1. Horses

2. Terms  Foal: young horse – up to one year of age  Filly: young female, up to 3 years of age  Colt: young male, up to 3 years of age  Gelding: castrated male horse  Mare: mature female, 4+ years  Stallion: mature male, 4+ years

3. History & Background  Brought to North America by Columbus  Uses have varied -  Food  Military  Racing  Rodeo  Horse Shows  Agriculture  Transportation  75% of horses in US for recreation/personal pleasure  25% for ranching, racing, breeding, other commercial purposes

4. Classifications  Horses are measured in ‘hands’ – one ‘hand’ is 4 inches  Measured from ground to top of withers  14-2 hands = 58 inches  Ponies are anything under 14-2 hands  Horses are anything at or over 14-2 hands

5. Classifications, continued  Donkey – also known as burros  Jack – male donkey  Jennet – female donkey  Mule – cross between a jack & mare  Hinny – cross between a jennet & stallion

6. Growth  Foaling – giving birth  Not one particular season that’s most common for foaling like there are with livestock, although higher conception rates in spring  Wean foals around 4-6 months of age

7. Digestion & Feeding  Monogastric System BUT also hind-gut fermenters  Horses can digest more forages than other monogastrics due to larger cecums  Cecum is a section of the colon where digestive bacteria break down roughage

8. Breeds  Over 300 breeds worldwide! Appaloosa  Quarter Horse Clydesdale  Shetland Pony Paint  Tennessee Walking Horse