The Arabian horse is a breed of horse with a reputation for intelligence, high spirit, and outstanding stamina. Here are just a few well known horse breeds: Arabian Horse

Related: Hot, Cold, Warm Blooded Horses Horse Breed Examples In between these extremes, horses were bred to be particularly suitable for tasks that included pulling carriages, carrying heavily-armored knights, jumping, racing, herding other animals and packing supplies. Ponies of all breeds developed out of a dual need to create mounts suitable for children as well as for work in small places like mine shafts or in areas where there was insufficient forage to support larger draft animals. Therefore, light, refined horses such as the Arabian horse or the Akhal-Teke developed in dry climates to be fast and with great endurance over long distances, while heavy draft horse such as the Belgian developed out of a need to pull plows and perform other farm work. Modern horse breeds developed in response to the need for ‘form to function’ that is, the necessity to develop certain physical characteristics necessary to perform a certain type of work. Feral horses are wild or semi-wild horses. Shire horses are a tall breed, with mares standing 16 hands (64 inches, 163 centimetres) and over and stallions standing 17 hands (68 inches, 173 centimetres) and over. The Shire horse is the largest of England’s native horses and was used mainly as a draught horse.

Heavy or draft horses which can weigh up to 2000 pounds and are strong with large bones and sturdy legs e.g.

Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Morgan horses and Arabians.

Light horses with small bones, thin legs and weighing less than 1300 pounds e.g.

Ponies are small horses under 14.2 hands (58 inches) tall e.g.

There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies. Horses come in lots of different colors and shades – take a look at some of these colors below:Īs well as being a variety of colors – horses come in a variety of breeds too. (the withers are at 9 on this diagram of a horse’s anatomy) Horse Colors

Measurement is taken from the ground up to the withers, the highest point on the horses shoulder. Horses are measured by the width of a human hand – 4 inches or 10 centimetres. Some horses, such as the miniature horse, can be kept as pets. Lighter horses were bred for racing or riding, heavier horses for farming and other tasks requiring pulling power. However, horse breeds were developed to allow horses to be specialized for certain tasks. Most breeds of horses are able to perform work such as carrying humans on their backs or can be harnessed to pull objects such as carts or plows.

Horae breeds