Horses Flashcards
Around when were horses domesticated? What year?
5000 to 6000 years ago
Around 4000 BC.
What does the domestication time mean for horses?
We only domesticated them after we settled.
True or false: Horses are one of the newer mammals.
False! They are believed to be one of the oldest mammals. But, they have changed a lot!
How have horses changed from their ancient ancestors?
Remember biology.
They used to be very very small forest creatures that had toes.
During the late pleistocene era, what was there?
A wild horse and donkey like creature. Not a mule.
A long long long time ago, explain where and how wild horses were.
In the south eastern part of africa was zebras.
In the northern part of africa was asses.
in the middle east area was half-asses.
In the European area was horses.
Why are horses a little bit different than our other animals in terms of ancestory?
We are not really sure what horse or horse like animal was the foundation stock of our modern domesticated horses.
What two races of wild horses are represented in our modern horse breeds?
Przewalski horse
and
Tarpan.
What was the range of the Przewalski horse?
Mongolia. (Located above China, below Russia. On the east.)
What is an interesting fact about przewalski horses?
Up until about 20 years ago, there was believed to still be a wild herd of Przewalski horses.
What was the Tarpan’s home range?
Southern Russia, now Ukraine.
Why were horses domesticated?
Transportation and food.
True or false: The same as other animals we have discussed, horses were brought to North/south America via European and Asian explorers.
Kind of!!
Some horses were most likely already in the Americans when explorers arrived!
This is very different than the other animals we have discussed.
How do we believe horses got to the Americas?
Some wild horses crossed the Siberian Ice bridge out of Europe and asia.
The ones in America were the descendants of these.
When was the first bit used?
4000 BC.
What was the first bit made out of?
Femur bone with rope or twine around the ends.
Why is it pretty easy to figure out if certain bones are horse remains?
They would find horse equipment with it! Saddles and bits.
When was the first saddle with stirrups used?
3000 BC.
WHat was the first saddle made of?
Wood
When was military use of horses prevalent?
1000 AD
How did dressage affect domestication?
Horses had to be able to respond to seat and leg movements so hands of the rider were free for combat.
Where does dressage originate?
Military in origin. (Lipizzan, Spanish riding school.)
Horses were the first in what modern day management practice?
A.I breeding!
Oldest recorded use of AI in domesticated animals we believe.
When was AI first used? Where? Describe.
Arabic texts in 1322 describe the collection of semen from stallions to breed mares.
In the middle ages, they say they collected the sperm of the fastest and boldest horses to breed the mares.
Horses are probably the animal that is most responsible for what?
Man’s ability to populate the world.
How has the horses’ role changed? How might it be shifting back?
Nowadays, horses are more common for pleasure. Companions and casual competitions.
However, recently, in delicate logging areas, horses are used to prevent damage from big machinery.
Why might horse numbers in the US be harder to track?
They are not really used as food animals. They are sold around less.
In north carolina, where are there the most horses?
The counties that have cities! Most horse farms are clustered around cities and population centers.
Which two counties without cities that have a bunch of horses? where? Why are they set apart from the other populated counties?
Moore and cumberlin. Near the bottom right of NC.
It has big sand hills and stays very warm. Horses would be shipped down for winter training.
Why are there so many horses in Cumberlin?
A lot of military happenings! Forts! They keep horses and feed them into the military.
Since the pandemic, projected horses numbers? In NC?
Have likely gotten higher!
List the five most common registered horse breeds in NC.
Quarter Horse
Tenn. Walking horse
Arabian
Throughbred
Appaloosa.
Why is a quarter horse called a quarter horse?
They were bred to be able to run a quarter mile the fastest.
Around how many quarter horses are there registered in NC?
45,100
Around how many tenn. walking horses are there registered in NC?
11,200
Around how many Arabian horses are there in NC state?
10,100
Around how many thoroughbred horses are there in NC state registered?
9,300
Around how many appaloosa horses are there registered in NC State?
8,600
What are the 5 noises horses make?
Neigh, Nicker, Snort, Squeal, and roars.
Describe a neigh.
Greeting or separation call.
Very important to maintaining herd cohesion.
Horses also use to to call to their owners when separated or as a greeting.
Horses expect a response to this call.
How is the interspecies communication in horses different than most other animals?
We believe horses are one of the few who expect a response even if they are talking to another animal. INCLUDING humans.
Describe a nicker.
Soft care-giving or care soliciting call
Horses expect a response to this call!
When might a horse nicker?
To the person feeding them.
Describe a horses squeal.
Defensive greeting or a response in to pain.
Do NOT expect a response or reply.
Describe a horses snort. (Two)
Sharp, short, singular= alarm call
Repeated= frustration
They do not expect a response to these.
Describe a horses roar.
Stallion directed towards mare.
Can be observed in boss mares
Likely a dominance call.
They do not expect a response to these.
Which horse noises do they expect a response too? Which ones do they not?
Expect a response to neighs and nickers.
Do not expect a response to snorts, squeals, and roars.
What is the best way to figure out how a horse feels?
Position of ears.
What do ears pointed forward mean?
Interested and attentive.
What do pinned back ears mean?
Sign of aggression.
Where do submissive horses put their ears?
Rolled the ears outward.
How might a submissive horse approach another horse?
Lips retracted and teeth exposed.
Sometimes click teeth.
Describe a submissive horse posture.
Leaned back slightly, head pushed forward inline with the body.
Lips pulled back, teeth exposed, ears turned outward.
Tail down near legs.
Describe a dominant horse posture.
Leaned forward slightly, neck extended and head down slightly. Ears may be pinned in aggression.
Tail perked out.
Is smell important to horses? Why or why not?
Yes! Horses use smells for social and reproductive behaviors. Through pheromones.
How do horses pick up on pheromones?
Vono-nasal organ. Below the nasal cavity but above the mouth.
WHat is the flehmen response?
Upper lip curled up to sample the air for pheromones.
Describe how the flehmen response work?
Underneath the nasal cavity is the vomeronasal organ.
There is a small opening in the roof of the mouth.
The horse opens its mouth and curls its lip, This closes the nostrils and forces the air into the correct cavity.
the air goes through the roof opening and into the organ to test it for pheromones.
What is puberty a function of in horses?
breed and season of birth.
When do light breeds achieve puberty? The average? What is this dependent on?
12-24 months. (Average 15)
This is dependent on the month of the year! Horses can not achieve puberty unless it is breeding season.
When do draft breeds achieve puberty? The average? What is this dependent on?
18-24 months (Average 20 months)
This is dependent on the month of the year! Horses can not achieve puberty unless it is breeding season.
What is the horse breeding season? Why is this not always true?
April to December.
Horses’ breeding season is dependent on light. Different places get different levels of light at different times of the year!
Also, horses have individual responses to light levels. It is not super uniform!
A foal is born in April. She is a light breed. When is she likely to reach puberty? Explain.
The mare was bred in May.
The breeding season starts in Aprill, which is about 12 months away from when the foal was born.
The foal will likely achieve puberty in April or may, shortly after she turns 12 months.
A foal is born in October. She is a light breed. When is she likely to reach puberty? Explain.
The mare was bred in November.
The breeding season starts in April- December
The foal was born in October.
Puberty is likely to occur closer to 17-18 months?
Explain horses breeding season.
Horses are long day breeders.
When there is a lot of light, serotonin is created in the body.
In horses, serotonin stimulates the LH and FSH and encourages estrus.