The horse has been with man throughout history and has served a variety of practical purposes, most notably horses have been used as a means of transport but also as a work horse in agriculture. The horse is one of the most beautiful and complex animals and has fascinated mankind for many thousands of years.

Today, the power, agility, gracefulness and speed of the horse means that horses are mostly used for personal pleasure and utilised in competitions.

History Of The Horse

Drawings of the horse dated around 3000 BC exist and the book of Job refers to the horse and his rider hunting ostriches. Cave drawings from the Bronze age depict horses pulling chariots. The earliest records of horses being ridden were found in a tomb in Egypt dated to 1600 BC.

The first written text about the horse was produced in 1400 BC and concerned the training of chariot horses and around 360BC Xenophon wrote "The Art of Horsemanship", which is still relevant for today and covers riding the horse as well as its care and the pshycology of the horse.

Around the 4th century horses were being ridden in saddles with stirrups which was an asiatic invention widely adopted after the time of Charlemagne and allowed for the development of mounted knights.

Anatomy Of The Horse

The term used for height is "hands high" or "hh". Often the height is just over a number of hands eg 16 hands and 2 inches and the height is referred to as 16.2 hh. Particularly small ponies are often measured in centimetres and with Europeanisation horses are also now being measured in centimetres.

When measuring a horse or pony it is best to ensure they are stood squarely on solid ground as this will give the most accurate measurement. There are tape measures marked out in hands which can be used but it is difficult to ensure these are held straight and then judge the mark as the tape has to be held some distance away from the withers.

Measuring sticks are the best way of measuring a horse. These consist of a large wooden "ruler" marked out in hands with another piece of wood at right angles which can be lowered to sit on the horse or pony's withers ensuring an accurate reading.

GENDER OF THE HORSE OR PONY
Filly - A female horse or pony not yet full grown
Colt - A male horse or pony not yet full grown or gelded (castrated)
Mare - A fully grown female horse or pony
Stallion - A fully grown male horse or pony that has not been gelded (castrated)
Gelding - A male horse or pony that has been castrated
Rig - A male horse or pony who has either one or both testes undescended and retained in the abdomen

Classification Of The Horse

The domestic horse/pony is scientifically classified as follows:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Species: Equus caballus

Perissodactyla means "odd toed" and rhinos and tapirs belong to this order as well as horses.

The Equidae family consists of horses, asses and zebras and there are 9 species within this genus and the domestic horse or pony is "Equus caballus". The Equidae family have a mane, 40-42 teeth, and skulls with long nasal bones. They are herd animals and fast runners prefering to flee from danger rather than face it. The Equidae family are herbivores

Behaviors Of The Horse

Horses and Ponies are herd animals and used to living as part of a group, feeling secure in the company of other equines and familiar surroundings. They are timid by nature and their natural reaction to danger is to flee.

The horse's sense of hearing is very acute and its sense of smell is also good enabling it to sense danger some distance away.

A horse is a very senstive animal and able to sense the feelings of those nearby particularly hestiation, fear, confidence and anger.

HORSE BODY LANGUAGE
The horse can indicate its own feelings in a number of ways and the ears are a good indication of what is going through a horse's mind.

Ears Alert and Foward
Ears pricked alert and facing foward indicate the horse is happy and interested.

Ears Flat Back
Ears laid flat back against the neck show the horse is unhappy or annoyed.

Ears Lowered
Ears lowered slightly to the sides show the horse is relaxed, bored or could indicate that it feels unwell.

Flickering Eears
Flickering ears indicate the horse is listening and attentive.

HORSE INTELLEGANCE
Horses are intelligent although some are undoubtedly more intelligent than others. They have the ability to learn but also the ability to work things out for themselves such as opening stable bolts, freeing themselves from accidents in the field, etc.

A horse is a fast learner with correct and consistent training. Horses will also learn their daily routine and come to know when it is feeding time, or when they can expect treats, etc.

Horses are easily upset but reward training can overcome many problems. Horses make associations with many things and these associations can cause problems - for example if a horse is kicked when mounted a few times it will start to associate being mounted with being kicked and may become reluctant to be mounted. Often problems can be traced to unpleasant experiences and work done to rectify the association. A task or experience which the horse considers unpleasant can be overcome by feeding treats or using something else to give the horse something nice to associate with the unpleasant experience. This can then help to turn the unpleasant experience into a pleasant one. Force and punishment may cause the horse to resent such a task or experience further and so worsen the situation.

Horses can be taught to recognise short words and their meaning but the tone in which commands are given is also important and should remain consistent with the associated word.

