THE HORSE: A WILD AND DOMESTIC ANIMAL!

The horse , a herbivorous hoofed mammal of the equine family. It includes a single species ,  Equus caballus , whose many varieties are called breeds .

Before the advent of mechanized vehicles, the horse was widely used as a draft animal , and horse riding was one of the main means of transportation. Today, it is a discipline in its own right and for some it is even a pet  ?. But currently, nothing is yet classified!

1) The Horse in 10 Seconds Top Chrono

• COMMON NAME: Horse
• SCIENTIFIC NAME: Equus ferus caballus
• BASIC GROUP OF ANIMALS: Mammals
• DIET: Herbivore
• SIZE: Height at shoulders: 80 cm to 1m75?
• WEIGHT: 55 to 1000 kilograms

2) The Horse and Humans

A- The first contact with Man

In prehistoric times ?, the wild horse was probably first hunted for food. Research suggests that the first domestication took place about 5,500 years ago . It is assumed that the horse was first used by a tribe of Indo-European origin who lived in the steppes north of the mountain range adjacent to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea ?. Influenced by climate, food and people, the horse quickly acquired its present form.

So horses and humans have an ancient relationship? Then it is assumed that Asian nomads domesticated horses about 4,000 years ago . The animals thus remained essential to many human societies until the advent of the motor. Horses still occupy a place of honor in many cultures, often linked to heroic exploits in war.

B- The relationship between Men and Horses

The relationship between horse and man is unique . The horse is a partner and a friend. It has plowed fields and brought in the harvest, hauled goods and carried passengers, followed game and tracked livestock, carried fighters to war and adventurers to unknown lands.

It also provided recreation in the form of jousting, tournaments, riding arenas and equestrian sport. The influence of the horse is expressed in the French language in terms of chivalry and cavalier, which evoke honour , respect , good manners and frankness.

Riding horses are majestic animals that have long been used for transportation and work. Today, they are most appreciated for their use in equestrian sport and recreational riding . Riders ride on the horses' backs and use subtle communication techniques to direct them. This interaction between rider and horse creates a unique relationship and can be very rewarding for both parties. Riding horses is also a beneficial physical activity for the rider, which can strengthen muscles, improve coordination, and increase endurance.

C- Wild and domesticated

There is only one species of domestic horse , but about 400 different breeds that specialize in everything from pulling carts to racing. All horses are grazers .

While most horses are domesticated , others remain wild . Wild horses are descendants of once-domesticated animals that have roamed free for generations. Groups of these horses are found in many parts of the world. Free-roaming North American mustangs , for example, are descendants of horses brought by Europeans over 400 years ago.

3) The Wild Horses

A- The organization of groups

Wild horses typically congregate in groups of 3 to 20 animals. A stallion (adult male) leads the group, which consists of mares (females) and young foals . When the young males become foals, around the age of two, the stallion chases them away. The foals then roam with other young males until they can gather their own group of females.

B- Przewalski's horse

The Przewalski's horse is the only truly wild horse whose ancestors were never domesticated. Ironically, this stocky, sturdy animal exists today only in captivity . The last wild Przewalski's horse was seen in Mongolia in 1968.

4) Horse Breeds

The first intensively domesticated horses were developed in Central Asia. They were small, light, and stocky. Over time, two major groups of horses emerged: the southern Arabian (Barbary Coast) types and the northern , so-called cold-blooded types ❄. When, where, and how these horses emerged are controversial.4

Nevertheless, all modern breeds—the light, fast, spirited breeds typified by the modern Arabian , the heavier, slower, and calmer working breeds typified by the Belgian , and the intermediate breeds typified by the Thoroughbred — can be classified according to their origin (e.g., Percheron, Clydesdale, and Arabian), according to the horse's primary use (saddle, draft, carriage), and according to their outward appearance and size (light, heavy, pony).

5) Form and Function

A mature male horse is called a stallion , a female a mare . A castrated stallion is commonly called a “ gelding ”. In the past, stallions were used as riding horses, while mares were kept solely for breeding purposes.

Geldings were used for work and as riding horses for ladies  ? . However, geldings have generally replaced stallions as riding horses. Young horses are known as foals ; male foals are called colts ♂️ and female foals are called fillies ♀️ .

6) Colors and Patterns

A- Color

From the primitive wolf horse a variety of colors and patterns have arisen, some of which are very variable and difficult to distinguish. Among the most important colors are black , bay , chestnut (and sorrel), palomino , cream , and white ⚪ .

