1.
Back (horse)
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These two sections of the vertebral column beginning at the withers, the start of the thoracic vertebrae, and extend to the last lumbar vertebra. Because horses are ridden by humans, the strength and structure of the back is critical to the animals usefulness. Integral to the structure is the rib cage, which also provides support to the horse. A complex design of bone, muscle, tendons and ligaments all work together to allow a horse to support the weight of a rider, the structure of the back varies from horse to horse and varies a great deal by breed, age and condition of the animal. A horse has an total of 18 thoracic vertebrae, with 5 located in the withers. Each thoracic vertebra is also associated with a rib, a horse also has, on average, six lumbar vertebrae. Some breeds, such as the Arabian, will sometimes, there appears to be little correlation between back length and number of vertebrae, as many horses with short backs do have the typical number of vertebrae. The length of each vertebra in the region seems to have the greater influence on the strength of the horses back. Hence the entire torso is attached to the shoulders by powerful muscles, tendons, the spine of a horses back is supported by muscles, three ligaments, and abdominal muscles. The Spinalis Dorsi originates on the cervical vertebra and inserts beneath the thoracic section of the Trapezius. The Longissimus dorsi originates from the last four cervical vertebrae, and courses along the spine and this muscle contracts the spine and also raises and supports the head and neck, and is the main muscle used for rearing, kicking, jumping, and turning. It is the longest and strongest muscle in the body, and is the muscle the rider sits on, the Intercostal muscles begin at the spaces between the ribs and aid in breathing. The external and internal obliques are attached to the ribs and pelvic bones. The Supraspinous ligament begins at the poll and ends at the croup and it supports the head and neck, and its traction force aids in supporting the weaker thoracic and lumbar areas. It spreads out and attaches to the spines of the cervical vertebrae, in the wither and neck area, it is called the nuchal ligament. Horses back shape can vary greatly from horse to horse, the upper curvature of a horses withers, back, and loin is called the topline. The line of the belly from elbow to flank is the line or bottom line. In terms of the back, both are important, a long underline with a relatively short topline is ideal, the underline is where the abdominal muscles are, which, like in humans, can provide tremendous support to the back when well-conditioned
2.
Horse show
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A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels, most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. At the other end of the spectrum, Pony Club is an international movement that teaches young people riding skills suitable for eventing. To help develop positive experience and good sportsmanship, Pony Clubs also sponsor horse shows open only to people under the age of 18. Various nations also have their own programs for developing young equestrians, Horse shows in Australia are governed by Equestrian Australia, Show Horse Council of Australia and different breed societies. Much of the development of the show horse discipline was developed over the last 40 years by Fran Cleland through her involvement with the Equestrian Federation of Australias Victorian branch, the governing body for Equestrian activities in Canada is Equine Canada. In the United Kingdom there is a difference between horse competitions such as dressage or eventing and horse shows. Horse shows provide an opportunity for riders and owners to exhibit their animals without taking part in any of the Olympic disciplines, classes are divided into ridden and in-hand sections and there are many different classes for different horses and ponies. For example, there are classes for Mountain and moorland pony breeds, show hunters, show hacks, equitation, and various show pony classes. Many clubs hold riding club classes, where a horse or pony must perform a short show, most shows also include show jumping and working hunter sections. The British Horse Society oversees many shows at national, regional and local level as does the Pony Club, the British Show Pony Society, breed societies, particularly those that look after the Welsh pony and the Arabian horse also organise their own shows. At local, unaffiliated level, riding clubs across Britain organise regular shows, the newly formed Showing Council is working towards officially overseeing all horse shows. The Olympic equestrian disciplines are overseen by the British Equestrian Federation, however, there are several subdivisions within the federation. Dressage competitions are held separately from regular shows, and are overseen by British Dressage. Show jumping competitions are overseen by the British Showjumping Association, while one-day and three-day eventing are overseen by British Eventing, the United States Equestrian Federation is the American national body for equestrian sport and as such is also the recognized entity overseeing the Olympic-level United States Equestrian Team. It also organizes and sponsors horse shows for many horse breeds who wish to utilize the testing, judge certification. In addition, it sanctions events in disciplines and lower-level competitive areas that are not internationally recognized, such as show hunter, however, there are still some multi-day, all-breed events that feature multiple breeds and disciplines. There are a range of equestrian events available and specific offerings range widely by nation
3.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
4.
Driving (horse)
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It encompasses a wide range of activities from pleasure driving, to harness racing, to farm work, horse shows, and even International combined driving competition sanctioned by the FEI. The term in harness often is used to describe a horse being driven, for horse training purposes, driving may also include the practice of long-lining, wherein a horse is driven without a cart by a handler walking behind or behind and to the side of the animal. This technique is used in the stages of training horses for riding as well as for driving. Horses, mules and donkeys are driven in harness in many different ways, for working purposes, they can pull a plow or other farm equipment designed to be pulled by animals. In many parts of the world they still pull carts, wagons, horse-drawn boats or logs for basic hauling and they may draw carriages at ceremonies, such as when the British monarch is Trooping the Colour, as well as in parades or for tourist rides. Horses can race in harness, pulling a very lightweight cart known as a sulky. Draft horse showing, Most draft horse performance competition is done in harness, draft horses compete in both single and multiple hitches, judged on manners and performance. Carriage driving, using somewhat larger two or four wheeled carriages, often restored antiques, pulled by a horse, a tandem or four-in-hand team. Pleasure competitions are judged on the turnout/neatness or suitability of horse, nearly any breed of horse can be trained for pleasure driving. Fine harness, Also called formal driving, horses are hitched to a light four-wheeled cart and shown in a manner that emphasizes flashy action and dramatic performance. Refined pony breeds and certain light saddle horse breeds noted for their action are most often seen in fine harness, roadsters are shown at two types of trot, known as road gait and at speed. A team is more than one animal used together for draft, the animals may be arranged in various ways. While a single animal is placed between two shafts, a pair is usually hitched side by side with a single pole between them. A troika is a team hitched in a row of three, the center horse in shafts and each of the other two hitched on either side. A tandem hitch has one animal in shafts, then one or more others hitched ahead of the first in single file. Larger teams are usually in pairs, with four, six or even more animals overall, sometimes other arrangements are used, such as the unicorn, and the pickaxe. Teams larger than six are generally limited to situations where large loads must be hauled over difficult ground, for example, eight-ox plowing teams were once common on the heavy soils of southern England, as were very large ox teams used in 19th century South Africa. Twenty-mule teams were used in the century for hauling ore in California
5.
Steeplechase
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A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Australia, modern usage of the term steeplechase differs between countries. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it only to races run over large, fixed obstacles. The collective term jump racing or National Hunt racing is used referring to steeplechases. Elsewhere in the world, steeplechase is used to refer to any race that involves jumping obstacles. The most famous steeplechase in the world is the Grand National run annually at Aintree Racecourse, in Liverpool, since its inception in 1836, which in 2014 offered a prize fund of £1 million. The steeplechase originated in Ireland in the 18th century as an analogue to cross-country thoroughbred horse races which went from church steeple to church steeple, an account of the race was believed to have been in the library of the OBriens of Dromoland Castle. Most of the earlier steeplechases were contested cross-country rather than on a track, the first recorded steeplechase over a prepared track with fences was run at Bedford in 1810, although a race had been run at Newmarket in 1794 over a mile with five-foot bars every quarter mile. The first recognised English National Steeplechase took place on Monday 8 March 1830, the 4-mile race, organised by Thomas Coleman of St Albans, was run from Bury Orchard, Harlington in Bedfordshire to the Obelisk in Wrest Park, Bedfordshire. The winner was Captain Macdowall on The Wonder, owned by Lord Ranelagh, report of the event appeared in the May and July editions of Sporting Magazine in 1830. In Great Britain and Ireland, steeplechase only refers to one branch of jump racing, collectively, Great Britain and Ireland account for over 50% of all jump races worldwide, carding 4,800 races over fences in 2008. Jump racing in Great Britain and Ireland is officially known as National Hunt racing, French jump racing is similar to British and Irish National Hunt races, with a few notable differences. Hurdles are not collapsible, being akin to small brush fences. Chases often have large fences called bullfinches, a large hedge up to 8 ft tall that horses have to jump rather than over. There are also a number of cross-country chases where horses have to jump up and down banks, gallop through water. Auteuil in Paris is perhaps the best known racecourse in France for French jump racing, the Velká pardubická Steeplechase in Pardubice in the Czech Republic is the location of one of the longest steeplechase races in Europe. The first Velka Pardubice Steeplechase was held on 5 November 1874, in the United States, there are two forms of steeplechasing, hurdle and timber. National fences stand 52 inches tall at the highest point, but are made of synthetic brush that can be brushed through
6.
Equestrian vaulting
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Equestrian vaulting, or simply Vaulting, is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or non-competitively. Vaulting has a history as an act at circuses. It is open to men and women, and is one of ten equestrian disciplines recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Therapeutic or interactive vaulting is also used as an activity for children and adults who may have balance, attention, gross motor skill, vaultings enthusiasts are concentrated in Europe and other parts of the Western world. It is well established in Germany and Switzerland and is growing in other western countries, Vaulting was first introduced in the United States in the 1950s and 60s but was limited only to California and other areas of the west coast. More recently, it is beginning to gain popularity in the United States northeast and it is believed by some that the origins of vaulting could be traced to the ancient Roman games, where acrobats usually displayed their skills on cantering horses. Others, however, believe that vaulting originated in ancient Crete, in either case, people have been performing acrobatic and dance-like movements on the backs of moving horses/animals for more than 2,000 years. Renaissance and Middle Ages history include numerous references to vaulting or similar activities, the present name of the sport/art comes from the French la voltige, which it acquired during the Renaissance, when it was a form of riding drill and agility exercise for cavalry riders. Modern vaulting developed in post-war Germany as an initiative to introduce children to equestrian sports, in 1983, vaulting became one of the disciplines recognized by the FEI. European championships were first held in Ebreichsdorf, Austria in 1984, Vaulting was included in the World Equestrian Games in Stockholm in 1990 and in all subsequent editions of the games. It was demonstrated as an art during the 1984 and 1996 Olympic Games events and it has been included in the Inter-Africa Cup since 2006. The first World Cup Vaulting competition was held in Leipzig on 29–30 April 2011, in competitive vaulting, vaulters compete as individuals, pairs, and teams. Beginning vaulters compete at the walk or trot while experienced vaulters compete at the canter, the vaulting horse moves in a 15-metre circle and is directed by a lunger who stands in the center. In competitive vaulting, the rider will first be judged on a score from 1 to 10, if two competitors tie, then the horse is judged. Vaulting competitions consist of compulsory exercises and choreographed freestyle exercises done to music, there are seven compulsory exercises, mount, basic seat, flag, mill, scissors, stand and flank. Each exercise is scored on a scale from 0 to 10, horses also receive a score and are judged on the quality of their movement as well as their behavior. Vaulters compete in team and individual freestyles, an individual Kur is a 1-minute freestyle and team is 4 minutes. They are both choreographed to music, the components of a freestyle vaulting routine may include mounts and dismounts, handstands, kneeling and standing and aerial moves such jumps, leaps and tumbling skills
7.
