Horses Flashcards
Eohippus “drawn horse” (prehistoric)
- Earliest known ancestor of modern horse
- 15’’ tall at withers
- 4 padded toes in front and 3 behind
- browser; change in teeth
Domesticated in where, when, type of animal, usage?
- In Near East
- Between 4500 and 2500 BC
- Food animal
- Work
Equus caballus
present day horse
World distribution (58 million, 2012)
- Other: 40%
- S America: 25%
- US: 15%
- China, Mexico: 10%
History of horse
Early 1500’s
- Brought to US by Spanish conquistadors
- Uses: travel, field work, war mounts, mining, pony express, sport
US Horse Industry: numbers by year, leading states?
Current horse numbers are 30% of highest head count 80 years ago
- 1915: 26 million head
- 1959: 3 million
- Today: 6.5 million
Leading States in number of horses
- TX, CA, FL, OK, KY
- WI ~14th
WI Horse Industry: NASS
National Statistics Services
- 2017, 2012, 2017, 2022: 120k, 103k, 75k, 65k
Usage: fun, riding , breeding, <10% work
Big Econ impact
-filly
Young female horse
Colt
Young male horse
Mare
Mature female horse
Gelding
mature castrated male
Foal
young horse of unknown gender
Measured at ___
withers
Measured by ____
Hands, 4 in/hand
Draft horses
- 1500-2000lbs
- large, wide, muscular
- war, hauling, farm
Light horses
- 850-1500lbs
- smaller, less muscular
- riding, driving, livestock handling