Domestic horses: care and maintenance

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Many centuries man goes through life side by side with a horse. This is not only a reliable helper in the household, but also an incredibly devoted friend and companion. Few people don't like horses. It is hard to remain indifferent to their deep and expressive, almost human eyes.

Horse Evolution

Domestic horses and their wild counterparts have a common ancestor. They are considered to be the animal Eohippus, which became extinct many millions of years ago. He was about the size of a small dog and had a long tail. The front paws had four toes, the hind paws had three. Scientists call the American continent the prehistoric range of Eogippus.

Descendants of Eogippus - Anchiteria appeared in the Oligocene. By the appearance of these creatures, one could judge the beginning of physiological changes in the structure. The legs lengthened, the back straightened, the body increased in size. Three-toedness was indicated, since the fourth toe on the front legs disappeared. The leg becomes adapted for fast running and strong jumping.

The next stage of evolution is hipparion, whose range is significantlyexpanded due to the migration of animals to Europe and Asia. Outwardly, the hipparion looked like modern gazelles. It was replaced by pliogippus (one-toed horses) about 4.8-5 million years ago. Hipparions during this period were not yet completely extinct, and for some time these two species lived in the vicinity of each other.

Climate change has caused the change of savannas covered with lush grasses to stony steppes. Pliohippus turned out to be more adapted to life in the updated conditions. These animals have spread to the western and eastern hemispheres. Many new species originated from the ancestor of pliohippus: zebras, tarpans, kulans, donkeys and modern domestic horses.

Breeds of modern horses

Since the man domesticated the horse, he had to work for centuries to combine its external and physiological qualities into separate breeds.

Today, domestic horses are divided into three main groups: riding horses, draft horses and ponies.

Riding breeds include the following: Russian Saddle, Holstein, Thoroughbred, Hessian, Bavarian Warmblood, Hanoverian, Akhal-Teke, Arabian and American Horse.

The most famous breeds of heavy trucks:

• Vladimirskiy;
• Soviet;
• Russian;
• Percheronian;
• Australian;
• Rhenish;
• South German heavy draft;
• Jutlandic;
• shire (the largest heavy truck in the world).

Pony are horses too

Pony are short horses for riding, their height does not exceed 150 cm, but despite their small stature, these animals are very strong and hardy. In fact, this is the same domestic horse, the description of its appearance completely coincides with the description of a large fellow. There are as many breeds of ponies as there are saddle and draft horses. Known breeds include the American Riding Pony, Australian Pony, American Miniature Horse, Barmes Pony, Bosnian Mountain Pony and many more.

Keeping a domestic horse

Keeping horses at home is not easy. This animal requires not only great attention and care, but also special conditions in order to maintain he alth and performance.

A breeder of a domestic horse should know that the animal must have its own "home" - a stable, made according to special rules. First of all, a high ceiling is required - not lower than 3 meters. Walls can be wooden or brick. The main thing is to avoid dampness and drafts. From excessive moisture in horses, hooves begin to rot. The stable should be cleaned daily, and the feeders and drinking containers should also be kept clean.

Horses in the household are used, including as a labor force. In addition, they are excellent friends and helpers in the fight against depression. You can ride a horse as much as you like. Light physical activity is only good for her.

For a horse to feel good, it does not have to live install. These animals by their nature are wild nomads, their element is fields, steppes, open spaces. A domestic horse can also live well in a pasture.

Proper feeding

All pets need quality nutrition. The horse is no exception. The volume and nature of the feed depends on the age, breed, weight and physical activity of the horse. Ideally, the diet is developed individually for each horse.

Feeding should be regular and provide the animal's body with all the substances necessary for normal activity and life.

Before and after feeding, domestic horses should rest for an hour or an hour and a half, like many other domestic animals. The horse must also drink at least three times a day, its daily water requirement is about 46 liters. On hot summer days, you need to give more water - up to 70 liters, because the horse sweats a lot and loses a lot of fluid.

When choosing food, the owner needs to know that his pet is very picky about food. The horse is demanding on the quality and purity of the feed. In other words, she won't eat anything.

Traditional horse food is straw, hay, oats. You can add silage, root crops, grass briquettes, wheat, rye, cake and meal, fodder molasses, combined feed, various vitamin supplements to it.

S alt and chalk are an integral part of the horse menu

S alt must be present in the diet of any horse. The need for an adult in this product is 30-60g per day, young animals need less s alt - up to 30 g.

Chalk serves as a source of calcium. It is ground and washed in the presence of contamination. To give chalk is mixed with any concentrated food. Horses need to eat 50-70 grams of chalk daily to maintain normal calcium levels.