Portrait of a Horse and Poetry in Motion

 

“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.” – Sharon Ralls Lemon

Portrait of a Horse

Portrait: Horse | Medium: Pen & Ink | Size: 8 inches x 10 inches

Horses were first domesticated more than four thousand years ago. Except some in North America, almost everywhere else, the horses you find are domesticated. Contrary to what you may think, these wild horses are descendants of domesticated horses that were allowed to roam free and later, after several generations, became wild; instead of the other way round.

In the wild, horses live in groups of 5-15 with a male horse (also called stallion) in charge. Each stallion has a small group of female horses called mares with whom he mates. The Baby horses until they grow up, then the stallion throws out the colts (the male horses of around 2-years of age,) so that they don’t compete with him for the affection of the ladies.The colts then look for other horses to form their own groups.

Traditionally used for riding, pulling logs, carriages, horses were mostly employed in the military as cavalry horses. There are more than 400 breeds of horses that exist today. Some horses are bred exclusively for racing.

Coat and Markings on a Horse

Their coat color is generally Bay (reddish-brown), Chestnut (dark red,) or Gray or a variation of these. Two horses which are of same color are distinguished by their markings – the white patches on muzzle/head and foot. These markings have white hair with mostly pink skin underneath. Color of coat of horse may change slightly with age but the markings of a horse will remain same whole of its life.

Physical Characteristics of Horse

Height:(at shoulders) 30-75 in
Weight: 120 – 2200 lb
Lifespan: 25-30 years
Coat: The most common colors are Bay, chestnut and Gray

Now some interesting facts and news about horses.

Some Horse Facts

• Horses have the biggest eyes of all land mammals. (Even bigger and Mr. Bean’s.)
• A horse can look in all directions(has 360 degree vision) because his eyes are located on either sides of his head. (Perfectly equipped to be the chosen on-road companion for man.)
• Horses can stand and rum almost immediately after birth. (You can often hear a just-born baby horse exclaim, “look mom, I can run!”)
• They don’t need to sleep more than 2-3 hours-a-day. (I wish I were a horse.)
• Horse hoofs are made from the same protein from which our hair or nails are made. (But you never find them biting their nails.)
• Most popular breed of horse is Arabian horse.

World’s Five Most Famous Race Horses

Read about Seabiscuit, Secretariat, John Henry, Smarty Jones and Man O’ War, the five most famous race horses.

Visit World’s five most famous race horses here

Famous Horses of Famous Historical Men

These great men and their horses belonged to the cavalry of old era. These great horses helped their masters achieve victory in their quests. The horses were the most important ally of these men in their battles. The following link has some cool information about Alexander the Great and Bucephalus, Napoleon and Marengo, The Duke of Wellington and Copenhagen, and Robert E. Lee and Traveller.

Visit the Horses of Famous Historical Men page here.

And finally to sum-up this post:

Beryl Markham a British-born Kenyan aviator, adventurer, racehorse trainer and author once wrote:

“A lovely horse is always an experience… It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words.”

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