EVOLUTION
The Eohippus was believed to be the first horse on the world. The Eohippus was about the size of a fox, and had 4 toes on the front feet, and 3 toes in the back feet. It's coat was most likely blotched or striped to blend into it's surrounding in the woods.
As marshy lands became into treeless plains, it's descendants became to adapt to thier new environment. From America, they started to spread across the world by land bridges that existed before the Ice Age. Then, about 8-10,000 years ago, the horse became extinct in America. In about the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors reintroduced the horse to America once again. It was beleived that the horse was first domesticated about 5,000 years ago, either the Far East, or the Middle East(or both).
Coat color is a heredity characteristic, Colors such as bron, or bay are dominate. Chestnut color takes a back seat to all other colors, so it is much rarer.
For some breeds, color is a prime consideration. Palominos, Appaloosas, and other spotted breeds such as the American Pintos, Paints, and Alibinos, are often considered "color breeds". The colorings of these breeds all derive from stains that were once relativly common in the Spanish Horse, but which no longer exist in the modern spanish horses.
Stallion-Male adult horse
Mare-Female adult horse
Gelding-Fixed male horse(cannot reproduce).
Filly-Young female horse
Colt-Young male horse
A foal is a new-born baby horse
A yearling is a horse that is one-years old.
A sire is the horse's father.
A Dam is the horse's mother.
A pony is not a young horse. Ponies, and horses are
like horses, but are under 14.2hh.
That is a cut-off point between horse and pony.
A horse's hieght is measured in hands(hh). Each hand equals 4 inches.
WHAT IS A PONY?
The word pony comes from the French word, poulenet, meaning foal or young horse. But ponies have a catagory of their own! They have existed since the beginning of their species. They stand no taller than 14.2hh high, and their legs are shorter in porportion to their hieght. In general, ponies are hardier, and live longer than the other categories of horse. Many types of ponies are also stonger than horses, and were often used are war horses, to pull carts, and to haul wagons in many mining centuries.
Horses can usually live up to around 30 years old.
Cold Bloods: Are horses that equipped to live in colder climates like Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, etc. Shetlands, Clysdales, Perchons(heavy drafts basicly) are considered cold bloods.
Hot-Bloods: Are horses that are more light-boned, and prepared for hotter temperatures. They live in desert climates like in Arabia, Africa, Asia, etc. Arabians, and some Thoroughbreds are considered hot-blooded.
Warmbloods-Are horses that have hot- and cold- blod ancestors combined are considered warmbloods. Like the American Quarter Horse, Trakehner are known as warmbloods.
Horses belong to the Equus family. With them, their relatives are also in the same family as zebras, mules, and donkeys. The genus for the modern horse is the Equus Caballus.
DID YOU KNOW?
-Mules are ponies crossed with donkeys? They cannot reproduce!
-There are over 350 breeds of horses in the world!
-The Arabian is considered the oldest purebred horse in the world!
-Canada has no native horse breeds!
-Albino horses are named for their white coloration, not for the condition called albinism.
-No two paints have the same patterns.
-The first one toed horse appeared about 15 million years ago!
-At one time, the Andalusian was in such demand that the exportation of breeding stick was banned, on penalty of death!
-The first recorded race with mounted horses was the Greek Olmpiad in 624 B.C.!
-All horses have skin that produces a natural grease, which acts as a lubricant for skin and hair and helps keep away water!
-The Quarter Horse is the oldest surviving American breed!
-The Connemara is the only native pony from Ireland! It's been around since the prehistoric times!
-The warmblood is the largest catagory of horse in existance today!
-The term hunter refers to a horse that can carry a rider safetly when in pursuit of anumal prey.
-During the Crimean War, one Arab horse raced 93 miles without harm, but its rider died of exhaustion.