Horse
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The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior. Horses anatomy enables them to use of speed to escape predators and they have a well-developed sense of balance. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait, female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four and they reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, humans provide domesticated horses with food, water and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers. Specific terms and specialized language are used to describe equine anatomy, different life stages, colors, depending on breed, management and environment, the modern domestic horse has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. Uncommonly, a few animals live into their 40s and, occasionally, the oldest verifiable record was Old Billy, a 19th-century horse that lived to the age of 62. In modern times, Sugar Puff, who had listed in Guinness World Records as the worlds oldest living pony. The exception is in endurance riding, where the age to compete is based on the animals actual calendar age. The following terminology is used to describe horses of various ages, Colt, a common terminology error is to call any young horse a colt, when the term actually only refers to young male horses. Filly, A female horse under the age of four, foal, A horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling, most domesticated foals are weaned at five to seven months of age, although foals can be weaned at four months with no adverse physical effects. Gelding, A castrated male horse of any age, mare, A female horse four years old and older
8.
Working animal
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A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. They may be members of the family, such as guide dogs or other assistance dogs, or they may be animals trained to provide tractive force. The latter types of animals are called animals or beasts of burden. Most working animals are either service animals or draft animals and they may also be used for milking or herding, jobs that require human training to encourage the animal to cooperate. Some, at the end of their lives, may also be used for meat or other products such as leather. The history of working animals may predate agriculture, with used by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Around the world, millions of animals work in relationship with their owners, domesticated species are often bred to be suitable for different uses and conditions, especially horses and working dogs. Working animals are raised on farms, though some are still captured from the wild, such as dolphins. People have found uses for a variety of abilities found in animals. The strength of horses, elephants and oxen is used in pulling carts, the keen sense of smell of dogs is used to search for drugs and explosives as well helping to find game while hunting and to search for missing or trapped people. Several animals including camels, donkeys, horses and dogs are used for transport, either riding or to pull wagons, other animals including dogs and monkeys provide assistance to blind or disabled people. Conversely, not all domesticated animals are working animals, for example, while cats may perform work catching mice, it is an instinctive behavior, not one that can be trained by human intervention. Other domesticated animals, such as sheep, or rabbits, may have uses for meat, hides and wool. Finally, small pets such as most birds or hamsters are generally incapable of performing work other than that of providing simple companionship. Some animals are used due to physical strength in tasks such as ploughing or logging. Such animals are grouped as a draught or draft animal, others may be used as pack animals, for animal-powered transport, the movement of people and goods. People ride some animals directly as mounts, Alternatively, one or more animals in harness may be used to pull vehicles and they include equines such as horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules, elephants, yaks, and camels. Dromedary camels in arid areas of Australia, North Africa and the Middle East, on occasion, reindeer, though usually driven, may be ridden
9.
Animals in sport
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Animals in sport are a specific form of working animals. Many animals, at least in more sports, are highly trained. Two of the most common animals in sport are horses and dogs, there are many types of animal sporting events, with varying levels of participation from humans. Some are solely between the animals while others use the animals in a lesser role, Most sports involve training, while some can also involve selective breeding. There are some events that include animals in a variety of sports. A rodeo can comprise many different sports, ranging from bull riding to pole bending, racing is the most popular form of animal-related sport, particularly horse racing. Some racing events directly involve humans as riders while others see the race alone. In some sports the rider is not directly riding the animal, examples of this include harness racing, dogsled racing and popular ancient Greek and Roman sport of chariot racing. Greyhound racing, a form of animal racing, dates back to the 1800s in the United States. While track racing is the most common, there are forms of racing. Pigeon racing, for example, sees homing pigeons finding their way home from a set distance away, kambala, he-buffalo racing in coastal Karnataka, India is a rural spectator racing conducted every year during winter in about 50 towns/villages. Racing events are a way to gamble, with billions spent worldwide every year. This is one reason that some countries or states have made such sports illegal, there are some non-racing competitive events involving animals. Polo is an example, with competitors hitting a ball with mallets while on horseback, elephant polo dates back to the early 20th century when members of the British aristocracy in Nepal began playing the sport. In the 14th to 16th centuries jousting was a popular one-on-one tournament event involving knights on horseback, in most counties the act of two or more animals fighting each other, such as cockfighting, and dog fighting, is seen as cruel and is therefore illegal. Some legal animal fights take place around the world, including cow fighting, there are also some legal forms of sport where humans fight animals, such as bullfighting which has a long history in Spanish and Portuguese tradition. Not all animals are large, however, with cricket fighting being a sport in Macau. There are several other sports in history that were intended as entertainment
10.
Tibet
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Tibet is a region on the Tibetan Plateau in Asia, spanning about 2.4 million km2 and nearly a quarter of Chinas territory. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an elevation of 4,900 metres. The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earths highest mountain, the Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century, but with the fall of the empire the region soon divided into a variety of territories. The current borders of Tibet were generally established in the 18th century, following the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing dynasty in 1912, Qing soldiers were disarmed and escorted out of Tibet Area. The region subsequently declared its independence in 1913 without recognition by the subsequent Chinese Republican government, later, Lhasa took control of the western part of Xikang, China. There are tensions regarding Tibets political status and dissident groups that are active in exile and it is also said that Tibetan activists in Tibet have been arrested or tortured. The economy of Tibet is dominated by agriculture, though tourism has become a growing industry in recent decades. The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism, in there is Bön, which is similar to Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is an influence on the art, music. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences, staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat, and butter tea. The Tibetan name for their land, Bod བོད་, means Tibet or Tibetan Plateau, although it meant the central region around Lhasa. The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of Bod, is transcribed Bhö in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription, Bö in the THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription and Poi in Tibetan pinyin. Tibetan people, language, and culture, regardless of where they are from, are referred to as Zang although the geographical term Xīzàng is often limited to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The term Xīzàng was coined during the Qing dynasty in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor through the addition of a prefix meaning west to Zang, the best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is Tubo. This name first appears in Chinese characters as 土番 in the 7th century, in the Middle Chinese spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter, 土番 was pronounced thux-phjon and 吐蕃 was pronounced thux-pjon. Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include Wusiguo, Wusizang, Tubote, the English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to the 18th century. Historical linguists generally agree that Tibet names in European languages are loanwords from Semitic Ṭībat orTūbātt, itself deriving from Turkic Töbäd, literally, according to Matthew Kapstein, From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan
11.
Horse training
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Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when asked to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for care as well as for equestrian activities from horse racing to therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities. Historically, horses were trained for warfare, farm work, sport and transport, today, most horse training is geared toward making horses useful for a variety of recreational and sporting equestrian pursuits. Horses are also trained for specialized jobs from movie stunt work to police and crowd control activities, circus entertainment, there is tremendous controversy over various methods of horse training and even some of the words used to describe these methods. Some techniques are considered cruel, other methods are considered gentler, however, it is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of various training methodology, so general, basic principles are described below. The see also section of this article links to more specific information about various schools. The range of training techniques and training goals is large, horses, like other animals, differ in brain structure from humans and thus do not have the same type of thinking and reasoning ability as human beings. Thus, the human has the responsibility to think about how to use the psychology of the horse to lead the animal into an understanding of the goals of the human trainer. Horses are social animals and, when properly handled, can learn to follow. Horses, as animals, have an inborn fight or flight instinct that has to be adapted to human needs. Horses need to be taught to rely upon humans to determine when fear or flight is a response to new stimuli. Like most animals, a horse will more easily adapt to human expectations than an older one. Regardless of the goal of training, most horses go through a series of steps on their way to being finished animals for a given discipline. Most young domesticated horses are handled at birth or within the first few days of life, though some are handled for the first time when they are weaned from their mothers. Within a few hours of birth, a foal being imprinted will have a human touch it all over, pick up its feet, and introduce it to human touch and voice. Others may leave a foal alone for its first few hours or days, however, even people who do not advocate imprinting often still place value on handling a foal a great deal while it is still nursing and too small to easily overpower a human. By doing so, the foal ideally will learn that humans will not harm it, while a foal is far too young to be ridden, it is still able to learn skills it will need later in life. The young horse needs to be calm for basic grooming, as well as veterinary care such as vaccinations, a foal needs regular hoof care and can be taught to stand while having its feet picked up and trimmed by a farrier
12.