COLORS & MARKINGS

There are various colours of horses and ponies and below you will find descriptions and photographs of the various horse and pony colours.

Bay - horses run from light reddish or tan shades to dark brown and mahogany/auburn shades. Bay horses always have black points (legs, muzzle, mane and tail, and the tips of their ears are black). Many bay horses have black legs that are covered by white markings.

Dun - horses have a sandy/yellow to reddish/brown coat. Their legs are usually darker than their body and sometimes have faint "zebra" stripes on them. Dun horses always have a "dorsal" stripe, which is a dark stripe down the middle of their back. Sometimes the dorsal stripe continues down the horse's dock and tail, and through the mane. Many dun colored horses also have face masking, which makes the horse's nose and sometimes the rest of the face a darker color than the horse's body.

Roan - horses have otherwise solid colored coats, but with white hairs interspersed. The white hairs are not actual spots, but single white hairs mixed with the darker coat color. You'll find descriptions and pictures of some common roan colors below. The Roan Gene can be applied to any color of horse. The most common are Red Roans, Bay Roans and Blue Roans. There are also Palomino Roans, Red Dun Roans, Dun Roans, Buckskin Roans, etc. The Roan gene adds white hairs into the body of the horse. The legs and head are not affected and will remain darker then the body. The mane and tail are usually not affected, but some may have some white hairs mixed in.

Bay Roan - A Bay Roan is a horse with a bay coat and the roan gene. The roan gene gives the horse interspersed white hairs on his body. The Bay roan sometimes looks very similar to a red roan or a blue roan.

Red Roan - A Red Roan (sometimes called "Strawberry Roan") is a chestnut or sorrel horse with the roan gene. The roan gene gives the horse interspersed white hairs on his body.

Blue Roan - A Blue Roan is a black horse with the roan gene. The roan gene gives the horse interspersed white hairs on his body.

Gray - Horses have black skin with white or gray hair. Many horse people will call a gray horse "white", but if their skin is dark, they are gray! Gray horses are born dark, sometimes black or brown, and their hair coat turns lighter as they grow older.

Light Gray- This is the type of horse that people mistake for "white". This horse is a light gray, not white. See how the skin (around his nose, inside his ears, and between his hind legs) is black? That is how you can tell that this horse is really a light gray.

Dapple Gray - A dapple is like a small, white "eraser" mark. Dapple gray horses usually have dapples throughout their entire body, often with darker colored points.

Fleabitten Gray - A fleabitten gray is a horse with a light gray body, but with little speckles of black and/or brown. These speckles are like tiny dots that are pretty much evenly distributed throughout the horse's body. Don't get this color confused with roans or appaloosa coat patterns!

Steel Gray - Steel gray horses are a dark gray, silver color. The horse has a black base coat with lightly mixed white/gray hairs. Many steel gray horses lighten and turn into a dapple gray or a light gray with age.

Rose Gray - Medium gray whose hairs are tinted with red. This type of hair gives the horse a light "rose" tint. Rose gray horses often have points that are darker than their body color, including mane and tail.

Buckskin - Horses are a light-to-dark sandy yellow or tan color with all black points. Buckskins are very similar to duns, however, buckskins do not have a dorsal stripe or other "primitive" markings that are shown in the dun color.

Champagne - Colored horses are born with bright pink skin which remains pink their entire life. What really distinguishes the champagne color from other colors is that champagne foals are born with bright blue eyes. Their eyes will usually change color as they age, but this takes a long time - whereas in other colors, the color of the eye changes more rapidly. The eye color will usually change from light blue to a hazel/green color. Champagne colored foals are born with a darker coat than their future adult coat will be, and all Champagne horses have at least 1 Champagne parent.

White - Horses Dominant Whites are very rare and must have a white parent. They have pink skin, usually hazel or brown eyes and white hair. There are also Sabino Whites which can pop up in any breed that has the Sabino gene, this includes Arabs, Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Paints, Tennessee Walkers, Saddlebreds, and more. A Sabino White is what we call a maximal pinto, just imagine that the white markings on the horse are so big they cover the entire horse. Sabino Whites also have white hair, sometimes with a few dark hairs on the poll or ears, pink skin and dark eyes.

Palomino - Horses have gold-colored coat with a white or light cream colored mane and tail. The Palomino's coat can range from a light off-white shade to a deep shade of gold.

Grullo/Grulla - Horses body color smoky or mouse colored (not a mixture of black and white hairs, but each individual hair is mouse colored) Usually has a dorsal stripe, shoulder striping or shadowing and black leg barring on lower legs. Within this definition there are variations of the color often refered to as slate grulla, silver grulla, olive grulla, black dun or wolf dun. The grullo color in the quarter horse is very rare and only about 0.7% of those registered in the quarter horse breed each year are grullo.