The black color is true black, although there may be a white marking on the face and white ankles. The brown horse is nearly black but has lighter areas around the muzzle, eyes? and legs. Bay refers to several shades of brown, ranging from reddish-brown and fawn to sable. Bay horses have black manes, tails, and (usually) stockings. 

There is a dilution (or lightening) gene, called silver ?  or silver dapple, which primarily influences the dark coat colors. Chestnut is similar to bay but without any of the black shades of bay. Lighter shades of chestnut are called sorrel . 

The palomino horse ranges from cream to bronze, with a flaxen or silver mane and tail. The  wolf is a diluted sorrel, or very pale yellow, almost white. The white of the horses varies, ranging from aging grays to albinos with blue eyes and pink skin, to pseudoalbinos with buff manes or brown eyes. 

B- Reasons

The main white horse patterns are gray , roan , pinto , sabino , and appaloosa . Gray horses are born dark brown or black and develop white hairs as they age, becoming almost all white by old age. Roan refers to white mixed with other colors at birth: blue roan is white mixed with black; red roan is white mixed with bay;  and strawberry roan  is white and chestnut.

The pinto is almost entirely spotted with white and one other color; other names, such as paint, calico, piebald, skewbald, overo, and tobiano, refer to subtle distinctions in color or pattern type. The appaloosa (leopard complex) is another extremely variable pattern, but the term generally refers to a large white patch on the hips and back, with irregular, scattered dark spots.

7) Art, Horse and Time

The horse has occupied a special place in the field of art. From Stone Age drawings to the wonder of the Parthenon frieze, from the funerary sculptures of the Chinese Tang Dynasty to the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci, from the Koran to modern literature, the horse has inspired artists of all ages and from all regions of the world .

8) Between Mythology and Superstitions

A- Mythology and History

Greek mythology created the Centaur , the most obvious symbol of the unity of horse and rider. White stallions were the supreme sacrifice to the gods, and the Greek general Xenophon noted that "the gods?  and heroes?‍♂️ are represented on well-trained horses." A beautiful, well-trained horse was therefore a status symbol in ancient Greece. Kings?, generals, and statesmen were necessarily horsemen. 

The names of famous horses are inextricably linked to those of their famous riders: Bucephalus , the charger of Alexander the Great; Incitatus , whom the Roman emperor Caligula is said to have made a senator (see Researcher's Note); El Morzillo , the favorite horse of Hernán Cortés, to whom the Indians erected a statue; Roan Barbery , the stallion of Richard II, mentioned by Shakespeare; Copenhagen , the horse of the Duke of Wellington, who was buried with military honors.

The Romans associated horses with Mars , the god of the fury of war. Horses were also seen pulling the chariot of Helios, the sun god. In Celtic mythology , horses were considered lucky and were a harbinger of good fortune. The white horse was sacred to the Celts, and was strongly associated with Rhiannon and Epona, who sometimes took the form of a white horse.

In popular wisdom , if you see several horses together, it means that a storm is brewing. However, this is not just superstition, as horses often group together to protect themselves from approaching storms.

The horse also represents power in Native American tribes. Native American tribes that owned horses often won more battles than those that did not. They also had more territory. The number of horses a tribe owned was indicative of its wealth.  Within these and other cultures, the horse is often an emblem of war.

B- Superstition

The horse is "man's proudest conquest" , according to the French zoologist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon . Its place was at its master's side in the tombs of the Scythian kings or in the tombs of the pharaohs?‍?. Many ancient human cultures centered on the ownership of the horse . Superstitions read the meaning of the horse's colors, and a horse's head hung near a tomb or shrine or on the gables of a house conferred supernatural powers on the place. 

9) Nutrition

The horse's natural food is grass . For stable horses, the diet usually consists of hay and grain . The animal should not be fed immediately before or after work, to avoid digestive problems. Fresh water is important, especially when the horse is losing its winter coat. But the animal should never be watered when it is overheated after work. 

Oats are the most nutritious and are fed especially to foals. Older horses, with worn teeth or digestive problems, can be given ground oats . Chaff (chopped straw) can be added to the oat ration of animals that eat greedily or do not chew the grain properly.  Cracked barley is sometimes substituted in part for oats. Hay makes up the bulk of the horse's ration and can vary in composition depending on the region. Corn ? is used as a fattening grain, but it makes the horse sweat easily.  

