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Stallion: a non-castrated male
horse four years old and older. Some people, particularly in the UK, refer to a stallion as a "
horse." A Ridgling or "Rig" is a stallion which has an undescended testicle. If both testicles are not descended, the
horse may appear to be a gelding, but will still behave like a stallion. 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.
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, endurance riding, 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. 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 . In the case of a specialized sprinting breed, the American Quarter
horse, speeds over have been clocked. In harness racing, performed by Standardbred
horses, speeds over have been measured. A major part of the economic importance of
horse racing, as for many sports, lies in the gambling associated with it. Yearling: a
horse of either sex that is between one and two years old. All
horses move naturally with four basic gaits: the four-beat walk, the two-beat trot or jog, and the leaping gaits known as the canter or lope (a three-beat gait), and the gallop. Besides these basic gaits, some
horses perform a two-beat pace, instead of the trot. In addition, there are several four-beat "ambling" gaits that are approximately the speed of a trot or pace, though smoother to ride. These include the lateral slow gait, rack, running walk, and tölt as well as the diagonal fox trot. Ambling gaits are often genetic traits in specific breeds, often referred to as gaited
horses. In most cases, gaited
horses replace the standard trot, a 2-beat gait, with one of the four beat gaits. Gelding: a castrated male
horse of any age, though for convenience sake, many people also refer to a young gelding under the age of four as a "colt."
Filly: a female
horse under the age of four.
The size of
horses varies by breed, but can also be influenced by nutrition. The general rule for cutoff in height between what is considered a
horse and a pony at maturity is 14.2 hands as measured at the withers. An animal 14.2h or over is usually considered a
horse and one less than 14.2h is a pony. However, there are exceptions to the general rule. Some smaller
horse breeds who typically produce individual
horses both under and over 14.2h are considered "
horses" regardless of height. Likewise, some pony breeds, such as the Welsh pony, share some features of
horses and individual animals may occasionally mature at over 14.2h, but are still considered ponies.
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, endurance riding, 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. The
horse (Equus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten living species of the family Equidae. It is thought that the largest
horse in (recorded) history was a Shire
horse named Sampson, who lived during the late 1800s. He stood 21.2˝ hands high and his peak weight was estimated at . The current record holder for the world's smallest
horse is Thumbelina, a fully mature miniature
horse affected by dwarfism. She is tall and weighs .
horses and humans have lived and worked together for thousands of years and an extensive specialized vocabulary has arisen to describe virtually every
horse behavioral and anatomical characteristic with a high degree of precision. Mare: a female
horse four years old and older.