Portal:Horses

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The Horses Portal

Horse and foal

The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, close to Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BCE, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BCE. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, which are horses that never have been domesticated and historically linked to the megafauna category of species. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.

Horses are adapted to run, allowing them to quickly escape predators, and possess a good sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight response. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down, with younger horses tending to sleep significantly more than adults. 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. Most domesticated horses begin training under a saddle or in a harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.

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, particularly in Europe. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, developed for many different uses. (Full article...)

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A gray horse performing in a sand ring, ridden by a woman in a dark top hat, coat and boots and white pants. In the background a white fence, small grassy area and a seated crowd are visible.
Dressage at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Equestrian sports are among those contested at the Summer Olympic Games. Equine events began at the Olympics in 1900, when competitions in polo (considered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be a separate sport from the other equestrian events), vaulting, four-in-hand driving, mail coach driving, mixed hacks and hunters and three types of jumping (high jump, long jump and show-jumping) were held. Most of these events were later discontinued, although equestrian events have continued through the 2016 Summer Olympics, and now include team and individual dressage, three-day eventing and show-jumping. Competitors in the modern pentathlon event also have to complete an equestrian show-jumping course, but this is not part of the equestrian events.

Modern-day Olympic equestrian events are rooted in cavalry skills and classical horsemanship, and through 1948, competition was restricted to active-duty officers on military horses. Only after 1952, as mechanization of warfare reduced the number of military riders, were civilian riders allowed to compete. Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which animals compete with humans, and is one of four sports in which the genders compete against each other, the others being some sailing divisions, mixed doubles division in tennis and the mixed doubles division of badminton. The rules for Olympic equestrian competition are set by the Fédération Équestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports. (Full article...)
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Credit: Andreas Tille

An Icelandic horse near Krýsuvík. The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. The breed develops late, but is long-lived and hardy. The Icelandic displays five gaits, rather than the typical three displayed by most other breeds. The breed is popular outside of Iceland, with sizable populations in Europe and North America.

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A profile drawing of a Narragansett Pacer standing, showing a shiny smooth coat, and a long natural mane.
The Narragansett Pacer, illustrated in 1895

The Narragansett Pacer was one of the first recorded horse breeds developed in the United States. It emerged in the 18th century (1700s), and was theorized to have been bred from a mix of English and Spanish breeds, although the exact cross is unknown. The Pacer was associated with, and bred in, the state of Rhode Island and the area of New England; as horse breeding shifted to Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1700s, it became extinct by the 20th century.

Narragansett Pacer horses were owned and ridden by many famous people of the American Revolutionary War era, including President George Washington, Paul Revere, and others. The last known purebred Pacer is thought to have died around 1880, though the breed disappeared earlier from pedigrees in the late 1700s or early 1800s. (Full article...)

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