Horse | Definition, Breeds, Pictures, Evolution, & Facts | Britannica

2024.10.30 23:24


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mammal Actions Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/animal/horse Give Feedback External Websites Feedback Thank you for your feedback

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External Websites The Spruce Pets - 15 Fascinating facts about Horses Animal Diversity Web - Horse Animal Diversity Web - Equus Animal Corner - Horses Live Science - Horses: Domestic, feral and wild Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. horse - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11) horse - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Print print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/animal/horse Feedback External Websites Feedback Thank you for your feedback

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External Websites The Spruce Pets - 15 Fascinating facts about Horses Animal Diversity Web - Horse Animal Diversity Web - Equus Animal Corner - Horses Live Science - Horses: Domestic, feral and wild Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. horse - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11) horse - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Also known as: Equus caballus Written by Alois Wilhelm Podhajsky Director, Spanish Riding School of Vienna, 1939–64. Winner, Olympic Bronze Medal for Dressage (equestrian event), 1936. Author of The Complete Training of Horse and Rider and others. Alois Wilhelm Podhajsky , E. Gus Cothran Clinical Professor, Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. E. Gus Cothran • All Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Oct 26, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Key People: James Winkfield Jerry D. Bailey D. Wayne Lukas Victor Espinoza Gary Stevens (Show more) Related Topics: American Quarter Horse Thoroughbred American Saddlebred horse Przewalski’s horse horse breeds (Show more) On the Web: Animal Diversity Web - Equus (Oct. 26, 2024) (Show more) See all related content Ask the Chatbot a Question Ask the Chatbot a Question

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How horses can soothe the soul and help your mental health • Oct. 10, 2024, 12:39 AM ET (CNN) Show less

horse , ( Equus caballus ), a hoofed herbivorous mammal of the family Equidae . It comprises a single species , Equus caballus , whose numerous varieties are called breeds. Before the advent of mechanized vehicles , the horse was widely used as a draft animal , and riding on horseback was one of the chief means of transportation .

General features

prehistoric cave painting in Lascaux A cave painting in Lascaux, near Montignac, France, depicting a bull and a horse. (more)

In prehistoric times the wild horse was probably first hunted for food . Research suggests that domestication had taken place by approximately 6,000 years ago. It is supposed that the horse was first used by a tribe of Indo-European origin that lived in the steppes north of the chain of mountains adjacent to the Black and Caspian seas. Influenced by climate , food, and humans , the horse rapidly acquired its present form.

Clydesdales A team of Clydesdales pulling a plow at a draft horse demonstration. (more)

The relationship of the horse to humans has been unique. The horse is a partner and friend. It has plowed fields and brought in the harvest, hauled goods and conveyed passengers, followed game and tracked cattle , and carried combatants into battle and adventurers to unknown lands. It has provided recreation in the form of jousts , tournaments, carousels, and the sport of riding . The influence of the horse is expressed in the English language in such terms as chivalry and cavalier , which connote honor, respect, good manners, and straightforwardness.

Pompeii: mosaic of Alexander the Great Mosaic of Alexander the Great discovered in the House of the Faun, Pompeii, Italy. (more)

The horse is the “proudest conquest of Man,” according to the French zoologist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon . Its place was at its master’s side in the graves of the Scythian kings or in the tombs of the pharaohs . Many early human cultures were centred on possession of the horse. Superstition read meaning into the colous of the horse, and a horse’s head suspended near a grave or sanctuary or on the gables of a house conferred supernatural powers on the place. Greek mythology created the Centaur , the most obvious symbol of the oneness of horse and rider. White stallions were the supreme sacrifice to the gods, and the Greek general Xenophon recorded that “gods and heroes are depicted on well-trained horses.” A beautiful and well-trained horse was, therefore, a status symbol in ancient Greece. Kings, generals, and statesmen, of necessity, had to be horsemen. The names of famous horses are inseparably linked to those of their famous riders: Bucephalus, the charger of Alexander the Great ; Incitatus, once believed to have been made a senator by the Roman emperor Caligula ( see Researcher’s Note ); El Morzillo, Hernán Cortés’s favorite horse, to whom the Indians erected a statue; Roan Barbery, the stallion of Richard II , mentioned by Shakespeare ; Copenhagen, the duke of Wellington’s horse, which was buried with military honors.

jade horse head Jade horse head, Chinese, Han dynasty (206 bce –220 ce ); in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Height 19 cm. (more)

The horse has occupied a special place in the realm of art. From Stone Age drawings to the marvel of the Parthenon frieze , from Chinese Tang dynasty tomb sculptures to Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and Andrea del Verrocchio’s Colleoni, from the Qurʾān to modern literature , the horse has inspired artists of all ages and in all parts of the world.

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The horse in life has served people in travels, wars , and labours and in death has provided many commodities . Long before their domestication , horses were hunted for their flesh, and horsemeat is still consumed by people in parts of Europe and in Iceland and is included in many pet foods. Horse bones and cartilage are used to make glue . Tetanus antitoxin is obtained from the blood serum of horses previously inoculated with tetanus toxoid. From horsehide a number of articles are manufactured, including fine shoes and belts. The cordovan leather fabricated by the Moors in Córdoba , Spain, was originally made from horsehide. Fur coats are made of the sleek coats of foals. Horsehair has wide use in upholstery , mattresses, and stiff lining for coats and suits; high-quality horsehair, usually white, is employed for violin bows. Horse manure , which today provides the basis for cultivation of mushrooms , was used by the Scythians for fuel. Mare’s milk was drunk by the Scythians, the Mongols , and the Arabs .

Form and function

1 of 2 horse anatomy Skeleton (top) and external structure (bottom) of the horse. (more) 2 of 2 horse hoof Hoof of a horse. (more)

A mature male horse is called a stallion , the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly called a gelding . Formerly, stallions were employed as riding horses, while mares were kept for breeding purposes only. Geldings were used for work and as ladies’ riding horses. Recently, however, geldings generally have replaced stallions as riding horses. Young horses are known as foals ; male foals are called colts and females fillies.

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