Facts about Horses
The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4500 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down. "Przewalski's Horse" is the only remaining 'true wild horse'. Its population is endangered. By 2000 BC the use of domesticated horses had spread throughout the Eurasian continent. The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire horse named Sampson, who lived during the late 1800s. He stood 86.5 in or 220 cm high, and his peak weight was estimated at 3,360 pounds (1,520 kg). The current record holder for the world's smallest horse is Thumbelina, a fully mature miniature horse affected by dwarfism. She is 17 inches (43 cm) tall and weighs 60 pounds (27 kg). They have the largest eyes of any land mammal. Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at about 18 months. In practice, individuals are rarely allowed to breed before the age of three, especially females. They reach full adult development by age five. Their young which is called a foal can stand and run shortly following birth. There are over 300 breeds of horses in the world today. Female horses(mares) carry their young for approximately 11 months. because their eyes are positioned on the sides of their heads, horses have a range of vision of more than 350°, with approximately 65° of this being binocular (seen with both eyes) and the remaining 285° monocular (seen with only one eye). Horses have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years. In a 2004 "poll" conducted by Animal Planet, more than 50,000 viewers from 73 countries voted for the horse as the world's 4th favorite animal. A significant difference between the horse skeleton, compared to that of a human, is the lack of a collarbone—the horse's front limb system is attached to the spinal column by a powerful set of muscles, tendons and ligaments that attach the shoulder blade to the torso. "Old Billy", a 19th-century horse that lived to the age of 62 which according to varifiable records is the oldest age of a horse. Though in modern times, according to the 'Guinness Book of World Records' the world's oldest living pony named "Sugar Puff", died in 2007, aged 56. Horses have a skeleton that averages 205 bones. The earliest evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from Ukraine and dates to approximately 4,000 BC. The American Horse Council estimates that horse-related activities have a direct impact on the economy of the United States of over $39 billion, and when indirect spending is considered, the impact is over $102 billion.[2006] Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that in 2003, China had the largest number of horses in the world with over 8 million, followed by Mexico (6,260,000), Brazil (5,900,500), the United States (5,300,000), and Argentina (3,655,000). Horses are not ruminants, so they have only one stomach, like humans, but unlike humans, they can also digest cellulose from grasses due to the presence of a "hind gut" called the cecum, or "water gut", which food goes through before reaching the large intestine. A horse's sense of touch is well developed. The most sensitive areas are around the eyes, ears and nose. Via touch, horses perceive and respond immediately to changes in their environment, sensing contact as subtle as an insect landing anywhere on the body. A horse(both male and female) less than one year old is called a foal. A horse(both male and female) between one and two years of age is called a yearling. The first archaeological evidence of horses used in warfare dates to between 3000 to 4000 BC, and the use of horses in warfare was widespread by the end of the Bronze Age. A male horse under the age of four is known as colt, while filly is a female horse under the age of four. Unlike humans, horses cannot vomit, so digestion problems can quickly cause colic, a leading cause of death. A female horse four years or older is known as mere, while stallion is a non-castrated male horse four years old and older. Though it is uncommon, but a few horses live into their 40s and, occasionally, beyond. A 1,000-pound (450 kg) horse will eat 15 to 25 pounds (6.8 to 11 kg) of food per day and, under normal use, drink 10 to 12 US gallons. Horses have excellent day and night vision, but studies indicate that they have two-color, or dichromatic vision; their color vision is somewhat like red-green color blindness in humans. This means that certain colors, especially red and related colors, appear more green. Horses have an advanced sense of taste that allows them to sort through grains and grasses to choose what they would most like to eat, and their prehensile lips can easily sort even the smallest grains. Horses generally will not eat poisonous plants. However, there are exceptions and horses will occasionally eat toxic amounts of poisonous plants even when there is adequate healthy food. |
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