Information about horses

A mare is in foal for little over 11 months. In nature foaling is geared to coincide with the growth of nutritious spring grasses. Most breeds have an official spring birth date. Some breeds, such as the Thoroughbred, have a mid winter birth date (January 1 in the northern hemisphere and August 1 in the southern hemisphere). Thoroughbreds have their reproductive year brought forward artificially in order to have foals born as soon after that date as possible. as a prey animal, a foal has to be able to keep up with the herd within a day. Most births take place at night to give the foal time to get to its feet, find its balance, and be able to run by day break. In the wild foal suckle their dams for about a year, or so. Grass gradually replaces milk as the main foodstuff in the first year. Domestic foals are usually weaned at about six months. A horse matures between five and seven years of age, depending on the breed and the individual. A foal matures roughly from the ground up. The feet bones and legs mature at about two to three years, and the spine is fully developed by five to seven years. A reasonable age for a horse to begin real training for work is three years, when the work should be kept very light, gradually increasing as the horse matures, and can be put into full work at six. A horse is considered to be in his prime between the age of 8 and 12 years old. After about 17 years of age, his capacity for work will gradually wane.
Old horses are prone, like old humans, to diseases of old age such as arthritis and rheumatism. An old horse may also become more sensitive to the weather and pests, and may slip down the herd hierarchy. Complete retirement may not always be the best option the horse may fell unwanted and bored, particularly if he has been stabled for much of his life. In some cases it may actually be kinder to put down a horse, rather than to send him to a miserable retirement.


Posted by Joanna 

More information about horses

A hand is 4in (10cm), the approximate width of a man's hand. Horses and ponies are measured from the highest  point of the withers down to the ground in a perpendicular line. Measuring sticks are calibrated in hands and inches. The animal is stood on level ground with both forelegs together and the stick placed next to its shoulder with the arm touching the top of its wither. The measurement is read in hands and inches, for example, 15.2hh (hands high) means 15 hands and 2 inches. Horses are measured from the highest point of the withers. Exercise is extremely important for a horse's wellbeing . Horses are designed for life on the move. The natural lifestyle of a horse is almost constant walking, eating as it goes, and domestic horses should be allowed to mimic this as far as possible, even if they are stabled. Two hours exercise a day, mostly walking with some trotting and perhaps cantering, is the minimum required to keep most stabled horses healthy and happy. Horse communicate with each other, and with other animals and people, mainly by body language and facial expressions. They do, though, also use their voices. Anger, dislike, or threat toward a particular individual is shown be head outstretched, ears flat back, eyes angry, nostrils drawn back and wrinkled, and perhaps the teeth being bared ready to bite or warn. Interest is shown by ears pricked (pointed) toward the interesting object or person, the eyes alert, the head held high if the object is distant or more flexed inward if it is near, and nostrils open (flared)
and perhaps quivering if the horse is near enough to smell the object or person. Fear is shown by ears being directed toward whatever the horse is afraid of. The eyes will look wide and alarmed, the nostrils will be wide open, and the skin will appear tightly drawn across the face. A sign of submission in youngsters, is the head outstretched and held fairly low, with the front teeth being gently snapped repeatedly together. this is called mouthing. The attitude of flehmen is when a horse is closely examining an odor. it breathes in the smell, then raises its head and turns its upper lip up to hold the smell in its air passages where the sensory Jacobsen's organ analyzes the odor. Stallions herd their mares and offspring with a peculiar snaking motion. the head and neck are outstretched and held low as he goes along, usually at a trot, snaking his head and neck from side to side.



Posted by Joanna and Rebecca