Chestnut - (also known as "sorrel"), Is reddish brown. The points (mane, tail, legs and ears) are the same color as the horse's body (other than white markings). Chestnuts range from light yellowish brown to a golden-reddish or dark liver color. All chestnuts have shades of red in their coats.

Red Chestnut - Bright reddish and/or orange shades. This color is very appealing since it is usually bright and shiny, and very saturated. The red chestnut always has red highlights that really stand out.

Light Chestnut - Light reddish-brown. Light chestnuts do not usually have points that are lighter than their body. The tips of their manes and tails may be lighter, but the base is the same color. If their mane/tail/legs etc. are significantly lighter than their body, they might be a flaxen chestnut or palomino.

Flaxen Chestnut - Flaxen chestnuts are a chestnut colored body with a light flaxen (cream/off- white) colored mane and tail. Legs and tip of ears are the same color as the horse's body. Many people get confused between flaxen chestnut, light chestnut and palomino. This horse is a flaxen chestnut.

Liver Chestnut - A liver chestnut is the darkest of the chestnut colors. Liver chestnuts do not have black points.

Cremellos and Perlinos - Are "double diluted" which means they have two copies of the creme gene instead of one like a Palomino or Buckskin. In other words a Palomino is a "chestnut" with one creme gene and a Cremello is a "chestnut" with two creme genes. A Buckskin is a "bay" with one creme gene and a Perlino is a "bay" with two creme genes. Cremellos and Perlinos have pink skin and blue eyes. Their hair coats are not white but are of a light creme color. Some can be so light they appear to be white but if you compare them to a true white horse you will see that they are actually creme. Cremellos will have white manes and tails while Perlinos will have darker points, as a Buckskin would, but on a Perlino the points are orangish.

Black - Horses have pure black coats with no signs of brown or any other color. Many horse-people mistake dark bays or liver chestnuts for black. If you can see any other color (with the exception of white markings) on the horse's coat in the winter, he is not a true black. The reason I say "in the winter" is because the sun tends to lighten a dark horse's coat in the summer, and the exception is when the hair has been sun-burnt.

The Appaloosa - Coat pattern is not really a specific color, it is actually a horse breed! Some rare appaloosas don't have any spots at all, while most have numerous spots all over their bodies. Below are the basic coat patterns found in the appaloosa breed.

Leopard: Large spots all over (dark spots on a light base coat)
Snowflake: Large spots all over (light spots on a dark base coat)
Blanket: White on hips and loins with or without spots
Marble: Small dark sprinkles on a light base coat
Frost: Small light sprinkles on a dark base coat

Paint Pinto - Coat patterns What is the difference between a Paint and a Pinto? A Paint is a specific breed of horse, bred for the conformation and musculature similar to a Quarter Horse, and also bred for unique coloring. Paint horses aren't always colored, some turn out solid but may still carry the genes needed to have colored offspring. Pinto, on the other hand, is ANY breed of horse exhibiting the colorations below (Common breeds that you may see exhibiting these colors are Arabian, Saddlebred, Mustang, Icelandic Horse, and many others).

Tobiano - Tobiano is a dominant color pattern, and is most common. A tobiano generally has four white legs, at least below the hocks and knees. The dark color of the pattern is usually covering one or both flanks and the spots are regular and distinct (smooth ovals or round patterns that extend down over the neck, chest, and/or shoulders giving the appearance of a "war shield"). Generally, face markings are just like a solid-colored horse (solid, blaze, strip, star or snip) and body color may be either predominantly dark or white. The mane and tail is usually mixed of two colors. A majority of tobianos have spots that are smooth-edged and not jagged like most overos, and many have white over their back and/or neck.

Overo - On an Overo colored horse, the white will not usually cross the back of the horse between the withers and tail. It is desirable for all four legs to be dark, or at least one. Face markings are usually bald-faced, apron-faced or bonnet- faced. The white color throughout the overo's body is generally irregular or sometimes 'jagged' instead of forming smooth lines between the colors.

Sabino Overo - Appears speckled or "roany", mostly near the spot's edges. This is the most common overo pattern. Sabinos often have spotted or roan-like facial markings, which can look quite wild. It is rare to find a sabino with a normal star or stripe for a facial marking. Another distinct characteristic of the sabino, is that they generally have three or four white legs.

Frame Overo - White spots along the horse's barrel, with a "frame" of darker color around the white. Over 95% of all frame overos are solid colored along the back from the withers to the tail, and it is uncommon for the mane to be of mixed color.

