Horse From Family Equidae Used For Racing Riding Farming Transportation And As A Source Of Food

The horse (Equus caballus) refers to the big ungulate mammal which is possessed with odd looking toes. It is one among the ten living species of the family Equidae. Horses are mostly used for the purpose of carrying out work on the farms as well as for transportation.

However these animals lost a lot of their importance due to everything getting mechanized. The history of the horse highlights its significance in different areas as mythology, art, religion, agriculture as well as warfare. The horses are often seen performing tasks as providing carrying facilities to human beings. They are also harnessed for pulling objects like carts or plows.

The development of a large number of horse breeds has led to the possibility of specialization of this animal for particular work as the lighter horses find utility for racing or riding and the heavier horses can do farming works. The miniature horses can be kept in the form of pets at houses. A few societies prefer horses for meat and milk while on the other hand it is taboo for many to use these for consumption.

In the countries which are highly industrialized, horses play an important role in providing for leisure and sporting activities. The domestic horse in recent times has an expectant life of 25 to 30 years, which is dependant on the respective management, breed and environment. As per the records "Old Billy" was the horse which managed to remain alive till the age of 62 in the 19th century. The pony Sugar Puff has its name included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living pony in the world dying when 56 years old in the modern era.

The light riding horses like Quarter Horses, Arabians, Morgans have their heights ranging between 14.0 (142 cm) to 16.0 hands (163 cm) and their weight varies from 386 kilograms to 540 kg. The period of pregnancy of horses is usually for a span of 335-340 days and the resultant output is one foal. The skeleton of a horse is comprised of 205 bones. Horses are basically herbivores and have a digestive system that is adequately adapted for diet full of grass and plants. Horses do not possess the tendency to vomit and hence indigestion can lead to a lot of problems for them and hence colic is a major reason for their death. Horse