The Horse
Horses belong to the equus family. Equus comes from the ancient Greek word meaning quickness.
Horses are mammals in the same family as zebras, mules and donkeys.
Did You Know?
A stallion is a male horse
A mare is a female horse
A foal is a baby horse
A filly is a young female horse
A colt is a young male horse
A foal is a yearling after its first birthday
A sire is the word used for the father of a horse
A dam is the word used for the mother of a horse
A pony is not a baby horse. It is a fully grown small horse
A horse's height is measured in hands
Mare & Foal
The mother horse, or mare, is pregnant (or "in foal") for 11 months. Most mares give
birth in the spring to a single baby (foal) although twins are not uncommon. Mares produce
milk for their young and will feed them for several months.
Within 1-2 hours of birth a foal is able to stand up and walk. When foals are born their
legs are almost the same length as they are when they are fully grown - their legs are so
long they find it difficult to reach down to the grass to eat! Foals can focus their eyes
almost as soon as they are born and cut their first teeth within a week. They are fully
grown by 3-4 years of age.
What Do Horses Eat?
Horses love to eat short, juicy grass. They also eat hay (which is dried grass) especially in
the winter or when they are stabled. Extra high energy food such as barley, oats, maize, chaff,
bran or processed pony nuts are good for working horses. Horses have small stomachs for their
size and need to eat little and often - if in a field, horses will graze for most of the day.
How Long Do Horses Live?
An average life span for a horse is around 20-25 years, though they can live for up to 30 years.
The oldest recorded horse was "Old Billy", an English barge horse, who lived to be 62
years old.
How Many Breeds Of Horses Are there?
There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies. These fall into four main groups:
Light Horses with small bones, thin legs and weighing less than 1300 pounds; e.g. Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Morgan horses and Arabians
Heavy or Draft Horses which can weigh up to 2000 pounds and are strong with large bones and sturdy legs; e.g. Percherons, Draft, Clydesdale and Shire horses
Ponies which are usually not more than 58 inches tall (14.2 hands and under), making them smaller than a horse; e.g.Shetland, Haflinger, and Caspian ponies
Feral Horses which are wild or semi-wild horses. A mustang is a feral horse.
What Are The Different Colours Of Horses & Ponies?
Horses can be either the same colour all over (whole colours) or a mixture of colours (broken colours).
There are thousands of different colour combinations for horses. The most commonly recognized whole
colours are - bay, black, brown, chestnut, dun, cream, palomino, or grey. The broken colours include
piebald (often called pinto), skewbald (also known as paint horses), roan and spotted (Appaloosa)
horses.
Why Does A Horse Have To Wear Shoes?
Horses that work or travel on hard roads need their feet (hooves) protected by metal shoes. Horses
hooves, like our finger and toe nails, also grow continuously and need to be trimmed. To do this,
the horses shoes need to be removed and their hooves trimmed every 4 -6 weeks. After trimming
their hooves new shoes are fitted.
The person who cares for a horse's feet is called a farrier or blacksmith.
What Do People Mean When They Say A Horse Is So Many "Hands" Tall?
Horses are measured by the width of a human hand - 4 inches or 10 centimetres. Measurement is
taken from the ground up to the withers, the highest point on the horse's shoulder. A light horse
such as a Lipizzana measures between 15.1 and 16.2hh while a heavy horse such as a Shire is
between 16.2 and 17.2hh. Ponies are under 14hh.
How Can You Tell How Old A Horse Is By Looking At Their Teeth?
It is possible to age a horse fairly accurately up to 10 years of age by their teeth. Whether
they are first teeth, permanent teeth, the presence of incisor teeth, the length and slope of
teeth all help indicate a horse's age. It is more difficult to age adult horses by their teeth.
What Are The Different Paces Of A Horse?
The four natural paces for the horse are the walk, trot, canter and gallop.
