animalzoid The horse belongs to the family Equidae. This hoofed herbivorous mammal has had quite an exciting approach to human life since ancient times. Horses and humans have an old relationship. The scientific term for the horse is Equus ferus caballus. Usually, horses are in the side between 120 to 2,200 pounds and from a height of 30 to 69 inches. Horses have a continuous rapport with humans and have remained essential to many human societies. The horse is a symbolic representation of heroic exploits in war.
Physical appearance
The horse is a strong and muscular animal with a long tail and coarse hair; it has an elongated head and skull. The thick neck draped with a mane down the midline gives their appearance much elegance. As a result of different breedings made by humans through time, there are many other horses in different coat colours, and among them, gold with a white mane and tail, Chesnut, spotted, and black is more popular worldwide.
According to the records, it has been identified that the tallest living horse is the Belgian horse named big jake, that heigh 7 feet. The Belgian breed horse is the most powerful in the world.
Behaviour
The horses have the remarkable ability to hear; they can gear 360-degree gearing. They also have a better sense of smell than humans but rely more on smell and vision. They have an idea that is similar to the sight of binocular vision. The horses have good night vision than the humans. The horses can identify the grasses and grains they love to eat, and their advanced sense of taste helps them find good food, but they do not eat poisonous plants.
Habitat
The horses are adapted to all kinds of environments and climatic situations. There are domesticated horses like Mustangs who get the supply of food, shelter and space.
Diet
Horses are herbivorous, and their diet mainly consists of tough grasses. Relative to other animals, horses have the smallest stomach; though the stomach is small, it stores frequent meals. The Horses have large flat teeth named incisors at the front of their mouth that help them to grab and rip grasses from the ground. According to the researchers, it reveals that a healthy horse should be fed 1% to 2%. Their body weight grows with the diet of grass or hay; the horses need this diet every day. The horses are herbivorous and depend on vegetation.
Sleeping
The sleeping patterns of horses are interesting. They can sleep while standing up and also rest in standing. They can lock their hind legs at the stifle joints so that they can hold them upright while they doze. They occasionally switch the legs to prevent the tiresome. This is also a good trick for them to get rid of predator attacks. However, the horses also need to lie down to take a complete sleep which they will do each day and night periodically.
Speed
Speed is a general fact that is related to horse life. There are four primary patterns that a horse makes in their movement patterns. They are gaits, walk, trot and gallop. Most of the horses are used for horse racing. In ancient times horses were at the front of battlefields. The speed of a domestic horse gallop is identified as 40 kilometres per hour, but sometimes it exceeds 64 kilometres per hour. Horses have a single toe on each foot, their toes encased by a hard hoof. The hooves are made of keratine, the same as human fingernails. To protect the horse’s hooves, the owners attach metal horseshoes at the bottom of their claws.
Breeds
There are 350 different horse breeds in the world. According to the physical structure and life patterns, species have differences. Regarding racehorses, some horse bloodlines are taken for high prices for horse races. Fusaichi Pegasus is the most expensive horse ever sold; it has won $2 million in its horse racing career. There are horse breeds that can be found all around the world. A wide variety of horse breeds are bred in different countries with the involvement of humans; examples of such types are,
- Albanian bred from Albania.
- Budyonny from Russia.
- Deliboz from Azerbijan.
- Georgia.
- Armenia.
- Colorado ranger from Colorado plains.
Threats
The people protect domestic horses and have enough food, drink and space to live; on the other hand, wild horses are in danger from the attacks of larger predatory animals. Biting and kicking are the protective tricks they use to protect from predators.
Conservation
Environmental changes are a reason that threatens the lives of horses. Also, competition with humans and livestock made the lives of horses extinct during the 20 century. However, most of the species are captivated in zoos. There is a list of domestic and feral populations of descending situations, but the species of Mustang is not included in the list as they are not considered wild horses. But Mustangs are also in the conservation process.
The most beautiful horse in the world
The Akhal Teke horse is the most beautiful in the world. This horse can be compared to a golden statue; it is elegant. The horse shines on its skin and looks metallic in the sunlight. The origin of this extraordinary creature is from the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan, and they were a popular breed among the Arabian ancestors. At present, the Soviet Republics located in Central Asia (the Republic of Turkmenistan in earlier times) consider the Akhal Teke Hores as a sacred creature. And it has a symbolic representation of the Soviet government.
Fun facts
- The age of a horse can be estimated by its teeth.
- Horses are measured in hands.
- Most white horses are grey.
- A baby horse is called Foal.
- The original horse was the size of a Golden Retriever.
- Horses can not Burp.
- Horses sleep standing up.
- Horses have ten different muscles in their ears.
- Horses have made an indelible mark on human civilization.
- Horses have bigger eyes than other living mammals on land.