Mounted police
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Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Some mounted police units are trained in search and rescue due to the ability to travel where vehicles cannot. Poor roads and extensive rural areas made horse-mounted police a necessity in European states until the early 20th century, notable examples included the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Mexican Rurales, the British South African Police, the Turkish/Cypriot Zapiteh and the caballeria of the Spanish Civil Guard. Tack used by mounted police is similar to standard riding tack, high-traction horseshoes made of speciality metals or fitted with rubber soles are typically used in urban areas in place of standard steel horseshoes, which are prone to slip on pavement. Rubber soled shoes also produce less noise than steel shoes and jar the hoof less, horses working in riot control wear facial armor, made of perspex so that the animals can still see. The New South Wales Mounted Police is a section of the New South Wales Police Force. Currently they have a strength of 36 officers and around 38 mounts and their duties include traffic and crowd management, patrols, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a well-known mounted police force, although horses are no longer in use operationally. However, horses are used in the Musical Ride as well as by several provincial and municipal police detachments. The Royal Oman Police have both horse and camel mounted troopers, the United States Border Patrol had 200 horses in 2005. Most of these are employed along the U. S. -Mexico border, in Arizona, these animals are fed special processed feed pellets so that their wastes do not spread non-native plants in the national parks and wildlife areas they patrol. Philadelphias mounted police unit was disbanded in 2004, but reinstated in 2011 with four horses from the unit of Newark. List of mounted police forces Mounted search and rescue Police dog Police paddock Informational site for mounted police officers List of mounted search and rescue units Mounted Police in France
13.
Ranch
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A ranch is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Canada, people who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. Ranching is also a used to raise less common livestock such as elk, American bison or even ostrich, emu. Ranches generally consist of areas, but may be of nearly any size. In the western United States, many ranches are a combination of owned land supplemented by grazing leases on land under the control of the federal Bureau of Land Management. If the ranch includes arable or irrigated land, the ranch may also engage in an amount of farming, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as hay. Ranches that cater exclusively to tourists are called guest ranches or, colloquially, most working ranches do not cater to guests, though they may allow private hunters or outfitters onto their property to hunt native wildlife. Ranching is part of the iconography of the Wild West as seen in Western movies, the person who owns and manages the operation of a ranch is usually called a rancher, but the terms cattleman, stockgrower, or stockman are also sometimes used. If this individual in charge of management is an employee of the actual owner. A rancher who primarily raises young stock sometimes is called an operator or a cow-calf man. This person is usually the owner, though in cases, particularly where there is absentee ownership. The people who are employees of the rancher and involved in handling livestock are called a number of terms, including cowhand, ranch hand, people exclusively involved with handling horses are sometimes called wranglers. Ranching and the tradition originated in Spain, out of the necessity to handle large herds of grazing animals on dry land from horseback. During the Reconquista, members of the Spanish nobility and various military orders received large land grants that the Kingdom of Castile had conquered from the Moors and these landowners were to defend the lands put into their control and could use them for earning revenue. When the Conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century, followed by settlers, they brought their cattle, huge land grants by the Spanish government, part of the hacienda system, allowed large numbers of animals to roam freely over vast areas. A number of different traditions developed, often related to the location in Spain from which a settlement originated. For example, many of the traditions of the Jalisco charros in central Mexico come from the Salamanca charros of Castile, however, there were cattle on the eastern seaboard. Deep Hollow Ranch,110 miles east of New York City in Montauk, New York, claims to be the first ranch in the United States, the prairie and desert lands of what today is Mexico and the western United States were well-suited to open range grazing
14.
Dressage
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Dressage is a highly skilled form of riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the Olympic Games, at the peak of a dressage horses gymnastic development, the horse responds smoothly to a skilled riders minimal aids. The rider is relaxed and appears effort-free while the horse performs the requested movement. The discipline has a history with ancient roots in the writings of Xenophon. Much about training systems used today reflects practices of classical dressage, in modern dressage competition, successful training at the various levels is demonstrated through the performance of tests, prescribed series of movements ridden within a standard arena. A score of 9 is very good and is a high mark, all riding horses can benefit from use of dressage principles and training techniques. The most popular horse breeds seen at the Olympics and other international FEI competitions are warmblood horses bred for dressage, in classical dressage training and performances that involve the airs above the ground, the baroque breeds of horses are popular and purposely bred for these specialties. There are two sizes of arenas, small and standard, each has letters assigned to positions around the arena for dressage tests to specify where movements are to be performed. Cones with letters on them are positioned on the sidelines of the arena for reference as to where a movement is to be performed. The small arena is 20 by 40 m and is used for the levels of eventing in the dressage phase. Its letters around the edge, starting from the point of entry. Letters also mark locations along the line in the middle of the arena. Moving down the line from A, they are D-X-G. The standard arena is 20 by 60 m, and is used for tests in both dressage and eventing. The standard dressage arena letters are A-K-V-E-S-H-C-M-R-B-P-F, the letters on the long sides of the arena, nearest the corners, are 6 m in from the corners, and are 12 m apart from each other. The letters along the line are D-L-X-I-G, with X again being halfway down the arena. There is speculation as to why these letters were chosen, most commonly it is believed because the German cavalry had a 20 × 60-meter area in-between the barracks which had the letters posted above the doors. At the start of the test, the horse enters the arena at an opening at A, ideally this opening is then closed for the duration of the test, however, this is not always logistically possible, particularly at smaller competitions with few volunteers
15.
Endurance riding
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Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international recognized by the FEI. There are two types of long-distance riding, competitive trail riding and endurance rides. In the United States, most endurance rides are either 50 or 100 miles long, shorter rides, called Limited Distance rides, are organized for new riders to the sport or young horses being trained. However, LDs have evolved into a competition of their own, in more experienced riders. There are also longer, usually multi-day, rides as well, as with human marathon running, many riders will participate to improve their horses personal best performance and consider finishing the distance with a proper vet completion record to be a win. In the USA, the American Endurance Ride Conference sanctions endurance rides, in the UK, Endurance GB is the governing body. Winning riders can complete 100-mile rides in 14 to 15 hours, any breed can compete, but the Arabian generally dominates the top levels because of the breeds stamina and natural endurance abilities. Endurance rides and races can be any distance, though they are rarely over 160 km for a one-day competition. Organized endurance riding as a sport began in 1955, when Wendell Robie. They followed the historic Western States Trail and this ride soon became known as the Tevis Cup, and it remains the most difficult of any 100-mile ride in the world because of the severe terrain, high altitude, and 100-degree temperatures. Endurance riding first was brought to Europe in the 1960s, before the ride, horses are inspected by a veterinarian to ensure they are fit to perform in the ride. Riders may be given a map or GPS waypoints for the course, which shows the route, the places for compulsory halts, the trails frequently are marked with colored surveyors tape ribbons at regular intervals with additional ribbons or small arrow markers at turns in the trail. The ride is divided into sections, with different names, depending on sanctioning organization, after each section, horses are stopped for a veterinary inspection, where they are checked for soundness and dehydration, with their pulse and respiration taken. The riders time keeps running until their horses reach the required target, any horse deemed unfit to continue is eliminated from further competition. After the veterinary inspection, the horse must be held for a hold time. If the veterinary inspection is on the rather than at base camp, ride management usually delivers to the inspection location a cache of riders personal gear, food. While riders may compete without additional aid, sometimes referred to as riding cavalry, in upper level competition this is particularly important to efficiently prepare the horse for the vet as well as care of both horse and rider during the mandatory hold times
16.
Eventing
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Eventing is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combination compete against other combinations across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding, Eventing was previously known as Combined Training, and the name persists in many smaller organizations. The term Combined Training is sometimes confused with the term Combined Test which refers to a combination of just two of the phases, most commonly dressage and show jumping. Eventing is a triathlon, in that it combines three different disciplines in one competition set out over one, two, or three days, depending on the length of courses and number of entries. This sport follows a format in Australia, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom. The test is judged by one or more judges who are looking for balance, rhythm, suppleness, and most importantly, obedience of the horse and its harmony with the rider. The challenge is to demonstrate that a fit horse, capable of completing the cross country phase on time, also has the training to perform in a graceful, relaxed. The tests may not ask for Grand Prix movements such as piaffe or passage, therefore, if one movement is poorly executed, it is still possible for the rider to get a good overall score if the remaining movements are very well executed. The marks are added together and any errors of course deducted, if all four feet of the horse exit the arena during the test, this results in elimination. If the horse more than 20 seconds during the test. This phase consists of approximately 12–20 fences, or 30–40 at the higher levels, sometimes, particularly at higher levels, fences are designed that would not normally occur in nature. However, these are designed to be as solid as more natural obstacles. Safety regulations mean that some obstacles are now being built with a frangible pin system, speed is also a factor, with the rider required to cross the finish line within a certain time frame. Crossing the finish line after the optimum time results in penalties for each second over, at lower levels, there is also a speed fault time, where penalties are incurred for horse and rider pairs completing the course too quickly. For every disobedience a horse and rider incur on course, penalties will be added to their dressage score, after four disobediences altogether or three disobediences at one fence the pair is eliminated, meaning they can no longer participate in the competition. A horse and rider pair can also be eliminated for going off course, if the horses shoulder and hind-quarter touch the ground, mandatory retirement is taken and they are not allowed to participate further in the competition. If the rider falls off the horse they are eliminated, however, in the US this rule is currently being revised for the Novice level and below. The penalties for disobediences on cross country are weighted relative to the other phases of competition to emphasize the importance of courage, endurance
17.
Reining
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Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope, or the gallop, the horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Cattle were moved, branded, doctored, sorted, and herded, often on open range without the benefit of fences, a good cowboy needed a quick and nimble horse, one that could change directions quickly, stop on a dime, and sprint after an errant cow. Other nations with traditions of herding livestock on vast areas, such as Australia and Argentina, the reining pattern includes an average of eight to twelve movements which must be executed by the horse. Patterns require the following movements, Circles, the horse must perform large, fast circles at a near-gallop and smaller and they should be perfectly round, with the rider dictating the pace of the horse. There should be an easily seen change of speed as the rider transitions from the large, fast to the small, most circles incorporate changes of direction that require a flying change of lead. Flying lead change, the horse changes its leading front and hind legs at the lope mid-stride, the horse should not break gait nor change speed. Rundown, the horse gallops or runs along the side of the arena. A rundown is a required movement prior to a sliding stop, the back should be raised upward and hindquarters come well underneath. A particularly powerful stop may, depending on conditions, produce flying dirt. The movement should finish in a line, and the horses position should not change. This movement is a favorite, along with spins. Back or Backup, the backs up quickly for at least 10 feet. The horse must back in a straight line, stop when asked. It is judged on how quick, smooth and straight the line is, rollback, the horse immediately, without hesitation, performs a 180-degree turn after halting from a sliding stop, and immediately goes forward again into a lope. The horse must turn on its hindquarters, bringing its hocks well under, spins or Turnarounds, beginning from a standstill, the horse spins 360 degrees or more in place around its stationary inside hind leg. The hind pivot foot remains in essentially the same throughout the spin, though the horse will pick it up. Spins are judged on correctness, smoothness, and cadence, speed adds to the difficulty and will improve the score of a correctly done spin
18.
