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plural noun: horses

3rd person present: horses

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It is thought to be one of the oldest breeds, and is known for its spirit and endurance. Arabians are used today in many disciplines, including western, saddle seat, and even dressage.”

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Known as the fastest breed of horse over short distances, Quarter horses are popular mounts for both trail and competition. They are often used for western pleasure riding and other western events such as barrel racing, roping and cutting, but they can also make excellent hunt seat mounts and even race horses.
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They make excellent sport horses, and are used as hunters and jumpers, and as mounts for dressage, polo and fox hunting.”

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Its smooth gaits, such as the four-beat “running walk,” make it comfortable for riding long distances, so it was the mount of choice for many Civil War generals. 

In fact, it is believed that Robert E. Lee’s mount, Traveler, was part Tennessee Walking Horse. Today, Tennessee Walkers are used as both show horses and pleasure mounts.”

Small in stature but big in heart, they are used today as a riding horse and driving horses and excel in the western and saddle seat disciplines. The Morgan horse is also the state animal of Vermont.

While some people consider the paint a “color breed,” the American Paint Horse Association considers them a true breed, as paints have a strict bloodline requirement and distinctive breed characteristics. 

Like the Quarter Horse, they excel in many western disciplines and are often used as pleasure mounts.”

They are tough, independent, hardy and sure-footed, with big bodies and sparse manes and tails. Appaloosas are often used as stock horses and pleasure mounts, and also make excellent trail horses.”

While they are extremely small, they are considered horses and not ponies. In the past, the breed has been kept as pets by nobility and used for work in coal mines. Today they are used as driving horses and sometimes even as service animals.”

Warmbloods are characterized by open stud book policies and are known for their prowess as sport horses, excelling in jumping as well as dressage.”

With long, thick manes and tails, the Andalusian is strong, compact and elegant. While in the past many different coat colors were found, most present-day Andalusians are grey or bay. Today they are used for dressage, driving, saddle seat and even jumping.

The list of horse breeds is exhaustive but these 10 are the most popular. Other popular breeds include the Rocky Mountain Horse, Morgan Horse, Shetland Pony, the Gypsy Vanner horse, and the Friesian Horse.  There is a good chance that the horses you see in paddocks along the road are one of these awesome breeds!”

Horses only have one stomach, unlike cows, and it is small. So to get enough food, a horse must graze throughout the day.

The foal is able to stand soon after birth and becomes mature at 3 to 5 years of age. At 2 years old, male foals are driven away from the herd by the stallion. The young males ban together in a herd until they find a herd of females that they can lead. 

So are there any truly wild horses left? Surprisingly, yes.

There is one single sub-species of horse that is still entirely wild, having never been domesticated by humans. The endangered Przewalski's horse is native to the steppes of Mongolia. We highlighted this horse recently, noting, "The Przewalski's horse is a subspecies of Equus ferus and is considered the closest relative of the domestic horse. It is cousin to zebras and the wild ass, which all fall under the Equidae family. The split between Przewalski's horse species and the ancestors of domestic horses happened somewhere between 120,000 and 240,000 years ago."

The Przewalski's horse had a narrow brush with extinction and is still on the cusp of disappearing forever. It would be a tragedy to lose the last of these horses, since they are a link back in time to horses before domestication.