Horses/Equine: EXAM #3

one “hand”

4 inches in height, measure from the ground to the withers

equus caballus

horse scientific name

light horses

• medium-sized

• 14.2-17.2 hands high

• 1000-1200 lbs.

• arabian (oldest), thoroughbred (popular English), quarter horse (popular American)

purebred

• true breeding (any breed)

• eligible to be registered in most cases (can register if both sire and dam are)

thoroughbred

• average height = 16 hands high

• not “stocky”

american quarter horse

• “stocky”

arabian horse

• “dished” face = refers to concave shape of the forehead

• high tail carriage

draft horses (LARGE)

• sometimes called “cold blood” horses

• usually tall

• weigh over 1400 lbs (usually more)

ponies

small, mature size. less than 14.2 hands high

t/f: donkeys and mules are types of equines, NOT horses

true

equus asinus (asses)

scientific name

jack

adult male donkey

jenny

adult female donkey

mule

• a cross between donkey’s and horses

• breed a jack to a mare

• larger than a donkey, long ears

• sterile (can’t reproduce)

hinny

• breed a stallion to a jenny

• more difficult to produce than mules

• not as hardy as mules and not as common

• sterile (can’t reproduce)

number of chromosomes that horses have

64, 32 pairs

number of chromosomes that donkeys have

62, 31 pairs

number of chromosomes that crosses have

meiosis doesn’t work to produce sperm and eggs

how to lead a horse

walk on the left side

t/f: horses have excellent night vision. let the horse “have his head” for night riding

true

t/f: horses have poor depth perception

true

t/f: horse has excellent peripheral vision

true

t/f: horses large eye detects motion between than humans

true

binocular

better depth perception

monocular

poor depth perception

mutual grooming

• natural for horses to want to nibble each other

• horse may nibble YOU when grooming (thinks it is a compliment)

t/f: horses bond to each other

true

t/f: whinny when horses are seperatedseparated

true

t/f: will try to cross fences (may get hurt) to reach their buddies in other pastures

true

t/f: most horses panic when alone

true, when riding with a friend and their horse stops to urinate, don’t leave them behind

t/f: horses are a hingut fermenter, NOT A RUMINANThindgut

true, horses have ONE stomach with a unique GI tract

horse teeth

• horses teeth keep growing

• molars don’t meet evenly, upper jaw is wider than lower jaw

• must float off (file off) the sharp points (can not chew well if this does not occur)

t/f: horses have a monogastric stomach and small intestine, a cecum (horse does not secrete anything in it, bacteria does the digestion), have a mongastric large intestine

true

colic

painful indigestion can be fatal. the intestine does a “U-turn,” if blockage occurs here it can be fatal.

internal parasites

• worms in SI can cause issues

• damages the lining of SI

• causes less surface area for absorption of nutrients

• reduced absorption means the horse is not getting nutrients out of feed

older horses

• feeding easily digested fiber that doesn’t have to be chewed helps

• also shifts the site of digestion from the small intestine to the cecum, and the microbes do all the work of digesting feed

• feeding beet pulp or soyhulls can help your older horse

t/f: a horses diet needs to be palatable

true, must not have toxins

fumonisim

mycotoxin that can be found in corn and corn screenings

t/f: horses out in nature consume a high fiber diet

true

hay

• must be free of dust and mold

• horse owners prefer to feed square bales

• sold by the bale

• often weigh 35-65 lbs.

heaves

permanent respiratory problem, similar to emphysema in humans (comes from moldy or dusty hay)

round bales

• use the horse round bale feeder (does not have bar at the top)

• be sure it is not moldy

• no more than one week’s hay at the time

pastures

• excellent source of nutrients

• over-consumption is a problem (obesity and founder)

• regularly de-worming horses on pature is very important

t/f: cattle, poultry feeds may contain ionophores (TOXIC TO HORSES)

true

body condition scoring

• visual evaluation

• scale of 1 to 9

• evaluates fat cover, not muscle or how fit it is

bs 1

emaciated, nearly dead

bs 2

very thin

bs 3

thin

bs 5

moderate (back is flat, ribs can be felt and not seen)

bs 7

fleshy, flat around tailhead, ribs can be felt but barely

9

extremely fat, obvious crease, bulging fat

breeding

• seasonal breeders

• lengthening daylight breeding

• influenced by geographic location

• periods of daylight: 15-16 hrs stimulate ovarian activity

• periods of short daylight: < 10 hours: inhibit ovarian activity

january 1st

desginated birth date of foals for some breeds in northern hemisphere

teasing

• exposing mares to stallions to determine estrus

• stallion may exhibit flehmen response after smelling mare

estrous cycle length

21 days

mares in estrus (heat)

5-7 days

ovulation

1-2 days before end of estrus (bred every other day when in heat)