Splash White Overo - This is a very rare overo color pattern. In my opinion, splash white overos look like a reverse-colored Tobiano...with smooth-edged color patterns, and with a white "shield" in the front covering the shoulders and bottom of the neck being a common trait. Splash whites generally have light-to-medium blue eyes. It is also common for splash whites to have 4 white legs.

Tovero - This color pattern most commonly comes from crossing a Tobiano horse with an Overo colored horse. In most cases, the result will be a mix of the two color patterns. For example: a tobiano with bald-face or apron-face markings, will most likely be called a "tovero". Or, some overos with a large amount of white color in their manes or past the withers are sometimes considered to be a tovero. However, some overos or tobianos will appear to be toveros even when they aren't genetically a tovero...this is the most confusing color pattern, indeed.

FACIAL MARKINGS
Blaze
A broad white mark down the face, extending over the nose.

Snip
White mark between the nostrils, sometimes extending into the nostrils.

Star
A white mark on the forehead.

Stripe
A narrow white mark down the face.

White Face
White mark over the forehead, nose and part of the muzzle.

Wall Eye
An eye which shows white or blue-white colouring.

White Nostril
White markings around the nostrils, similar to a snip.

White Muzzle
A completely white muzzle.

Mealy Muzzle
A light brown muzzle area; often seen in the Exmoor Pony.

Lip Marks
White markings on or around the lips.

Wall Eye
Usually one of the eyes has white or blue-white coloring instead of the normal eye color.

Sclera
The outer membrane of the eyeball is white and is often seen in the Appaloosa.

LEG MARKINGS
White Sock
Front or hind limbs are white from the coronet band upward to any point below the knee or hock.

White Stocking
Front or hind limb are white from the coronet band upward to above the knee or hock.

White Fetlock
A white mark extending as far up as the part named.

White Pastern
A white mark extending as far up as the part named.

White Coronet
A white mark extending as far up as the part named.

Ermie Marks
Black or brown dots that appear on or around the coronet or pastern on the white sock.

Zebra Marks
Rings of dark hair appearing round the lower leg, which are associated with primitive or feral breeds.

BODY MARKINGS
Black Points, Black socks or stockings, black mane and tail, black muzzle, and black tips to the ears, often seen on bay horses.

Flaxen Mane And Tail
The mane and tail are a light cream color; often seen on chestnut horses.

Dorsel or eel stripe
Black or dark brown stripe that extends from the withers along the backbone and down into the tail; often seen of dun horses.

Dapples
Dark circles or rings that appear over lighter areas of the body.

Whorls
Sometimes called "cowlicks" these are patterns formed by irregular hair growth often resembling a rosette-type formation with the hair growing up and out from a central point.

HOOF MARKINGS
Blue Hoof
The hooves are of a slate blue-black color. Blue hooves are considered denser and stronger than white hooves, although there is no scientific proof to substantuate this.

White Hoof
The hoof has white horn; this is often seen were there is a white marking, such as a sock or stocking on the leg.

Striped Hoof
The hoof has vertical black and white stripes running down them; this is often associated with Appaloosa and other spotted horses.

Blood Types

Coldblooded
Originated in Northern Europe and is typified by heavy draft horses. They are big strong-bodied horses with a calm and docile temperment.

Hotblooded
Typified by the Arab or the Akhal-Teke. This is a fine boned and fast horse, often with a fiery temperament. Having originated in desert climates, they are resistant to extreme heat and comonly have a very thin skin and coat.

Warmblooded
Is a mixture of the hot and coldblooded, with ancestors from both hot and cold blood types, and is typtified by the Trakehner and Danish Warmblood.

Horse Breeds

The term breed describes a group of animals that share destinctive inherited characteristics. Each breed has common ancestors, and therefore has a similar genetic makeup.

THE HEAVY HORSE
Heavy horse or draft describes the horse breeds that are the most suited to heavy draft and farm work. They differ in conformation and temperment to the light horses. For centuries the draft horsewas indispensable to farming and industry and is still used in some countries today. However since the arrival of mechanization many of these breeds are in danger of disappearing.

THE LIGHT HORSE
The term light horse really is a very broad label covering those breeds of horses that are suitable to be ridden. Within this group, there are breeds that are naturally much finer and of lighter bone than others, as well as many breeds that are suitable for both riding and driving.

THE PONY
Ponies are classified in two ways. Either by height alone, or by height confirmation, characteristics typical of a pony. A pony can be classified as any equine that stands under 14.2 hands.