About Horses

Horse breeds

A horse breed is defined by characteristics such as physical appearance (size, body shape), color, pattern, natural marks and temper.

It is not possible to cover all the details about the definition of a horse breed on this page. However, we list some of the major colors and markings to give a brief impression of the characteristics employed to describe a horse breed.

Basic body colors for describing a breed:

• Brown: most commonly a mixture of black and brown.
• Bay: any shade of brown, with tail, mane, muzzle and lower legs partly black.
• Black: most black horses are actually a very dark bay.
• Chestnut: varying from a light yellow to dark liver.
• White: most white horses are actually light gray.
• Additionally, there are three major color variations (dun, gray and roan) and three major color breeds (palomino, pinto, appaloosa), which are not described in detail here.

Markings on horses' faces and legs:

• Blaze: a white mark covering forehead and face.
• Stripe: a white mark similar to a blaze but narrower.
• Strip: a white mark halfway down the face.
• Star: a white patch on the forehead.
• Snip: a white patch on nose or lip.
• Whorl: a patch of hair on the forehead swirling in the opposite direction to the surrounding hair.
• Sock: a ring of white hair at the hock.
• Stocking: a ring of white hair extending from hoof to hock or knee.

A good pasture for your horse

The dimensions and quality of the pasture have to cover the daily amount of forage and satisfy the need for exercise and motion. If a pasture for grazing is not available, an adequate amount of hay must be supplied. Three hints on maintaining a good pasture:

• Regular fertilizing assists the productivity of the plants on your pastures.
• Adding new seed annually assists the production of good grass.
• Rotational grazing assists re-grow and recovering of plants.
• There is a certain danger for your horse from potentially toxic plants that may exist in your region. To avoid possible poisoning taking precautions is strongly recommended. The best precaution of course is access to good pasture. See also nutrition section.

Appropriate stable management

The horse spends most of the day in its stable. Therefore, stable design and management are of great importance. The wrong stable design can be the cause of injuries and diseases, especially diseases of the respiratory tract, and the so-called stable vices. Additionally, the design and positioning of feed storage facilities and other ancillary buildings may contribute to problems.Important factors in appropriate stable design are stall size, airspace, floor area, humidity and temperature range. A well-tuned ventilation and insulation system is a prerequisite for adjusting humidity and temperature range. It also plays a key role in preventing the occurrence of dust, mould and ammonia which impair the well-being of horses:

• Dust is an irritant and can be infectious or allergenic.
• Moulds thrive in high moisture and heat and produce small spores that can travel deeply into the lungs upon inhalation.
• Ammonia derived from the horse's urine and feces is an irritant and increases mucus production.
• Stables also have to be cleaned regularly as part of the routine for internal parasite control.