The horse needs salt  at all times and especially at moulting time. Bread?, carrots ?  and sugar  ? are treats often used by the rider or trainer to reward an animal. In times of poverty, horses have adapted to all sorts of foods - potatoes?, beans, green leaves and even fish in Iceland. But these foods are generally not eaten if other foods are available. 

A number of commercial feed mixes are available to modern breeders and owners; these mixes contain minerals, vitamins and other nutrients and are designed to provide a balanced diet – when supplemented with hay .

10) Reproduction and Development

A- Reproduction

The appearance of adult sexual characteristics usually begins at 16 to 18 months of age. The horse is considered mature, depending on the breed, at about three years of age and adult at five years of age ? . Fertility varies depending on the breed and can last beyond 20 years in Thoroughbreds and up to 12 or 15 years in other horses. The gestation period is 11 months. 280 days is the minimum during which the foal can be born with the expectation of living. Typically, a mare produces one foal per mating, twins occasionally  and triplets rarely. The foal is weaned at six months ?.

B- Lifespan

The lifespan of a horse varies depending on the amount of work it has to do and the maintenance provided by its owner. A horse that is trained carefully and slowly, and given time to develop, can serve to a later age than a horse whose training is rushed. Racehorses that enter races at age two rarely remain on the track beyond eight years. Well-maintained racehorses, on the other hand, can be used for more than 20 years. 

The lifespan of a horse is calculated to be six or seven times the time required for its physical and mental development, or 30 to 35 years at the most . The rule is about 20 to 25 years . Ponies generally live longer than larger horses. There are a number of examples of horses that have exceeded the usual age limit. The Veterinary University of Vienna preserves the skeleton of a 44-year-old Thoroughbred mare. There have been reports of horses living into their early sixties.

11) Anatomy

The general shape of the horse is characteristic of a speed animal  : the long bones of the legs pivot on pulley-like joints that limit forward and backward movements. The limbs are connected to muscle masses so as to use energy most efficiently, and the compact body is constantly supported on the tips of the toes, which allows a more complete extension of the limbs when running.

The rounded skull houses a large and complex brain, well developed in the areas that direct muscular coordination. Although the horse is intelligent among subhuman animals, it is safe to say that the horse is more concerned with the functioning of its acute sensory reception and musculature than with mental processes .

Although much has been written about "trained" horses -  who seem to have the ability to spell and count - it is generally accepted that in such cases a highly perceptive animal is responding to its handler's signals. But this ability is quite remarkable in itself, since the signals are often given unconsciously by the human trainer, and detecting such subtle signals requires extremely keen perception.

The horse, like other grazing herbivores, has typical adaptations for eating plants  : a set of strong, high-crowned teeth, adapted for grinding grass and other tough vegetation, and a relatively long digestive tract, most of which consists of intestines responsible for digesting the cellulosic material of vegetation. 

Young horses have milk teeth (or baby teeth), which they begin to lose around the age of two and a half years. The permanent teeth , 36 to 40 in number , are fully developed by the age of four to five years. In the stallion, these teeth are arranged as follows on the upper and lower jaws: 12 incisors, which cut and pull grass; 4 canines, vestiges without function in the modern horse and not generally found in mares; and 12 premolars and 12 molars, high prisms that continue to grow out of the jaw to replace surfaces worn down by grinding food.

In the course of domestication, the horse has diversified into three major types, based on its size and build: draft horses , which have heavy limbs and can reach 20 hands (200 cm) in height; ponies , which are conventionally horses under 14.2 hands (about 147 cm) in height; and light horses  (saddle or riding horses), which are in the intermediate size range. Domestic horses tend to be short-sighted, less hardy than their ancestors, and often very tense, especially thoroughbreds.

12) Adaptations

The primitive horse probably stood 12 hands (about 120 cm) high at the withers, the highest point of the back at the base of the neck, and was brownish (typically dark gray) in color. Domesticated horses that have reverted to feral status, such as the mustangs of western North America, tend to revert to these primitive characteristics –  in random matings: they are usually somewhat larger (about 15 hands [152.4 cm]), are usually gray or brownish in color, and travel in herds led by a stallion.

To conclude, equestrian tourism allows you to discover the wonders of nature in a different way. Equestrian centers, stables and stud farms offer many equestrian activities for beginners or experienced riders. Horseback riding, horseback rides, pony treks and multi-day horseback treks allow you to practice horseback riding in the great outdoors in complete safety. Pony <span style="vertical-alig