The Horse

Equus ferus caballus

Emily Wheiler
BIOL 1010 020
SLCC Spring 2016
ANATOMY OF A HORSE

Horses (Equus ferus caballus) are an odd-toed ungulate mammal,

meaning they walk on a single hoof, rather than multiple toes like a cow
or deer, which have split hooves. The evolution of the horse, a mammal
of the family Equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million
years, transforming the small, dog-sized, forest-dwelling Eohippus into
the modern horse. They are herbivories, and their diet consists mainly
of grass and hay. Theyre very sure-footed animals and can travel up to
30-40 miles a day.

Stallion: A non-castrated male horse

four years old and older.
Gelding: A castrated male horse of
any age.
Mare: A female horse four years old
and older
Depending on care, a domestic horse
has a life expectancy of 25-30 years.
(Ensminger, 1963).

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae

Horse age and terminology:

Genus: Equus

Foal: A horse of either sex less than

one year old.

Species: E. ferus

Colt: A male horse under the age of

four.

Subspecies: E. f. caballus

Above: A diagram of a horses hoof. Like

Filly: A female horse under the age of a fingernail, a hoof grows continuously
and needs to be trimmed down to ensure
four.
Yearling: A horse of either sex that is
between one and two years old.

proper balance of the horses legs.

Reproduction:
Gestation lasts approximately 340
days and usually results in one
foal. Foals are usually born in the
spring. Foals are generally
weaned from their mothers
between four and six months of
age (Miller, 2005).

Sleeping Patterns:
Horses are able to sleep both
standing up and lying down.
Theyre able to lock the joints in
their legs, causing them to stand
upright while they sleep. Horses
will only ever lie completely down
if they feel completely safe in
their environment.

References
Miller, Robert M., and Richard A. Lamb. The revolution in
horsemanship: and what it means to mankind. Globe Pequot,
2005.
Ensminger, M. Eugene. Horses and horsemanship. No. SF285 E53 1963.
1963.
"How Horses Sleep." How Horses Sleep. Elaine Pascoe, 3 Dec. 2002.
Web. 27 Mar. 2016.