by sex.
MARKINGS • In spite of the adage that "a good horse is never a bad color," flashy or unusual colors are sometimes very popular, as are horses with particularly attractive markings, such as white on all four legs. Horses of the same color may be distinguished from one another by their markings.
REPRODUCTION • Pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins are rare. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies. Females 4 years and over are called mares and males are stallions
Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months but in practice are rarely allowed to breed until a minimum age of 3 years, especially females
Horses four years old are considered mature, though the skeleton usually finishes developing at the age of six, and the precise time of completion of development also depends on the horse's size (therefore a connection to breed exists), gender, and the quality of care provided by its owner. Also, if the horse is larger, its bones are larger; therefore, not only do the bones take longer to actually form bone tissue
