Equine Flashcards
Mature male equine?
stallion
Mature female equine?
mare
Castrated male equine?
gelding
Immature male equine?
colt
Immature female equine?
filly
Equine offspring?
foal
Parturition process of equine?
foaling
When were horses domesticated?
5,000 to 7,000 years ago
Are horses native to the US?
no
What are horses a symbol of?
wealth and high status in society
Who first brought horses to the US?
Christopher Columbus brought them to the Virgin Islands during his 2nd voyage
What were horses first used for?
Olympics, Battle
When were horses first used in battle?
2,000 BC
How were horses used in battle?
Riding-draft
Cart-riding
When were horses used during Olympics?
1450 BC
Are there wild horses in the United States?
no, only feral
What can all/almost all horses be traced back to?
Arabian horse
How are horses measured?
from ground to point of withers (wither height) using 4 fingers of hand (~4 inches)
Who reintroduced horses to the US? When?
Cortez, 1500’s
What are the two categories for types of horses?
function and temperament
What are the function types of horses?
draft, light, gated, warm bloods, ponies
What are the temperament types of horses?
cold blooded, hot blooded, warm blooded, hot and cold blooded
What are equids?
not (just) horses
What is the height of draft horses?
16-19h
What is the weight of draft horses?
up to 3,000 lbs
What are characteristics of draft horses?
heavy boned/large framed, power, forward movement
What were draft horses bred for?
to pull or haul-draft, draught, dray; are heavy
What were light horses bred for?
riding-speed, agility, endurance
What is the height of light horses?
14.3-17h
What is the weight of light horses?
1,000-1,500 lbs
What are examples of light horses?
Quarter Horse, Arabian, Thoroughbred
What were gated horses bred for?
“smooth movement”, light
What is the height of gated horses?
14.3-17h
What is the weight of gated horses?
1,000-1,500 lbs
What are examples of gates horses?
American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse, Standardbred
What were warmbloods bred for?
riding-dressage, jumping (Olympics)
What are characteristics of warmbloods?
moderate frame, heavier boned
How are warmbloods bred?
hot blood x cold blood
What are examples of warmbloods?
Hanoverian, Dutch Warmblood, Trakehner
What are ponies bred for?
draft and riding
What is the height of warmbloods?
16-18h
What is the weight of warmbloods?
1,200-1,700 lbs
What are examples of ponies?
Shetland, Welsh, Hackney
What is the height of ponies?
<14.2h
What is the weight of ponies?
500-900 lbs
What kinds of function can ponies also have?
light or draft
What is a miniature horse?
has the conformation more of a horse versus a pony
When were miniature horses first bred?
1600’s
What is the height of miniature horses?
8.5-9.5 h
What are other examples of Equids?
Donkey, Jerusalem Donkey, Mammoth Jack, Wild
What is the height of a Mammoth Jack?
13.2h
What are other equids bred for?
draft and riding
What countries rank in top total equids?
China, Russia, Mexico, United States
What are the top states in total horses?
Texas, California, Florida, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri
What are the bottom states in total horses?
Rhode Island, District of Columbia
What has negatively affected equine populations?
motor vehicles, decrease in war, 1986 Tax Reform Act
What did the 1986 Tax Reform Act do?
it reduced tax reduction from losses from 70 to 28%, which discouraged people from buying horses
What are the two types of social behavior for horses?
Type II and Type I
What is Type II social behavior?
territorial (solitary)
What is Type I social behavior?
herd bound (social)
What is an example of a equine with Type II behavior?
Grevy’s Zebra (Imperial Zebra)
What does cursorial mean?
have limbs adapted for running and speed
What makes a horse cursorial?
vision, digestive system, O2 capacity, Limb anatomy, conformation
Where are horse’s eyes located? What does this allow for?
sides of head, 357 degree vision
What kind of vision do horses have?
stereoscopic
What is stereoscopic vision?
long range depth perception, poor short range depth perception, two blind spots
What is accommodation in terms of vision?
degree of lens ability to change shape?
What is diopter?
optical power of lens
How much diopters do humans have?
10-12
How much diopters do horses have?