Show jumping
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Show jumping, also known as stadium jumping, open jumping, or simply jumping, is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are seen at horse shows throughout the world. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Show jumping events have hunter classes, jumper classes and hunt seat equitation classes. Hunters are judged subjectively on the degree to which they meet a standard of manners, style. Jumper courses tend to be more complex and technical than hunter courses because riders. Courses often are colorful and at times, quite creatively designed, hunters have meticulous turnout and tend toward very quiet, conservative horse tack and rider attire. Hunter bits, bridles, crops, spurs, and martingales are tightly regulated, formal turnout always is preferred, a neat rider gives a good impression at shows. In addition to hunters and jumpers, there are classes, sometimes called hunt seat equitation. The equipment, clothing, and fence styles used in more closely resemble hunter classes. Jumper classes are held over a course of show jumping obstacles, including verticals, spreads, the intent is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time. Time faults are assessed for exceeding the time allowance, Jumping faults are incurred for knockdowns and blatant disobedience, such as refusals. Horses are allowed a number of refusals before being disqualified. A refusal may lead to a rider exceeding the time allowed on course, placings are based on the lowest number of points or faults accumulated. A horse and rider who have not accumulated any jumping faults or penalty points are said to have scored a clear round. Tied entries usually have a jump-off over a raised and shortened course, and the course is timed, if entries are tied for faults accumulated in the jump-off, the fastest time wins. In most competitions, riders are allowed to walk the initial course, going off course will cost time if minor errors are made and major departures will result in disqualification. The higher levels of competition, such as A or AA rated shows in the United States, or the international Grand Prix circuit, present more technical and complex courses. Not only is the height and width of an obstacle increased to present a challenge, technical difficulty also increases with tighter turns
19.
Tent pegging
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Tent pegging is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. Used narrowly, the term refers to a mounted game with ground targets. More broadly, it refers to the class of mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback. Cavaliers have practised the specific game of tent pegging since at least the 4th century BC, as a result, the games date and location of origin are ambiguous. In all accounts, the sport evolved out of cavalry training exercises designed to develop cavaliers prowess with the sword. However, whether tent pegging developed cavaliers generic skills or prepared them for combat situations is unclear. However, other sources suggest that the sport originated earlier in Central Asia or the Middle East and was later on popularised in India. However, there are few accounts of a cavalry squadron ever employing such tactics. The specific game of tent pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a sword or a lance to pierce, pick up, the broader class of tent pegging games also includes ring jousting, lemon sticking, quintain tilting, and Parthian archery. Today, tent pegging is practised around the world, but is popular in Australia, India, Israel, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa. The Olympic Council of Asia included tent pegging as a sport in 1982. From the results of the 2008 International Tent Pegging Championships, the three leading national teams are currently Canada, India, and Oman. Members of cavalry regiments and mounted police forces remain dominant in world-class tent pegging, the United States Tent Pegging Federation is working on introducing tent pegging on the sidelines of polo in the United States. In late 1990s, many efforts were mostly solo efforts by individuals like H. E Prince Malik Ata Khan and Maharaja of Dunlod. EFI tent pegging pioneers provided much encouragement to export tent pegging to the USA, also H. E Prince Malik Ata Khan, the icon of modern-day tent pegging supported the idea of formation of a Tent Pegging as an organized sport in the USA. All of their thrust was to establish an organization in the United States so that USA could represent itself on the international front, at present the USTPF, working hard to promote Tent Pegging in the USA. The promotion efforts include two Tent Pegging Training Clinics initiated in October 2014 and June 2015 to compete in the international Arena, the USTPF was recognized by the USEF as Alliance Partner in 2015 and an NGB for Tent Pegging in the USA. The USEF granted the Alliance Partnership to the USTPF with permanent Alliance Partnership number 5347848, New and emerging national tent pegging associations have helped spread the sports popularity
20.
Polo
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Polo is a team sport played on horseback. The objective is to score goals against an opposing team, players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing teams goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played on a grass field up to 300 by 160 yards, each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts. Field polo is played with a plastic ball which has replaced the wooden version of the ball in much of the sport. In arena polo, only three players are required per team and the game involves more maneuvering and shorter plays at lower speeds due to space limitations of arenas. Arena polo is played with a small air-filled ball, similar to a small football, the modern game lasts roughly two hours and is divided into periods called chukkas. Polo is played professionally in 16 countries and it was formerly an Olympic sport. Its invention is dated variously from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD, Persian Emperor Shapur II learnt to play polo when he was seven years old in 316 AD. The game was learnt by the neighbouring Byzantine Empire at an early date, a tzykanisterion was built by emperor Theodosius II inside the Great Palace of Constantinople. Emperor Basil I excelled at it, Emperor Alexander died from exhaustion while playing, naqsh-i Jahan Square in Isfahan is a polo field which was built by king Abbas I in the 17th century. Qutubuddin Aibak, the Turkic slave from Central Asia who later became the Sultan of Delhi in Northern India, ruled as a Sultan for only four years, from 1206 to 1210, but died accidentally in 1210. While he was playing a game of polo on horseback, his horse fell and he was buried near the Anarkali bazaar in Lahore. Aibaks son Aram died in 1211 CE, so Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, another ex-slave of Turkic ancestry who was married to Aibaks daughter, after the Muslim conquests to the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt and the Levant, their elites favoured it above all other sports. Notable sultans such as Saladin and Baybars were known to play it, Polo sticks were features on the Mameluke precursor to modern day playing cards. Valuable for training cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. It is known in the East as the Game of Kings, the name polo is said to have been derived from the Balti word pulu, meaning ball. The modern game of polo is derived from Manipur, India and it was the anglicised form of the last, referring to the wooden ball that was used, which was adopted by the sport in its slow spread to the west. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, the origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early precursors of Sagol Kangjei. This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the ones being field hockey and wrestling-hockey
21.
Horse racing
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Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys or driven over a set distance for competition. Horse races vary widely in format, often, countries have developed their own particular horse racing traditions. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces, Horse racing has a long and distinguished history and has been practised in civilisations across the world since ancient times. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Syria and it also plays an important part of myth and legend, such as the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC and were important in the other Panhellenic Games. This was despite the fact that racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death. In the Roman Empire, chariot and mounted horse racing were major industries, fifteen to 20 riderless horses, originally imported from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, ran the length of the Via del Corso, a long, straight city street, in about 2½ minutes. In later times, Thoroughbred racing became, and remains, popular with the aristocrats and royalty of British society, historically, equestrians honed their skills through games and races. Equestrian sports provided entertainment for crowds and honed the excellent horsemanship that was needed in battle, Horse racing of all types evolved from impromptu competitions between riders or drivers. The various forms of competition, requiring demanding and specialized skills from both horse and rider, resulted in the development of specialized breeds and equipment for each sport. The popularity of sports through the centuries has resulted in the preservation of skills that would otherwise have disappeared after horses stopped being used in combat. There are many different types of racing, including, Flat racing. Jump racing, or Jumps racing, also known as Steeplechasing or, in the UK and Ireland, National Hunt racing, Harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky. Breeds that are used for flat racing include the Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Paint, Jump racing breeds include the Thoroughbred and AQPS. In harness racing, Standardbreds are used in Australia, New Zealand and North America, light cold blood horses, such as Finnhorses and Scandinavian coldblood trotter are also used in harness racing within their respective geographical areas. There also are races for ponies, both flat and jump and harness racing, Flat racing is the most common form of racing seen worldwide. Track surfaces vary, with turf most common in Europe, dirt more common in North America and Asia, individual flat races are run over distances ranging from 440 yards up to two and a half miles, with distances between five and twelve furlongs being most common. Short races are referred to as sprints, while longer races are known as routes in the United States or staying races in Europe
22.
Rodeo
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Rodeo is a competitive sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later Central America, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia and New Zealand. It was based on the skills required of the vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States, western Canada. Today it is an event that involves horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the cowboys. American style professional rodeos generally comprise the events, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding. The events are divided into two categories, the rough stock events and the timed events. Depending on sanctioning organization and region, other such as breakaway roping, goat tying. American rodeo, particularly popular today within the Canadian province of Alberta and throughout the western United States, is the state sport of Wyoming, South Dakota. The iconic silhouette image of a Bucking Horse and Rider is a federal, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta has considered making American rodeo the official sport of that province. However, enabling legislation has yet to be passed, associations also exist for Native Americans and other minority groups. Rodeo has provoked opposition from animal rights and animal welfare advocates, the American rodeo industry has made progress in improving the welfare of rodeo animals, with specific requirements for veterinary care and other regulations that protect rodeo animals. However, rodeo is opposed by a number of animal welfare organizations in the United States, some local and state governments in North America have banned or restricted rodeos, certain rodeo events, or types of equipment. Internationally, rodeo is banned in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the American English word rodeo is taken directly from Spanish rodeo, which roughly translates into English as round up. The yearly rodeos for separating the cattle were overseen by the Juez del Campo, the term was also used to refer to exhibitions of skills used in the working rodeo. This evolved from these yearly gatherings where festivities were held and horsemen could demonstrate their equestrian skills and it was this latter usage which was adopted into the cowboy tradition of the United States and Canada. The term rodeo was first used in English in approximately 1834 to refer to a cattle round-up, today the word is used primarily to refer to a public exhibition of cowboy skills, usually in the form of a competitive event. Many rodeo events were based on the tasks required by cattle ranching, the working cowboy developed skills to fit the needs of the terrain and climate of the American west, and there were many regional variations. The skills required to manage cattle and horses back to the Spanish traditions of the vaquero. Early rodeo-like affairs of the 1820s and 1830s were informal events in the western United States and northern Mexico with cowboys, following the American Civil War, rodeo competitions emerged, with the first held in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1872
23.
