The Horse
Introduction: The horse is a great friend to man. In prehistoric times the
wild horse was probably first hunted for food. It is supposed that the
domestication of hordes took place long after the domestication of the dog or
of cattle. It is supposed that the horse was first used by a tribe of
Ind-European origin that lived in the steppes north of the chain of mountains
adjacent to the Black and Caspian seas. Influenced by climate, food, and
humans, the horse rapidly acquired its present form.
Description: The horse is a four-footed animal. Usually it is the size of a
cow, Its body is covered with short hair. Its skin is soft and glossy. It has
no horns. It has mane or long hair on its neck. It drives away fly and other
insects with its long tail.
Usefulness: Horses draw carriages, cart etc. The also carry loads on their
backs and lough the land. The horse serves its master in travels, ears, and
labors. Man rides horses. Horses are used to run races. They are also used in
hunting and circuses. Even after death horses provide us many commodities. Long
before their domestication horses were hunted by primitive tribes for their
flesh. Horse-meat is still consumed by people in parts of Europe and in Iceland. It is also
the basis of many pet foods. Horse bones and cartilage are used to make glue.
Tetanus antitoxin is abstained from the blood serum of horsed previously
inoculated with tetanus toxoid. From horsehide a number of articles are
manufactured, including fine shoes and belts. The cordovan leather fabricated
by the Moors in Cordoba, Spain, was originally made from horsehide. Stylish fur coats are
mad of the sleek coats of foals. Horsehair has wide use in upholstery,
mattresses, and stiff lining for coats and suits; high-quality horsehair,
usually whit, is employed for violin bows. The Scythian s for fuel used horse
manure, which today provides the basis for cultivation of mushrooms. The Scythian, the Mongols, and the Arabs drank mare’s milk.
Form and function: A mature male horse is called a stallion, the female a mare. A
stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly
called a gelding. Formerly, stallions were employed as riding horses, while
mares were kept for breeding purposes only. Geldings were used for work and as
ladies riding horses. Recently, however, geldings generally have replaced
stallions as riding horses. Young horses are known as foals; make foals are
called colts and females fillies.
Classification: The first domesticated horses were developed in Central Asia. They were small, lightweight, and stocky. In time,
two general groups of horses emerged; the southerly Arab-Barb types and the
northerly, so-called cold-blooded types. The modern breeds as: (a) the light,
fast, spirited breeds typified by the modern Arabian, (b) the heavier, slower,
and calmer working breeds typified by The Belgian and (c) the intermediate
breeds typified by the Thoroughbred.
Color and Pattern: There are horses
of a variety of colours and patterns, some highly variable and difficult to
distinguish. Among the most important colours are black, bay, sorrel, chestnut,
palomino, cream, and white.
Nutrition: The horse’s natural food is grass. For stabled horses, the diet
is usually hay and grain. Oats are given especially to foals. Older horses,
whose teeth are worn down, or those with digestive troubles, and be provided
with crushed oats. Crushed barley is sometimes substituted in part for oats.
Hay provides the bulk of the horse’s food. Mash is bran mixed with water and
with various invigorating additions or medications. It may be given to horses
with digestive troubles or eating problems. Corn is used as a fattening cereal.
Salt is needed by the horse at all times and especially when shedding. Bread,
carrots, and sugar are tidbits often used to reward an animal by the rider or
trainer. In times of poverty horses have adapted to all sorts of food-potatoes,
beans, green leaves, and in Iceland even fish. A number
of commercial feed mixes are available to modern breeders and owners; these
mixes contain minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients and given with hay.
Behavior: The horses’
nervous system is highly developed and gives proof to varying degrees of the
essential faculties that are the basis of intelligence: instinct, memory, and
judgment. Foals, which stand on their feet a short while after birth and are
able to follow their mothers within a few hours, even at this even at this
early stage in life exhibit the traits generally ascribed to horses. They have
a tendency to flee danger. They express fear sometimes by showing panic and
sometimes by immobility. Horses rarely attack and do so either when flight is
impossible of when driven to assault a person who has treated them brutally.
Reproduction and
development: The onset of adult
sex characteristics generally begins at the age of 16 to 18 months. The horse
is considered mature at approximately three years and adult at five. Fecundity
may last beyond age 20 years with thoroughbreds and to 12 or 15 with other
horses. The gestation period is 11 months. A
mare gives birth to one foal at a time, twins occasionally, and triplets
rarely; the foal is weaned at six months.
Service Period: The useful life of a horse varies according to the amount of
work it is required to do and the care taken by its owner. A horse that is
trained carefully and slowly and is given the necessary time for development
may be expected to serve to an older age than a horse that is rushed in its
training. Racehorses that enter into races at the age of two rarely remain on
the turf beyond eight. Well-kept riding horses, on the contrary, may be used
more than 20 years.
Life Span: the life span of a horse is calculated at six to seven times the
time necessary for his physical and mental development; that is, about 20
generally live longer than larger horses.
Conclusion: Horses are our great friends. So it is our duty to treat them
kindly and take proper care of them.
