Know Horses

Horses are classified as animals and are a member of the Equidae family. Horses have many different uses in modern society and are used as both domesticated work animals and also as pets.

It is believed that horses were first domesticated around 4000 BC, but it was not until 2000 BC that the use of domesticated horses became popular in Eurasia.

Almost all horses today are domesticated and are used for riding, faming, or as show horses but there is one species of horse known as Prezewalski’s Horses that are still undomesticated although they are an endangered horse species. Of course, there are feral horses that run free around the world as well.

The average horse lifespan is anywhere from 25 to 30 years although the type of horse breed plays a large role in the lifespan. There are more than 300 breeds across the globe today.
Like humans, there is different horse temperaments with three temperaments defined individually: hot bloods, cold bloods, and warmbloods.

Warmbloods are the most popular horses in Europe and are essentially those that are used for riding. Popular breeds of warmbloods include the Hanoverian and Trakehner.

Hot bloods are horses that are known for their great endurance and speed are the type of horses that are ridden in races and on racetracks for the purpose of racing. Red Rum is one of the most famous racehorses known for his great speed on the track.

These horses are known to be highly sensitive and have a lot of energy. Some popular hot blood breeds of horses are Thoroughbreds and Barb horses.

Cold bloods are horses that are used for working such as draft horses and in some cases also ponies. They also are known for being calm and quiet horses. Popular breeds of cold bloods include the Clydesdale, Shire, and Belgian horses.

Today the role of horses is greatly diversified from when they were first domesticated and is it not uncommon to see horses that are used in the police forces, entertainment industry on the race tracks, agricultural on farms for plowing, and even as an aid in therapy.

Horses are social animals that like to be around other species of animals as well as humans. They can communicate in a variety of ways including whinnying, through body language, and by mutual grooming. Horses that are left isolated often become sickly and depressed as well as malnourished since they will choose not to eat.