Equidae
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Equidae is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus Equus, Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. The term equid refers to any member of family, including any equine. The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae date from the early Eocene,54 million years ago and they used to be assigned to the genus Hyracotherium, but the type species of that genus now is regarded to be not a member of this family. The other species have split off into different genera. These early Equidae were fox-sized animals with three toes on the feet, and four on the front feet. They were herbivorous browsers on relatively soft plants, and already adapted for running, the complexity of their brains suggest that they already were alert and intelligent animals. Later species reduced the number of toes, and developed teeth more suited for grinding up grasses, the family became relatively diverse during the Miocene, with many new species appearing. By this time, equids were more truly horse-like, having developed the body shape of the modern animals. Many of these bore the main weight of their bodies on their central, third, toe, with the others becoming reduced. The sole surviving genus, Equus, had evolved by the early Pleistocene, order Perissodactyla † indicates extinct taxa
24.
Mule
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A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes, of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse. The size of a mule and work to which it is put depend largely on the breeding of the female parent. Mules can be lightweight, medium weight, or when produced from draft horse mares, Mules are more patient, hardy and long-lived than horses, and are less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys. Mules also tend to be more independent than most domesticated equines other than the donkey, the median weight range for a mule is between about 370 and 460 kg. While a few mules can carry live weight up to 160 kg, in general, a mule can be packed with dead weight of up to 20% of its body weight, or approximately 90 kg. Although it depends on the animal, it has been reported that mules trained by the Army of Pakistan can carry up to 72 kilograms. The average equine in general can carry up to approximately 30% of its weight in live weight. A female mule that has estrus cycles and thus, in theory, could carry a fetus, is called a molly or Molly mule, pregnancy is rare, but can occasionally occur naturally as well as through embryo transfer. A male mule is called a horse mule, though often called a john mule. A young male mule is called a colt, and a young female is called a mule filly. With its short thick head, long ears, thin limbs, small narrow hooves, and short mane, in height and body, shape of neck and rump, uniformity of coat, and teeth, it appears horse-like. The mule comes in all sizes, shapes and conformations, there are mules that resemble huge draft horses, sturdy quarter horses, fine-boned racing horses, shaggy ponies and more. The mule is an example of hybrid vigor, charles Darwin wrote, The mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. The mule inherits from its sire the traits of intelligence, sure-footedness, toughness, endurance, disposition, from its dam it inherits speed, conformation, and agility. Mules exhibit a higher intelligence than their parent species. This is also believed to be the result of hybrid vigor, similar to how mules acquire greater height and their hooves are harder than horses, and they show a natural resistance to disease and insects. Many North American farmers with clay soil found mules superior as plow animals, a mule does not sound exactly like a donkey or a horse
25.
Fox hunting
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In Australia, the term also refers to the hunting of foxes with firearms, similar to deer hunting or spotlighting. In much of the world, hunting in general is understood to relate to any animals or weapons, in Britain and Ireland, hunting without qualification implies fox hunting. Proponents of fox hunting view it as an important part of rural culture, the use of scenthounds to track prey dates back to Assyrian, Babylonian, and ancient Egyptian times, and was known as venery. Many Greek- and Roman- influenced countries have traditions of hunting with hounds. Hunting with Agassaei hounds was popular in Celtic Britain, even before the Romans arrived, introducing the Castorian, norman hunting traditions were brought to Britain when William the Conqueror arrived, along with the Gascon and Talbot hounds. The first use of specifically trained to hunt foxes was in the late 1600s, with the oldest fox hunt being, probably. By the end of the century, deer hunting was in decline. The Inclosure Acts brought fences to separate formerly open land into smaller fields, deer forests were being cut down. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, people began to move out of the country and into towns, roads, railway lines, and canals all split hunting countries, but at the same time they made hunting accessible to more people. Shotguns were improved during the century and the shooting of gamebirds became more popular. Fox hunting developed further in the century when Hugo Meynell developed breeds of hound. In Germany, hunting with hounds was first banned on the initiative of Hermann Göring on July 3,1934, in 1939, the ban was extended to cover Austria after Germanys annexation of the country. Also around this time, numbers of European red foxes were introduced into the Eastern seaboard of North America for hunting, the first organised hunt for the benefit of a group was started by Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax in 1747. In the United States, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both kept packs of fox hounds before and after the American Revolutionary War, in Australia, the European red fox was introduced solely for the purpose of fox hunting in 1855. Native animal populations have been badly affected, with the extinction of at least 10 species attributed to the spread of foxes. Fox hunting with hounds is mainly practised in the east of Australia, in the state of Victoria there are thirteen hunts, with more than 1000 members between them. Fox hunting with hounds results in around 650 foxes being killed annually in Victoria, however, exemptions stated in Schedule 1 of the 2004 Act permit some previously unusual forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs to continue, such as hunting. For the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal, scotland, which has its own Parliament, restricted fox hunting in 2002, more than two years before the ban in England and Wales
26.
Trail riding
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Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance and it originated with horse riding, and in North America, the equestrian form is usually called trail riding, or, less often hacking. In the UK and Europe, the practice is usually called horse or pony trekking, the modern term also encompasses mountain biking, mixed terrain cycle-touring, and the use of motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles. It may be informal activities of an individual or small group, some equestrian trail rides in the USA are directed by professional guides or outfitters, particularly at guest ranches. In some parts of the world, trail riding is limited by law to recognized, in other places, trails may be less maintained and more natural. Trail riding can include activities, such as camping, hunting, fishing, orienteering and backpacking. Often, horses under saddle are subject to the regulations as pedestrians or hikers where those requirements differ from those for cyclists. Rail trails, which are redeveloped disused railways converted into multi-use trails)) often provide invaluable trail riding areas in parts of the world. Such paths are either impassable for motorized vehicles, or vehicles are banned, the laws relating to allowable uses vary from country to country. In England and Wales a bridle path now refers to a route which can be used by horse riders in addition to walkers. There is some criticism of trail riding when excess or improper use of trails may lead to erosion, off-road or trail activity is usually not permitted, as such activity may also raise the risk of soil erosion, spread weeds, and cause other damage. Many organizations also sponsor educational events to teach newcomers about safety, responsible land stewardship, many long-distance trails throughout the world have sections suitable for horse riding, some suitable throughout their length, and some have been developed primarily for horse riding. Some trails managed by the U. S. Forest Service and other entities may restrict access of horses. Access to trails and pathways on private land is left to the discretion of the landowner. The term pleasure riding may encompass trail riding and this refers to a form of equestrianism that encompasses many forms of recreational riding for personal enjoyment, without any element of competition. Pleasure riding is called hacking in United Kingdom, and in parts of the eastern United States, in other parts of the United States, particularly the American west, the term trail riding is used interchangeably with pleasure riding when on natural trails or public lands. Many horses are suitable for riding, including grade horses and other animals of ordinary quality. Such horses are called hacks, particularly in those areas where pleasure riding is known as hacking
27.
Stable
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A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals, the term stable is also used to describe a group of animals kept by one owner, regardless of housing or location. The exterior design of a stable can vary widely, based on climate, building materials, historical period, a wide range of building materials can be used, including masonry, wood and steel. Stables can range widely in size, from a building housing one or two animals to facilities at agricultural shows or race tracks that can house hundreds of animals. The stable is typically historically the second-oldest building type on the farm, the world’s oldest horse stables were discovered in the ancient city of Pi-Ramesses in Qantir, in Ancient Egypt, and were established by Ramesses II. These stables covered approximately 182,986 square feet, had floors sloped for drainage, free-standing stables began to be built from the 16th century. They were well built and placed near the house due to the value that the horses had as draught animals, high-status examples could have plastered ceilings to prevent dust falling through into the horses’ eyes. Relatively few examples survive of complete interiors from the century or earlier. Traditionally, stables in Great Britain had a hayloft on their first floor, doors and windows were symmetrically arranged. Their interiors were divided into stalls and usually included a stall for a foaling mare or sick horse. The floors were cobbled and featured drainage channels, outside steps to the first floor were common for farm hands to live in the building. For horses, stables are often part of a complex which includes trainers, vets. Stable is used metaphorically to refer to a group of people – often sportspeople – trained, coached, supervised or managed by the person or organisation. For example, art galleries typically refer to the artists they represent as their stable of artists, historically, the headquarters of a unit of cavalry, not simply their horses accommodation, would be known as a stable. Media related to stables at Wikimedia Commons, horse care, Barns and stables Glossary of equestrian terms Livery stable Nativity of Jesus Pen
28.
