Other members of the horse
family include zebras, donkeys, and onagers. The Donkey, Burro or Domestic Ass,
Equus asinus, like the horse, has many breeds. A mule is a hybrid of a
male ass (jack) and a mare, and is usually infertile. A hinny is the less
common hybrid of a female ass (jenny) and a stallion. Breeders have also tried
crossing various species of zebra with mares or female asses to produce
"zebra mules" (zorses, and zonkeys (also called zedonks)). This will
probably remain a novelty hybrid as these individuals tend to inherit some of
the undomesticated nature of their zebra parent, but they may inherit the
zebra's resistance to nagana pest: zorses, also called zebroids, have been used
in Central African game parks for light haulage.[citation needed]
Horses are prey animals
with a well-developed fight-or-flight instinct. Their first response to threat
is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend themselves
or their offspring in cases where flight is not possible, such as when a foal
would be threatened. Through selective breeding, some breeds of horses have
been bred to be quite docile, particularly certain large draft horses. However,
most light horse riding breeds were developed for speed, agility, alertness and
endurance; natural qualities that extend from their wild ancestors.
Horses are herd animals,
and become very attached to their species and to humans. They communicate in
various ways, such as nickering, grooming, and body language. Many horses will
become flighty and hard to manage if they are away from their herd. This is
called being "herd-bound". However, through proper training, it is
possible to teach any horse to be comfortable away from the herd.
Around the world, horses
play a role within human economies, for leisure, sport and working purposes. To
cite one example, the American Horse Council estimates that horse-related
activities have a direct impact on the economy of the United States of over $39
billion, and when indirect spending is considered, the impact is over $102 billion.[6]
In wealthier, First World,
industrialized economies, horses are primarily used in recreational pursuits
and competitive sports, though they also have practical uses in police work,
cattle ranching, search and rescue, and other duties where terrain or
conditions preclude use of motorized vehicles. In poorer, Third World
economies, they may also be used for recreational purposes by the elite
population, but serve a much wider role in working pursuits including farming, ranching
and as a means of transportation. To a very limited extent, they are also still
used in warfare, particularly in regions of extremely rugged terrain.
A youth
competitor show jumping in Denmark
Horses are trained to be
ridden or driven in many different sporting events and competitions. Examples
include horse shows, gymkhana and O-Mok-See, rodeos, fox hunting, and Olympic-level
events such as three-day eventing, combined driving, dressage, and show jumping.
Although scoring varies by event, most emphasize the horse's speed,
maneuverability, obedience and/or precision. Sometimes the equitation, the
style and ability of the rider, is also considered.
Sports such as polo and horseball
do not judge the horse itself, but rather use the horse as a partner for human
competitors as a necessary part of the game. Although the horse assists this
process and requires specialized training to do so, the details of its
performance are not judged, only the result of the rider's actions -- be it
getting a ball through a goal or some other achievement. Examples of these
sports of partnership between human and animal also include jousting
(reenacting the skills used by medieval knights), where the main goal is for
one rider to dismount the other, and buzkashi, a team game played throughout Central
Asia, the aim being to capture a goat carcass while on horseback. [7]
The most widely known use
of horses for sport is horse racing, seen in almost every nation in the world. There
are three types: "flat" racing; steeplechasing, i.e. racing over
jumps; and harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in
a small, light cart known as a sulky. Most race horses in the developed
world are Thoroughbreds, a breed which can reach speeds up to 40 mph/70 km/h.
In the case of a specialized sprinting breed, the American Quarter Horse,
speeds over 50 mph have been clocked. In harness racing, performed by Standardbred
horses, speeds over 30 mph have been measured. A major part of the economic
importance of horse racing, as for many sports, lies in the gambling associated
with it.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horse&action=history
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html