The Horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. 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. Horses and humans interact in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, as well as in working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control (wikipedia). Here are beautiful horse pictures for you all……….
The following terminology is used to describe horses of various ages:
- Foal: a horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling. Most domesticated foals are weaned at five to seven months of age, although foals can be weaned at four months with no adverse physical effects.
- Yearling: a horse of either sex that is between one and two years old.
- Colt: a male horse under the age of four. A common terminology error is to call any young horse a “colt”, when the term actually only refers to young male horses.
- Filly: a female horse under the age of four.
- Mare: a female horse four years old and older.
- Stallion: a non-castrated male horse four years old and older. The term “horse” is sometimes used colloquially to refer specifically to a stallion.
- Gelding: a castrated male horse of any age.