Harness racing
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Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a cart called a sulky, although in Europe racing under saddle is also conducted. Orlov trotters race separately in Russia, the light cold-blooded Coldblood trotters and Finnhorses race separately in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Today, most harness races are won by Standardbreds who post times of 2 minutes or less, the horses have proportionally shorter legs than Thoroughbreds, and longer bodies. Standardbreds generally have a placid disposition, due to the admixture of non-Thoroughbred blood in the breed. The founding sire of todays Standardbred horse was Messenger, a gray Thoroughbred brought to America in 1788 and purchased by Henry Astor, from Messenger came a great-grandson, Hambletonian 10, who gained a wide following for his racing prowess. However, it is his line for which he is most remembered. The lineage of virtually all North American Standardbred race horses can be traced from four of Hambletonian 10 sons, races can be conducted in two differing gaits – trotting and pacing. The difference is that a trotter moves its legs forward in diagonal pairs, in continental Europe, races are conducted exclusively among trotters, whereas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States races are also held for pacers. Pacing races constitute 80% to 90% of the harness races conducted in North America, Pacing horses are faster and less likely to break stride. One of the reasons pacers are less likely to break stride is that they often wear hobbles, the belief that hobbles are used to create this gait is a common misunderstanding. The pace is a natural gait for many horses, and hobbles are an aid in supporting the gait at top speed, most harness races start from behind a motorized starting gate. The horses line up behind a slow-moving, hinged gate mounted on a motor vehicle, at the line, the wings of the gate are folded up and the vehicle accelerates away from the horses. This enables handicaps to be placed on horses with several tapes, many European – and some Australian and New Zealand – races use a standing start. The sulky is a light, two-wheeled cart equipped with bicycle wheels, the driver carries a light whip chiefly used to signal the horse by tapping and to make noise by striking the sulky shaft. There are strict rules as to how and how much the whip may be used, in some jurisdictions, for exercising or training, the drivers use what is known as a jog cart, which is a sulky that is heavier and bulkier than a racing unit. The Prix dAmérique is considered to be the number-one trotting race in the world and it is held annually at the gigantic Vincennes hippodrome in eastern Paris late in January. The purse for the race in 2016 is 1 million euros, the horses are entered in the race based on life-time earnings, unless they have qualified by performing well in the preceding six qualifying races
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Historical reenactment
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Historical reenactment is an educational or entertainment activity in which people follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or period. Activities related to reenactment have a long history, the Romans staged recreations of famous battles within their amphitheaters as a form of public spectacle. In the Middle Ages, tournaments often reenacted historical themes from Ancient Rome or elsewhere, Military displays and mock battles and reenactments first became popular in 17th century England. It was in the century that historical reenactments became widespread. Medieval culture was admired as an antidote to the modern enlightenment. Plays and theatrical works perpetuated the romanticism of knights, castles, the Tournament was a deliberate act of Romanticism, and drew 100,000 spectators. It was held on a meadow at a loop in the Lugton Water, the ground chosen for the tournament was low, almost marshy, with grassy slopes rising on all sides. Lord Eglinton announced that the public would be welcome, he requested medieval fancy dress, if possible, the pageant itself featured thirteen medieval knights on horseback. The preparations, and the works of art commissioned for or inspired by the Eglinton Tournament, had an effect on public feeling. Its ambition carried over to events such as a lavish tournament in Brussels in 1905. Features of the tournament were actually inspired by Walter Scotts novel Ivanhoe, reenactments of battles became more commonplace in the late 19th century, both in Britain, and also in America. Within a year of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, survivors of U. S. 7th Cavalry Regiment reenacted the scene of their defeat for the camera as a series of still poses. In 1895, members of the Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteers reenacted their famous stand at Rorkes Drift,18 years earlier,25 British soldiers beat back the attack of 75 Zulus at the Grand Military Fete at the Cheltenham Winter Gardens. Veterans of the American Civil War recreated battles as a way to remember their fallen comrades, in 1920, there was a reenactment of the 1917 Storming of the Winter Palace on the third anniversary of the event. This reenactment inspired the scenes in Sergei Eisensteins film October, Ten Days That Shook the World, large scale reenactments began to be regularly held at the Royal Tournament, Aldershot Tattoo in the 1920s and 30s. A spectacular recreation of the Siege of Namur, an important military engagement of the Nine Years War, was staged in 1934 as part of 6-day long show, in America, modern reenacting is thought to have begun during the 1961–1965 Civil War Centennial commemorations. Most participants are amateurs who pursue history as a hobby, participants within this hobby are extremely diverse. The ages of participants range from young children whose parents bring them along to events, among adult participants, people from all different walks of life can be found, college students, firefighters, lawyers, members of the armed forces, doctors, and even professional historians
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Carriage
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A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn, litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for passenger use and for comfort or elegance. It may be light, smart and fast or heavy, large, Carriages normally have suspension using leaf springs, elliptical springs or leather strapping. A public passenger vehicle would not usually be called a carriage – terms for such include stagecoach, charabanc, working vehicles such as the wagon and cart share important parts of the history of the carriage, as does too the fast chariot. The word carriage is from Old Northern French cariage, to carry in a vehicle, a carriage is sometimes called a team, as in horse and team. A carriage with its horse is a rig, an elegant horse-drawn carriage with its retinue of servants is an equipage. A carriage together with the horses, harness and attendants is a turnout or setout, a procession of carriages is a cavalcade. Some horsecarts found in Celtic graves show hints that their platforms were suspended elastically, four-wheeled wagons were used in prehistoric Europe, and their form known from excavations suggests that the basic construction techniques of wheel and undercarriage were established then. The earliest recorded sort of carriage was the chariot, reaching Mesopotamia as early as 1900 BC, used typically for warfare by Egyptians, the near Easterners and Europeans, it was essentially a two-wheeled light basin carrying one or two passengers, drawn by one to two horses. It is likely that Roman carriages employed some form of suspension on chains or leather straps, in the kingdom of the Zhou Dynasty the Warring States were also known to have used carriages as transportation. With the decline of these civilizations these techniques almost disappeared, the medieval carriage was typically a four-wheeled wagon type, with a rounded top similar in appearance to the Conestoga Wagon familiar from the USA. Sharing the traditional form of wheels and undercarriage known since the Bronze Age, suspension is recorded in visual images and written accounts from the 14th century, and was in widespread use by the 15th century. Carriages were largely used by royalty, aristocrats, and could be decorated and gilded. These carriages were on four wheels often and were pulled by two to four depending on how they were decorated. Wood and iron were the requirements needed to build a carriage. Another form of carriage was the pageant wagon of the 14th century, historians debate on the structure and size of pageant wagons, however, they are generally miniature house-like structures that rest on four to six wheels depending on the size of the wagon. Historians also debate whether or not pageant wagons were built with pivotal axle systems, whether it was a four- or six-wheel pageant wagon, most historians maintain that pivotal axle systems were implemented on pageant wagons because many roads were often winding with some sharp turns. Six wheel pageant wagons also represent another innovation in carriages, they were one of the first carriages to use multiple pivotal axles, pivotal axles were used on the front set of wheels and the middle set of wheels
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Farm
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A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops, it is the basic facility in food production. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings and hobby farms, in modern times the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or sea. Farming originated independently in different parts of the world, as hunter gatherer societies transitioned to food production rather than, food capture. It may have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, modern farms in developed countries are highly mechanized. In Europe, traditional farms are giving way to larger production units. In Australia, some farms are large because the land is unable to support a high stocking density of livestock because of climatic conditions. In less developed countries, small farms are the norm, the word is from the medieval Latin noun firma, also the source of the French word ferme, meaning a fixed agreement, contract, from the classical Latin adjective firmus meaning strong, stout, firm. Farming has been innovated at multiple different points and places in human history and it was the worlds first historically verifiable revolution in agriculture. Subsequent step-changes in human farming practices were provoked by the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, farming spread from the Middle East to Europe and by 4,000 BC people that lived in the central part of Europe were using oxen to pull plows and wagons. A farm may operate under a system or with a variety of cereal or arable crops. Specialist farms are often denoted as such, thus a dairy farm, fish farm, some farms may not use the word at all, hence vineyard, orchard, market garden or truck farm. Some farms may be denoted by their location, such as a hill farm. Many other terms are used to describe farms to denote their methods of production, as in collective, corporate, intensive, organic or vertical. There are many breeds of cattle that can be milked some of the best producing ones include Holstein, Norwegian Red, Kostroma, Brown Swiss, in most Western countries, a centralized dairy facility processes milk and dairy products, such as cream, butter, and cheese. In the United States, these dairies are usually local companies, dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including corn, alfalfa and this is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to milk production. Poultry farms are devoted to raising chickens, turkeys, ducks, a pig farm is one that specializes in raising pigs or hogs for bacon, ham and other pork products and may be free range, intensive, or both
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Mounted search and rescue
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Mounted search and rescue is a specialty within search and rescue, using horses as search partners and for transportation to search for missing persons. SAR responders on horseback are primarily a resource, but also can provide off-road logistics support. Mounted SAR responders typically have longer initial response times than groundpounder SAR resources, due to the required to pick up trailer, horse, and perhaps also water, feed. Principally volunteer units exist in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, in the United States, many counties have specially deputized, usually volunteer, mounted search and rescue groups. Some of these date from World War II. Across the United States, SAR groups are in the process of organizing themselves into associations, formal guidelines for MSAR have been established in several states, California, New Mexico, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia. International standards for the mounted searcher have been developed through the ASTM F32 committee for Search, in Germany, the voluntary humanitarian association Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe recently has begun establishing local and regional groups that provide first responder services on horseback. These are modeled after the road-based first aid service of the JUH, the first group, established in March 2001 in Harburg, adopted standards of the Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung e. V. for first responders at equestrian field sporting events. In 2008, there were 8 groups, around the same time the German Red Cross briefly recognized a group with a similar function. A search and rescue horse is a trained and used to perform mounted search. In many cases, the horse is simply a means of transportation for a SAR responder, in other cases, the horse is a full member of the SAR field team. Like a SAR dog, a SAR horse can be trained to search for lost persons, using its keen senses of hearing, scenting, in addition, some mounted SAR responders work a SAR dog from horseback. The primary role of Mounted SAR is in the search capacity, riders and horses are normally trained to safely and effectively perform the search function. Riders have training as searchers that includes the detection and protection of clues that may lead to locating the missing person, the mounts used are expected to be calm and reliable. A common training for searchers mounted on equine is Look where the horse looks, while there is training available to have the horse or mule perform similarly to a SAR Dog, the majority of Mounted SAR equine and their riders do not have this training. However, the equines natural senses and behavior are valuable during a search, some Mounted SAR riders have additional training specific to searching for clues from the saddle. This valuable skill allows the mounted searcher to move more quickly riding when the clues, riders dismount as needed when a closer view or tracking while walking is more advantageous. In a rescue situation today, horses have two main uses, rapid response and subject transport, both uses occur primarily in areas inaccessible to road-based emergency vehicles, in coastal areas where heavier vehicles tend to become stuck in wet ground or deep sand, and in wilderness areas
