Just Stallions

All horses move naturally with four basic gaits:

• the walk,
• trot or jog,
• canter or lope, and
• gallop.

Besides these basic gaits, some horses pace, instead of trot.

In addition, there are many “ambling” gaits such as the slow gait, rack, fox trot, running walk, and tölt. These special gaits are often found in specific breeds, often referred to as “gaited” horses because they naturally possess additional gaits that are approximately the same speed as the trot but smoother to ride. Technically speaking, “gaited horses” replace the standard trot (which is a 2 beat gait) with one of the four beat gaits.

Horse breeds with additional gaits that often occur naturally include:

• Tennessee Walking Horse which naturally performs a running walk;
• American Saddlebred which can be trained to exhibit a slow gait and the rack;
• Paso Fino, which has two ambling gaits, the paso corto and paso largo;
• Peruvian Paso, which exhibits the paso llano, and sobreandando;
• Icelandic horses which are known for the tölt.

The fox trot is found in several breeds, most notably the Missouri Foxtrotter.

Standardbreds, depending on bloodlines and training, may either pace or trot.

Equestrianism

Skill in horse riding, as practised under Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI; International Equestrian Federation) rules. An Olympic sport, there are three main branches of equestrianism: showjumping, dressage, and three-day eventing. Three other disciplines are under the authority of the FEI: carriage driving, endurance riding, and vaulting.

Since 1990 the world championships in all disciplines except endurance riding are held at a combined World Equestrian Games rather than staged separately as was hitherto the case. The venues for the World Equestrian Games have been Stockholm, Sweden (1990), The Hague, the Netherlands (1994), Rome, Italy (1998), and Jerez, Spain (2002).

Showjumping: is horse-jumping over a course of fences. The winner is usually the competitor with fewest ‘faults’ (penalty marks given for knocking down or refusing fences), but in timed competitions it is the competitor completing the course most quickly, additional seconds being added for mistakes.

Dressage: tests the horse’s obedience skills and the rider’s control. Tests consist of a series of movements at walk, trot, and canter, with each movement marked by judges who look for suppleness, balance, and a special harmony between rider and horse. The term is derived from the French ‘dresser’, which means training.

Three-Day Eventing: tests the all-round abilities of a horse and rider in dressage, cross-country, and showjumping.

Click here to view videos about these sports.

The major showjumping events include the World Championship, first held in 1953 for men, and in 1965 for women (although since 1978 men and women have competed together); the European Championship, first held in 1957; and the British Showjumping Derby, first held in 1962. In three-day eventing, the first Badminton Horse Trials were held in 1949 and the first World Championship in 1966.

Equestrian events have been held at the Olympic Games since 1912.

Some Common Terms

Females 4 years and over are called mares and males are stallions.

A castrated male is a gelding and is incapable to reproduce.

Reproduction

Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months but in practice are rarely allowed to breed until a minimum age of 3 years, especially females.

Horses four years old are considered mature, though the skeleton usually finishes developing at the age of six, and the precise time of completion of development also depends on the horse’s size (therefore a connection to breed exists), gender, and the quality of care provided by its owner.

Pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins are rare. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies.

Development

Depending on maturity, breed and the tasks expected, young horses are usually put under saddle and trained to be ridden between the ages of two and four.

Although Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse race horses are put on the track at as young as two years old in some countries (notably the United States), horses specifically bred for sports such as show jumping and dressage are generally not entered into top-level competition until a minimum age of four years old, because their bones and muscles are not solidly developed, nor is their advanced training complete. For endurance riding competition, horses may not compete until they are a full 60 calendar months (5 years) old.

Also, if the horse is larger, its bones are larger; therefore, not only do the bones take longer to actually form bone tissue (bones are made of cartilage in earlier stages of bone formation), but the epiphyseal plates (plates that fuse a bone into one piece by connecting the bone shaft to the bone ends) are also larger and take longer to convert from cartilage to bone as well. These plates convert after the other parts of the bones do but are crucial to development.

Horses are animals that evolved to graze. Therefore, they eat grass or hay, sometimes supplemented with grain. They require a plentiful supply of clean water, a minimum of 10 to 12 gallons per day per horse. Although horses are adapted to live outside, they require shelter from the wind and precipitation, which can range from a simple shed or shelter to an elaborate stable.

Teeth

Horses are adapted to grazing. In an adult horse, there are 12 incisors (six upper and six lower), adapted to biting off the grass or other vegetation, at the front of the mouth. There are 24 teeth adapted for chewing, the premolars and molars, at the back of the mouth. Stallions and geldings have four additional teeth just behind the incisors, a type of canine teeth that are called “tushes.” Some horses, both male and female, will also develop one to four very small vestigial teeth in front of the molars, known as “wolf” teeth, which are generally removed because they can interfere with the bit.

There is an empty inter-dental space between the incisors and the molars where the bit rests directly on the bars (gums) of the horse’s mouth when the horse is bridled.

The incisors show a distinct wear and growth pattern as the horse ages, as well as change in the angle at which the chewing surfaces meet. The teeth continue to erupt throughout life as they are worn down by grazing, and while the diet and veterinary care of the horse can affect the rate of tooth wear, a very rough estimate of the age of a horse can be made by looking at its teeth.

Digestion

A horse is a herbivore with a digestive system adapted to a forage diet of grasses and other plant material, consumed regularly throughout the day, and so they have a relatively small stomach but very long intestines to facilitate a steady flow of nutrients. A 1000 pound horse will eat between 15 and 25 pounds (approximately 7-11 kg) of food per day and, under normal use, drink 10 to 12 gallons (about 38-45 litres) of water. Horses are not ruminants, so they have only one stomach, like humans, but unlike humans, they can also digest cellulose from grasses due to the presence of a “hind gut” called the cecum, or “water gut,” that food goes through before reaching the large intestine. Unlike humans, horses cannot vomit, so digestion problems can quickly spell trouble, with colic a leading cause of death.

Horses require annual vaccinations to protect against various diseases, need routine hoof care by a farrier, and regular dental examinations from a veterinarian or a specialized equine dentist. If horses are kept inside in a barn, they require regular daily exercise for their physical health and mental well-being. When turned outside, they require well-maintained, sturdy fences to be safely contained. Regular grooming is also helpful to help the horse maintain good health of the hair coat and underlying skin.