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.
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.
Life
Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years.
Colt - a male horse under the age of 4 years
Filly - a female horse under the age of 4 years
Mare - a female horse four years old and older
Stallion - a non-castrated male horse four years old and older
Gelding - a castrated male horse of any age Filly
Stallion
Mare and Foal
Gelding
Colt
Yearling
Colours & Markings
A horse is classified first by its coat color, before breed or sex.Horses of the same color may be distinguished from one another by white markings, which, along with various spotting patterns, are inherited separately from coat color.
Reproduction
Gestation lasts for approximately 335–340 days and usually results in one foal. Twins are rare.
Horses, particularly colts, sometimes are physically capable of reproduction at about 18 months, but domesticated horses are rarely allowed to breed before the age of three, especially females.
Senses
The horse's senses are generally superior to those of a human,have the largest eyes of any land mammal and are lateral-eyed, meaning that their eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads.Horses have excellent day and night vision, but they have two-color, or dichromatic vision; their color vision is somewhat like red-green color blindness in humans, where certain colors, especially red and related colors, appear more green.
Horses have an advanced sense of taste that allows them to sort through fodder to choose what they would most like to eat and sense of smell, is better than that of humans.
Movement
All horses move naturally with four basic gaits: -
the four-beat walk, which averages 6.4 kilometres per hour (4.0 mph);
the two-beat trot or jog at 13 to 19 kilometres per hour (8.1 to 12 mph) (faster for harness racing horses);
the canter or lope, a three-beat gait that is 19 to 24 kilometres per hour (12 to 15 mph); and
the gallop. The gallop averages 40 to 48 kilometres per hour (25 to 30 mph)
Sleep
Horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down.Unlike humans, horses do not sleep in a solid, unbroken period of time, but take many short periods of rest. Horses spend four to fifteen hours a day in standing rest, and from a few minutes to several hours lying down. Total sleep time in a 24-hour period may range from several minutes to a couple of hours.
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.
Life
Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years.
Size and measurement
The height of horses is measured at the highest point of the withers, where the neck meets the back.The English-speaking world measures the height of horses in hands (abbreviated "h" or "hh", for "hands high") and inches.One hand is equal to 101.6 millimetres (4 in). The height is expressed as the number of full hands, followed by a decimal point, then the number of additional inches. Thus, a horse described as "15.2 h" is 15 hands (60 inches (152.4 cm)) plus 2 inches (5.1 cm), for a total of 62 inches (157.5 cm) in height.
The size of horses varies by breed, but also is influenced by nutrition.
Light riding horses usually range in height from 14 to 16 hands (56 to 64 inches, 142 to 163 cm) and can weigh from 380 to 550 kilograms (840 to 1,200 lb).
Larger riding horses usually start at about 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm) and often are as tall as 17 hands (68 inches, 173 cm), weighing from 500 to 600 kilograms (1,100 to 1,300 lb).
Heavy or draft horses are usually at least 16 to 18 hands (64 to 72 inches, 163 to 183 cm) high and can weigh from about 700 to 1,000 kilograms (1,500 to 2,200 lb).
Foal - a horse of either sex less than 1 year old.
Yearling - a horse of either sex that is between 1 and 2 years old Colt - a male horse under the age of 4 years
Filly - a female horse under the age of 4 years
Mare - a female horse four years old and older
Stallion - a non-castrated male horse four years old and older
Gelding - a castrated male horse of any age Filly
Stallion
Mare and Foal
Gelding
Colt
Yearling
Colours & Markings
A horse is classified first by its coat color, before breed or sex.Horses of the same color may be distinguished from one another by white markings, which, along with various spotting patterns, are inherited separately from coat color.
Reproduction
Gestation lasts for approximately 335–340 days and usually results in one foal. Twins are rare.
Horses, particularly colts, sometimes are physically capable of reproduction at about 18 months, but domesticated horses are rarely allowed to breed before the age of three, especially females.
Senses
The horse's senses are generally superior to those of a human,have the largest eyes of any land mammal and are lateral-eyed, meaning that their eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads.Horses have excellent day and night vision, but they have two-color, or dichromatic vision; their color vision is somewhat like red-green color blindness in humans, where certain colors, especially red and related colors, appear more green.
Horses have an advanced sense of taste that allows them to sort through fodder to choose what they would most like to eat and sense of smell, is better than that of humans.
Movement
All horses move naturally with four basic gaits: -
the four-beat walk, which averages 6.4 kilometres per hour (4.0 mph);
the two-beat trot or jog at 13 to 19 kilometres per hour (8.1 to 12 mph) (faster for harness racing horses);
the canter or lope, a three-beat gait that is 19 to 24 kilometres per hour (12 to 15 mph); and
the gallop. The gallop averages 40 to 48 kilometres per hour (25 to 30 mph)
Sleep
Horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down.Unlike humans, horses do not sleep in a solid, unbroken period of time, but take many short periods of rest. Horses spend four to fifteen hours a day in standing rest, and from a few minutes to several hours lying down. Total sleep time in a 24-hour period may range from several minutes to a couple of hours.
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