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Riding hall
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A riding hall or riding arena is a building that is specially designed for indoor horse riding. Riding halls enable horses and riders to train or compete in dry conditions regardless of the weather, the most popular are either steel girder or timber framed buildings, with wood, brick or sheet metal panels. Roofs can be made of materials including sandwich panels, corrugated steel, or in smaller buildings. In some cases, stables are built next to or attached to a riding hall. In addition, tension fabric buildings are used as arenas. These textile buildings usually consist of a frame and a high-strength PVC-covered sheet roof as well as wind protection or windbreak netting in the walls. Riding halls are built with the criteria in mind, The arena must be as large as possible for the purposes intended. Commercial arenas may be smaller than private facilities, smaller halls may provide an advantage for certain disciplines. There should be no support columns in the arena, obstacles such as jumps are generally moveable, dressage pillars may be an exception The hall must have high, the hall should be illuminated as much as possible by daylight, preferably from above via skylights or similar design elements. Government approval, building permits, or other official permissions are required to build riding halls. Buildings intended for commercial or public uses may also have stands or other seating included with the structure, facilities such as toilets or concessions may be included in a commercial facility. Riding halls are not heated because this is healthier for the horses, of great importance is the floor quality. Floors often consist of a top layer of 100mm of silica sand over a complex aggregate substrate designed to ensure proper drainage, a good riding floor needs to have the right level of moisture content to reduce the amount of dust, aid maintenance and ensure good rideability. This may be achieved by an automatic floor watering facility – whereby the floor is watered from sprinklers above it – or by regular watering from below the surface, the sensitivity of horses to dark and light makes it essential to have consistent lighting. Artificial light need to be diffused and non-dazzling and brightness needs to be depending on the riding discipline being performed. A lungeing hall is a hall for lungeing horses. Most lungeing halls are circular and have a diameter of 16–24 metres, rectangular designs may be cheaper to build and give horses a better spatial orientation. Lungeing halls also generally needs building permission, spanish Riding School, Vienna Salle du Manège, Paris Moscow Manege and Saint Petersburg Manege in Russia Belém Riding Hall, Lisbon Hall Arena Wolfgang Götz, Deutsche Marställe des Barock
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Domestication of the horse
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A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, how and when horses became domesticated is disputed. The clearest evidence of use of the horse as a means of transport is from chariot burials dated c.2000 BCE. Regardless of the date of domestication, use of horses spread rapidly across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work. The date of the domestication of the horse depends to some degree upon the definition of domestication, some zoologists define domestication as human control over breeding, which can be detected in ancient skeletal samples by changes in the size and variability of ancient horse populations. Other researchers look at evidence, including skeletal and dental evidence of working activity, weapons, art, and spiritual artifacts. There is also evidence that horses were kept as meat animals prior to being trained as working animals, attempts to date domestication by genetic study or analysis of physical remains rests on the assumption that there was a separation of the genotypes of domesticated and wild populations. Further, all modern horse populations retain the ability to revert to a state, and all feral horses are of domestic types. Regardless of the date of domestication, use of horses spread rapidly across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work. A2005 study analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of a range of equids, from 53. A more detailed analysis of the true horses grouped them into two major clades, one of these clades, which seemed to have been restricted to North America, is now extinct. The other clade was broadly distributed from North America to central Europe and it became extinct in Beringia around 14,200 years ago, and in the rest of the Americas around 10,000 years ago. This clade survived in Eurasia, however, and it is from these horses which all domestic horses appear to have descended and these horses showed little phylogeographic structure, probably reflecting their high degree of mobility and adaptability. Therefore, the horse today is classified as Equus ferus caballus. No genetic originals of native wild horses currently exist, other than the never-domesticated Przewalskis Horse, the Przewalski has 66 chromosomes, however, as opposed to 64 among modern domesticated horses, and their Mitochondrial DNA forms a distinct cluster. The horses of the Ice Age were hunted for meat in Europe and across the Eurasian steppes, numerous kill sites exist and many cave paintings in Europe indicate what they looked like. However, more recent study indicates that there was only one wild species and this prototype may have contributed to the development of the warmblood horses of northern Europe, as well as older heavy horses such as the Ardennais. The Oriental subspecies, a taller, slim, refined and agile animal arising in Western Asia, adapted to hot and it is thought to be the progenitor of the modern Arabian horse and Akhal-Teke
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Horses in warfare
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The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC, a Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. As formal cavalry tactics replaced the chariot, so did new training methods, and by 360 BC, the effectiveness of horses in battle was also revolutionized by improvements in technology, including the invention of the saddle, the stirrup, and later, the horse collar. Many different types and sizes of horse were used in war, the type used varied with whether the horse was being ridden or driven, and whether they were being used for reconnaissance, cavalry charges, raiding, communication, or supply. Throughout history, mules and donkeys as well as played a crucial role in providing support to armies in the field. Horses were well suited to the tactics of the nomadic cultures from the steppes of Central Asia. Several East Asian cultures made extensive use of cavalry and chariots, Muslim warriors relied upon light cavalry in their campaigns throughout North Africa, Asia, and Europe beginning in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. Europeans used several types of war horses in the Middle Ages, with the decline of the knight and rise of gunpowder in warfare, light cavalry again rose to prominence, used in both European warfare and in the conquest of the Americas. Battle cavalry developed to take on a multitude of roles in the late 18th century, Horse cavalry began to be phased out after World War I in favour of tank warfare, though a few horse cavalry units were still used into World War II, especially as scouts. By the end of World War II, horses were seen in battle. Today, formal battle ready horse cavalry units have almost disappeared, horses are still seen in use by organized armed fighters in Third World countries. Many nations still maintain small units of mounted riders for patrol and reconnaissance, horses are also used for historical reenactment of battles, law enforcement, and in equestrian competitions derived from the riding and training skills once used by the military. A fundamental principle of equine conformation is form to function, therefore, the type of horse used for various forms of warfare depended on the work performed, the weight a horse needed to carry or pull, and distance travelled. Weight affects speed and endurance, creating a trade-off, armour added protection, therefore, various cultures had different military needs. In some situations, one type of horse was favoured over all others. The average horse can carry up to approximately 30% of its body weight. While all horses can pull more than they can carry, the horses can pull varies widely, depending on the build of the horse, the type of vehicle, road conditions. Horses harnessed to a vehicle on a paved road can pull as much as eight times their weight
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Domestication
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Charles Darwin recognized the small number of traits that made domestic species different from their wild ancestors. There is a difference between domestic and wild populations. The dog was the first domesticated vertebrate, and was established across Eurasia before the end of the Late Pleistocene era, well before cultivation and before the domestication of other animals. Among birds, the domestic species today is the chicken, important for meat and eggs, though economically valuable poultry include the turkey, guineafowl. Birds are also kept as cagebirds, from songbirds to parrots. The longest established invertebrate domesticates are the bee and the silkworm. Terrestrial snails are raised for food, while species from several phyla are kept for research, the domestication of plants began at least 12,000 years ago with cereals in the Middle East, and the bottle gourd in Asia. Agriculture developed in at least 11 different centres around the world, domesticating different crops, Domestication means belonging to the house. Animals domesticated for home companionship are usually called pets, while those domesticated for food or work are called livestock or farm animals and this definition recognizes both the biological and the cultural components of the domestication process and the impacts on both humans and the domesticated animals and plants. All past definitions of domestication have included a relationship between humans with plants and animals, but their differences lay in who was considered as the partner in the relationship. This new definition recognizes a mutualistic relationship in both partners gain benefits. Domestication has vastly enhanced the reproductive output of crop plants, livestock, Domestication syndrome is the suite of phenotypic traits arising during domestication that distinguish crops from their wild ancestors. The domestication of animals is the relationship between animals with the humans who have influence on their care and reproduction. Charles Darwin recognized the small number of traits that made domestic species different from their wild ancestors, there is a genetic difference between domestic and wild populations. Domestication should not be confused with taming, the beginnings of animal domestication involved a protracted coevolutionary process with multiple stages along different pathways. The dog was the first domesticant, and was established across Eurasia before the end of the Late Pleistocene era, well before cultivation and before the domestication of other animals. Humans did not intend to domesticate animals from, or at least they did not envision a domesticated animal resulting from, in both of these cases, humans became entangled with these species as the relationship between them, and the human role in their survival and reproduction, intensified. Although the directed pathway proceeded from capture to taming, the two pathways are not as goal-oriented and archaeological records suggest that they take place over much longer time frames
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Dnieper
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It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth longest river in Europe. The total length ranges between 2,145 km and 2,201 km with a basin of 504,000 square kilometres. The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations, the Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe. In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road, Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga. The name Dnieper is derived from Sarmatian Dānu apara the river on the far side, according to V. Abaev the name Dnieper derives from Scythian Dānu apr deep river, while the name Dniester is combination of Scythian Dānu and Thracian Ister, the old name of Dniester. In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the name, albeit pronounced differently, Russian, Днепр, Belarusian, Дняпро or Днепр, Ukrainian. The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively - and its Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus was Slavuta or Slavutych, the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai. The name in Crimean Tatar, Özü, the total length of the river is 2,145 kilometres, of which 485 km are within Russia,700 km are within Belarus, and 1,095 km are within Ukraine. Its basin covers 504,000 square kilometres, of which 289,000 km2 are within Ukraine,118,360 km2 are within Belarus, the source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs of the Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m. For 115 km of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine and its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv. On the Dnepr River to the south of Komarin urban-type settlement, Braghin District, the Dnieper has many tributaries with 89 being rivers of 100+ km. The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% out of all Ukraine, Dnieper Rapids were part of trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kiev Chronicle. The route was established in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids, after Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932, they were inundated by Dnieper Reservoir. The river is part of the Quagga mussels native range, the mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world where it has become an invasive species. From the mouth of the Prypiat River to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, there are six sets of dams and hydroelectric stations, the first constructed was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station near Zaporizhia, built in 1927–1932 with an output of 558 MW. It was destroyed during World War II, but was rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW, the Dnieper River in different regions Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script. Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the source to its mouth, Arheimar
