Winter Woes For Horses

Ambling ... Though there are differences in footfall patterns and speed, historically these gaits were once collectively referred to as the "amble." Today, especially in the United States, horses that are able to do an ambling gait are referred to as "gaited horses." Some breeds naturally perform these gaits from birth, others can be trained to do them... History The amble was particularly prized in Horses in the Middle Ages due to the need for people to travel long distances on poor roads... As roads improved and carriage travel became more common, followed later by railroads, riding horses that trotted became more popular in Europe; the dominant uses of riding horses came to include light cavalry, fox hunting and other types of rapid travel across country, but of more limited duration, where the gallop could be used...

Stable Vices ... Rather than refer to the behavior as abnormal, it has been suggested that it be described as "behavior indicative of an abnormal environment." It was once thought that stable vices may be learned by observing other horses who already have the habit, but studies on the topic to date have failed to establish this as a cause... Box stall designs that keep the horse from reaching its head out prevent harm to other animals, but some horses may attempt to bite a handler when the person enters the stall...

Canter ... However, just as people find it easier to write with one hand or the other, most horses have a "better side", on which they find it easier to lead at a canter...

Draft Horse ... Draft horses and draft crossbreds are versatile breeds used today for a multitude of purposes, including farming, show, logging, recreation, and other uses... They are also commonly used for crossbreeding, especially to light riding breeds such as the Thoroughbred for the purpose of creating sport horses... While most draft horses are used for driving, they can be ridden and some of the lighter draft breeds are capable performers under saddle...

Horse Care ... Horse management books and periodicals are nearly universal in stating that barbed wire should never be used to contain horses... However, even without sharp barbs, wire has the highest potential for horses to become tangled in the fence and injured... It is more difficult to install, and has some visibility issues, but horses are less likely to become tangled in it or be injured if they run into it...

Horse Training ... Today, most horse training is geared toward making horses useful for a variety of recreational and sporting equestrian pursuits... Horses are also trained for specialized jobs from movie stunt work to police and crowd control activities, circus entertainment, and equine-assisted psychotherapy...

Respiratory System Of The Horse ... The nasal passages contain two conchae on either side, which help to increase the surface area to which the air is exposed. Additionally, the sinuses within the skull are able to drain through the nasal passage...

Horse Behavior ... Nonetheless, because their physiology is also suited to a number of work- and entertainment-related tasks, humans domesticated horses thousands of years ago, and they have served humans ever since... Through selective breeding, some breeds of horses have been bred to be quite docile, particularly certain large draft horses...

Horse Breed ... Horse breeds are groups of horses with distinctive characteristics that are transmitted consistently to their offspring, such as conformation, color, performance ability, or disposition... These inherited traits are usually the result of a combination of natural crosses and artificial selection methods aimed at producing horses for specific tasks... Some breeds have been developed through centuries of crossings with other breeds, while others, such as Tennessee Walking Horses and Morgans, developed from a single sire from which all current breed members descend...

Equine Coat Color ... While most horses remain the same color throughout life, a few, over the course of several years, will develop a different coat color from that with which they were born... Basic coat colors Genetically, all horses start out as either chestnut, called "red" by geneticists, represented by the absence of the extension gene ("e"); or black based on the presence of the extension gene ("E")...

Skeletal System Of The Horse ... Ligaments of the upper body include: Nuchal and supraspinous ligaments: the nuchal ligament attaches to the dorsal surface of the cervical vertebrae. Its dorsal section extends from the occipital protuberance of the skull (the poll) to the withers, then narrows to become the supraspinous ligament...

Horses In Warfare ... Throughout history, mules and donkeys as well as horses played a crucial role in providing support to armies in the field... Horses were well suited to the warfare tactics of the nomadic cultures from the steppes of Central Asia... Europeans used several types of war horses in the Middle Ages, and the best-known heavy cavalry warrior of the period was the armoured knight...

Equine Coat Color Genetics ... Chestnut, black, and bay are considered the three "base" colors that all remaining coat color genes act upon. There are a number of dilution genes that lighten these three colors in a variety of ways, sometimes affecting skin and eyes as well as hair coat...

Evolution Of The Horse ... This group of animals appears to have been originally specialized for life in tropical forests, but whereas tapirs and, to some extent, rhinoceroses, retained their jungle specializations, modern horses are adapted to life on drier land in the much-harsher climatic conditions of the steppes... History of research Indigenous modern horses died out in the New World at the end of the Pleistocene, about 12 000 years ago, and thus were absent until the Spanish brought domestic horses from Europe, beginning in 1493...

Horse Racing ... There are three major types of racing: flat racing, steeplechasing (racing over jumps), and harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky... Harness racing is dominated by Standardbred horses in Australia, New Zealand and North America, but several other breeds, such as the Russian Trotter and Finnhorse, are seen in Europe...

Warmblood ... Studbook selection is the use of external evaluation - critiquing conformation and movement - of potential breeding stock to cull out unsuitable breeding horses and direct the evolution towards a particular goal...

Horse Gait ... Another classification system, applicable to quadrupeds in general, uses the categories of 1) walking gaits (including ambling), 2) running or trotting gaits, and 3) leaping gaits. The British Horse Society Dressage Rules require competitors to perform 4 variations of the walk, 6 forms of the trot, 5 leaping gaits (all forms of the canter), halt, and rein back but not the gallop...

Trot (horse Gait) ... From the standpoint of the balance of the horse, the trot is a very stable gait, and the horse need not make major balancing motions with its head and neck. This is a common gait that the horse is worked in for dressage, due to its many variations...

Horseshoe ... The fitting of horseshoes is a professional occupation, conducted by a farrier, who specializes in the preparation of feet, assessing potential lameness issues, and fitting appropriate shoes, including remedial features where required. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, horseshoeing is legally restricted to only people with specific qualifications and experience...

Horse Hoof ... The recent barefoot movement claims that such a strength can be almost completely restored to domesticated horses, when appropriate trimming and living conditions are applied, to such an extent that horseshoes are no longer necessary in almost any horse. If true, it would undermine the belief that "the horseshoe is a necessary evil." The barefoot management system has not, however, gained a foothold among serious equine professionals, due to the increased strain placed on the hoof in sports, such as eventing and endurance riding...

Veterinary Medicine ... Veterinary medicine is widely practiced, both with and without professional supervision. Professional care is most often led by a veterinary physician (also known as a vet, veterinary surgeon or veterinarian), but also by paraveterinary workers such as veterinary nurses or technicians...