geldinghorse
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form and function ( in horse: Form and function
)
A mature male horse is called a stallion, the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly called a gelding. Formerly, stallions were employed as riding horses, while mares were kept for breeding purposes only. Geldings were used for work and as ladies’ riding horses. Recently, however, geldings generally have replaced stallions as riding...
in horsemanship: Origins and early history )...used for mounting only, however, because of the danger of being unable to free the foot quickly in dismounting. The Greek historian Strabo said that the indocility of the Scythians’ wild horses made gelding necessary, a practice until then unknown in the ancient world. The Sarmatians, superb horsemen who superseded the Scythians, rode bareback, controlling their horses with knee pressure and...
a hoofed, herbivorous mammal of the family Equidae. It comprises a single species, Equus caballus, whose numerous varieties are called breeds. Before the advent of mechanized vehicles, the horse was widely used as a draft animal and riding on horseback was one of the chief means of transportation.
In prehistoric times the wild horse was probably first hunted for food. When its domestication took place is unknown, but it certainly was long after the domestication of the dog or of cattle. It is supposed that the horse was first used by a tribe of Indo-European origin that lived in the steppes north of the chain of mountains adjacent to the Black and Caspian seas. Influenced by climate, food, and humans, the horse rapidly acquired its present form.
The relationship of the horse to humans has been unique. The horse is a partner and friend. It plowed fields and brought in the harvest, hauled goods and conveyed passengers, followed game and tracked cattle, and carried combatants into battle and adventurers to unknown lands. It has provided recreation in the form of jousts, tournaments, carousels, and the sport of riding. The influence of the horse is expressed in the English language in such terms as chivalry and cavalier, which connote honour, respect, good manners, and straightforwardness.
The horse is the “proudest conquest of Man,” according to the French zoologist Le Comte de Buffon. Its place was at its master’s side in the graves of the Scythian kings or in the tombs of the pharaohs. Many early human cultures were centred on possession of the horse. Superstition read meaning into the colours of the horse,...
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breeding livestock livestock farming
...pregnancy 40 to 45 days after breeding. Because many mares conceive only every other year, expert assistance at foaling time is an absolute necessity, especially if the foal is sired by an expensive stallion out of a valuable mare.
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form and function horse
A mature male horse is called a stallion, the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly called a gelding. Formerly, stallions were employed as riding horses, while mares were kept for breeding purposes only. Geldings were used for work and as ladies’ riding horses. Recently, however, geldings generally have replaced stallions as riding...
- Breeder’s Guide
- "U.S.-based publication providing information on horse breeding and trainers. Includes a list of American saddlebreds, morgans, and walking horses, as well as the contact details of producers and suppliers of related merchandise. Also facilitates online purchase of the printed versions. "
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classification of horses horse
...is called a stallion, the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly called a gelding. Formerly, stallions were employed as riding horses, while mares were kept for breeding purposes only. Geldings were used for work and as ladies’ riding horses. Recently, however, geldings generally have replaced stallions as riding horses. Young horses are...
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rate of foaling livestock farming
Highly bred light horses are notoriously poor reproducers. Many horse farms consider a 60 percent foaling rate for a large band of mares to be average. Most large horse farms employ resident veterinarians to check for abnormalities or disease before breeding and to check mares for pregnancy 40 to 45 days after breeding. Because many mares conceive only every other year, expert assistance at...
- University of Minnesota - Breeding Your Mare
- "Overview of this report on telecommunication infrastructure and Internet in this state of the U.S.A. submitted in September 1996. Contains its background, objectives, chronology, and future plans."
- Horse-Breeds.net - Tips for Mare Owners
(foaled 1915), American racehorse (Thoroughbred), a dependable and durable horse who won 50 of 100 races in eight seasons. Because of the length of his career and his extraordinary ability to win sprints and long-distance races under heavy weights, some horsemen considered him superior to Man o’ War, his greatest contemporary and doubtless the fastest American horse of the time. (The two never raced against each other.) A chestnut gelding sired by McGee (an English-bred stallion) out of Fair Empress and foaled in Kentucky, Exterminator raced with little success as a two-year-old, but in 1918 he won the Kentucky Derby. He finished second and third 17 times each.
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