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Don River (Russia)
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The Don is one of the major rivers of Russia and the 5th longest river in Europe. The Don basin is between the Dnieper basin to the west, the Volga basin to the east, and the Oka basin to the north. The Don rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast of Tula, from its source, the river first flows southeast to Voronezh, then southwest to its mouth. The main city on the river is Rostov on Don and its main tributary is the Seversky Donets. In antiquity, the river was viewed as the border between Europe and Asia by some ancient Greek geographers, during the times of the old Scythians it was known in Greek as the Tanaïs and has been a major trading route ever since. Tanais appears in ancient Greek sources as both the name of the river and of a city on it, situated in the Maeotian marshes, pliny gives the Scythian name of the Tanais as Silys. According to Plutarch, the Don River was also home to the legendary Amazons of Greek mythology, the area around the estuary is speculated to be the source of the Black Death. While the lower Don was well known to ancient geographers, its middle, the Don Cossacks, who settled the fertile valley of the river in the 16th and 17th centuries, were named after the river. The fort of Donkov was founded by the princes of Ryazan in the late 14th century and it is shown as Donko in Mercators Atlas, Donkov was again relocated in 1618, appearing as Donkagorod in Joan Blaeus map of 1645. Both Blaeu and Mercator follow the 16th-century cartographic tradition of letting the Don originate in a great lake, Mercator still follows Giacomo Gastaldo in showing a waterway connecting this lake to Ryazan and the Oka River. In modern literature, the Don region was featured in the work And Quiet Flows the Don of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, at its easternmost point, the Don comes near the Volga, and the Volga-Don Canal, connecting the two rivers, is a major waterway. The water level of the Don in this area is raised by the Tsimlyansk Dam and this facility, with its dam, maintains sufficient water level both in its section of the Don and in the lowermost stretch of the Seversky Donets. This is presently the last lock on the Don, below Kochetovsky lock, the sufficient depth of the navigation waterway is maintained by dredging
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Bit (horse)
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It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth. It is held on a head by means of a bridle and has reins attached for use by a rider. Although there are hundreds of variations, the basic families of bits are defined by the way in which they use or do not use leverage. They include, Direct pressure bits without leverage, Snaffle bit, Uses a bit ring at the bit mouthpiece to apply pressure on the bars, tongue. Leverage bits, Curb bit, A bit that uses a type of lever called a shank that puts pressure not only on the mouth, pelham bit, A single curb bit with two sets of reins attached to rings at the mouthpiece and end of the shank. Partly combines snaffle and curb pressure, kimblewick or Kimberwicke, A hybrid design that uses a slight amount of mild curb leverage on a bit ring by use of set rein placement on the ring. The port or straight piece goes inside the mouth, and the circular part lies under the jaw, the bit is attached to separate head piece or the head collar and the lead is clipped onto the bit and headcollar to limit the severity. Types of headgear for horses that exert control with a rather than a bit are usually called hackamores. The riders of early domesticated horses probably used some type of bitless headgear made of sinew, leather, components of the earliest headgear may be difficult to determine, as the materials would not have held up over time. For this reason, no one can say with certainty which came first, there is evidence of the use of bits, located in two sites of the Botai in ancient Kazakhstan, dated about 3500-3000 BC. Nose rings appear on the equids portrayed on the Standard of Ur, to date, the earliest known artistic evidence of use of some form of bitless bridle comes in illustrations of Synian horseman, dated approximately 1400 BC. The first bits were made of rope, bone, horn, metal bits came into use between 1300 and 1200 BC, originally made of bronze. In modern times, nickel was a favored material until about 1940, copper, aurigan and sweet iron are incorporated into some bits to encourage salivation in the mouth of the horse, which encourages a softer mouth and more relaxed jaw. Bits also can be made of materials such as rubber or plastic. A bit consists of two components, the bit mouthpiece that goes inside the horses mouth, and the bit rings of a snaffle bit or shanks of a curb bit, to which the bridle. Particular mouthpieces do not define the type of bit, the mouthpiece of a horses bit is the first factor most people think of when assessing the severity and action of the bit. Therefore, it is considered when choosing a bit for a horse. Many mouthpieces are not allowed in certain competitions, Bit mouthpieces may be single jointed, double-jointed, mullen, or have an arched port in the center of varying height, with or without joints
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Archaeology
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Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites
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Chariot
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A chariot is a type of carriage driven by a charioteer using primarily horses to provide rapid motive power. Chariots were used by armies as transport or mobile platforms, for hunting or for racing. The word chariot comes from the Latin carrus, itself a loanword from Gaulish, a chariot of war or one used in military parades was called a car. In ancient Rome and some other ancient Mediterranean civilizations, a required two horses, a triga three, and a quadriga four. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel, the earliest spoke-wheeled chariots date to ca.2000 BCE. The use of chariots peaked around 1300 BCE, Chariots had lost their military importance by the 1st century CE, but chariot races continued to be popular in Constantinople until the 6th century. The domestication of the horse was an important step toward civilization, an increasing amount of evidence supports the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes approximately 4000-3500 BCE. The invention of the used in transportation most likely took place in Europe. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid 4th millennium BCE near-simultaneously in the Northern Caucasus, the earliest vehicles may have been ox carts. Starokorsunskaya kurgan in the Kuban region of Russia contains a grave of the Maikop Culture. The two solid wooden wheels from this kurgan have been dated to the half of the fourth millennium. Soon thereafter the number of burials in this Northern Caucasus region multiplied. As David Anthony writes in his book The Horse, the Wheel and Language, in Eastern Europe and it is a clay pot excavated in a Funnelbeaker settlement in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland. The oldest securely dated real wheel-axle combination in Eastern Europe is the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel, horses were introduced to Transcaucasia at the time of the Kura-Araxes culture, beginning about 3300 BCE. Prior to that, horse bones were not found, during the Kura-Araxes period, horses seem to become rather widespread, with signs of domestication. It is widely believed that wheeled transport was invented in Mesopotamia, nevertheless, recent archaeological evidence seems to indicate otherwise, pointing to Neolithic Europe. At the same time, in Mesopotamia, some intriguing early pictograms of a sled that rests on wooden rollers or wheels have been found and they date from about the same time as the early wheel discoveries in Europe and may indicate knowledge of the wheel. The earliest depiction of vehicles in the context of warfare is on the Standard of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, the hybrids were used by the Eblaite, early Sumerian, Akkadian and Ur III armies
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Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
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Transport
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Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, the field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations. Transport is important because it enables trade between people, which is essential for the development of civilizations, terminals may be used both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance. Vehicles traveling on these networks may include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, people, helicopters, operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be public or private, depending on the country. Passenger transport may be public, where operators provide scheduled services, freight transport has become focused on containerization, although bulk transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part in growth and globalization, but most types cause air pollution. While it is subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make traffic flow. A mode of transport is a solution that makes use of a type of vehicle, infrastructure. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several of the modes, each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen for a trip on the basis of cost, capability, and route. Human powered transport, a form of transportation, is the transport of people and/or goods using human muscle-power. Modern technology has allowed machines to enhance human power, human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by watercraft rowing and skiing, even the air can be entered with human-powered aircraft. Animal-powered transport is the use of working animals for the movement of people, humans may ride some of the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in teams, to pull sleds or wheeled vehicles. A fixed-wing aircraft, commonly called airplane, is a craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish this from rotary-wing aircraft, where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to the air generates lift, a gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners, two things necessary for aircraft are air flow over the wings for lift and an area for landing. The majority of aircraft also need an airport with the infrastructure to receive maintenance, restocking, refueling and for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo and passengers. While the vast majority of land and take off on land, some are capable of take off and landing on ice, snow
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Trade
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Trade, or commerce, involves the transfer of goods or services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. A network that allows trade is called a market, the original form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchange of goods and services for other goods and services. Barter is trading things without the use of money, later one side of the barter started to involve precious metals, which gained symbolic as well as practical importance. Modern traders generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money, as a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money greatly simplified and promoted trade, Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more than two traders is called multilateral trade. Trade exists due to the specialization and division of labor, in which most people concentrate on an aspect of production. As such, trade at prices between locations can benefit both locations. Trade originated with human communication in prehistoric times, trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other before the innovation of modern-day currency. Peter Watson dates the history of commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. In the Mediterranean region the earliest contact between cultures were of members of the species Homo sapiens principally using the Danube river, at a time beginning 35–30,000 BCE, Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age, Trade in obsidian is believed to have taken place in Guinea from 17,000 BCE. The earliest use of obsidian in the Near East dates to the Lower, Trade in the stone age was investigated by Robert Carr Bosanquet in excavations of 1901. Trade is believed to have first begun in south west Asia, obsidian was traded at distances of 900 kilometres within the Mediterranean region. Trade in the Mediterranean during the Neolithic of Europe was greatest in this material, networks were in existence at around 12,000 BCE Anatolia was the source primarily for trade with the Levant, Iran and Egypt according to Zarins study of 1990. Melos and Lipari sources produced among the most widespread trading in the Mediterranean region as known to archaeology, the Sari-i-Sang mine in the mountains of Afghanistan was the largest source for trade of Lapis Lazuli. The material was most largely traded during the Kassite period of Babylonia beginning 1595 BCE, ebla was a prominent trading centre during the third millennia, with a network reaching into Anatolia and north Mesopotamia. Materials used for creating jewelry were traded with Egypt since 3000 BCE, long-range trade routes first appeared in the 3rd millennium BCE, when Sumerians in Mesopotamia traded with the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley. The Phoenicians were noted sea traders, traveling across the Mediterranean Sea, for this purpose they established trade colonies the Greeks called emporia
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Agriculture
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Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
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