1-2
What is a result of the horse diopters?
fixed, greater clarity at distances
What are cones in humans like?
optic fovia, dense and high numbers
What are cones in most animals like?
horizontal split, spread out and lower numbers
What are rods in humans like?
fewer
What are rods in most animals like?
more
What is the function of rods?
responsible for vision in low light
What is the function of cones?
active at high light levels
What does the tapetum do?
cause light to reflect back in eyes at night
What kind of color vision do humans have?
trichromic
What kind of color vision do horses have?
dichromic
What colors/wavelengths do humans see?
blue (short wavelength), green (middle wavelength), red (long wavelength)
What colors/wavelengths do horses see?
blue (short wavelength), yellow/red (middle/long wavelength)
What are the characteristics of the equine eye?
greater low light vision, limited color vision, limited accommodation (distance focused)
What is a characteristics of horse limbs?
increased length of limbs
What are positives of horses’ limbs?
increase height, increase stride length
What does increasing height help?
vision
What does increasing stride length help?
potential to increase speed
How do you calculate speed?
speed=stride length x frequency of stride
What are negatives of horses’ limbs?
increase weight, higher center of gravity
What does increasing weight result in?
slower movement
What does a higher center of gravity result in?
stability problems
What are the two types of solutions to problems that arise from horses’ limbs?
weight and stability
What weight solutions are there to problems that arise from horses’ limbs?
eliminate excess weight (bone and muscle)
What stability solutions are there to problems that arise from horses’ limbs?
semi-flexible spine, fusion of radius/ulna, fusion of tibia/fibula, fibrous capsule attached to both bones and collateral ligaments
What are the two ways muscles can move?
flexion and extension
What is flexion?
when muscle contracts
What is extention?
when muscle relaxes
How does the horse digestive system compare to cattle?
feed intake is similar, horses do not eat more or less than cows
Why is a horse more efficient than cattle in terms of digestion?
feed moves faster through the digestive system
What is a characteristic of horses’ digestive system?
smaller GIT
What does a smaller GIT result in?
less mass in GIT, more muscle/unit mass vs. bovine
What is the feed capacity for horses?
35 gal
What is the feed capacity for cattle?
60 gal
What kind of digestive tract do horses have?
non-ruminant herbivore
What is oxygen used in?
ATP production
What does ATP production help with?
muscle contraction
Do horses have an increased or reduced oxygen intake? Why?
increased; position of head, length of head, and long neck
What are characteristics of a horse head?
large diameter, separate from mouth/esophagus
What is the function of the spleen in horses?
storage and release of red blood cells
What does a horse spleen weight?
15-20 pounds
What does the spleen allow the horse to do?
consistently run for a very long time and maintain speed because it can always supply O2 to muscles
What improves oxygen capacity in horses?
head anatomy and spleen
How efficient are contractions of the spleen?
15-20%
How does the spleen release red blood cells?
contracts
What happens when the spleen’s rate of contraction is slow?
low efficiency, limited work, limited heat-friction
What happens when the spleen’s rate of contraction is fast?
low efficiency, high work, high heat-friction
What happens when the spleen’s rate of contraction is moderate?
higher efficiency, moderate work, moderate heat-friction
What is horse conformation?
“putting the parts together”; function to form; evaluates a horse’s bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other.
What are two ways conformation can be bad?
sickle hocks or camp out
What does sickle hocks mean?
too much bend of lower part of leg (foot too far under the body)
What does camp out mean?
hind legs farther back than they should be
What are examples of genetic wrecks?
SCID, HYPP, Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia, Lethal White Overo Syndrome, Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency`
What is SCID?
severe combines immunodeficiency
What are characteristics of SCID?
simple recessive and lethal
What percent of horses are SCID carriers?
up tp 40%
What is SCID a result of?
deficiency in DNA protein kinase
What does Kinase do?
add phosphate
What kind of reproduction do horses do?
seasonal breeder-long day
What is a long day breeder?
breed in summer when days are longer
What is the estrous cycle of a horse?
21 days
What is the estrus of a horse?
5-7 days
What is the ovulation of a horse?
24-48 hours before end of estrus
What is the gestation of a horse?
335 days
How long is foal heat postpartum?
9-14 days
What are horses considered to have in terms of reproduction?
lowest reproduction rate
What are the 2 components that make horses have the lowest reproduction rate?
physiological and artificial (people-induced)
What physiological reasons are why horses have the lowest reproduction rate?
long gestation, seasonal breeders (long day), single bearing, long time to reach puberty and maturity
What artificial reasons are why horses have the lowest reproduction rate?
not bred based on reproduction, January 1 birth date
Why are horses given a January 1 birth date?
because they are all born in the same breeding season
