MORGAN HORSE Contents
MORGAN HORSE
Contents
Horse Industry
Horse Breeds
Aging horses
Nutrition
Reproduction
Health and Disease
Other Horse sites.
Horse Industry
It is estimated that the horse industry produces goods and services valued at $25 billion annually. Around 340,000 jobs are directly provided by the industry and generates additional jobs by the spending of suppliers and employees to around 1.4 million jobs total. There are around 7 million horses in the USA. Of these 725,000 are associated with racing and about 2 million in showing. An additional 1.2 million are probably working horses - farm and ranch work, rodeos, police work and polo. The balance are used for recreation.
Breeds of horses.
Although there are over 150 horse breed registeries they can be categorized
into 2 main groups. These are saddle and harness horses such
as the Arabian, Morgan, and Palomino and draft or heavy horses such
as the Percherons, Clydesdale and Suffolks. A hand is the standard measurement
in horses being equal to 4 inches. Thus a horse referred to as 14.2 means
14 hands and 2 inches or 58 inches in total. Measurement is made to the top
of the withers.
Light horses range from 14.2 - 17 hands and 900-1400lbs. Draft horses are
bigger than 17 hands and weigh more than 1400lbs. Ponies are less than 14.2
and usually weigh 500-900lbs. Below are a few selected examples:
Saddle and Harness Horses.
ARABIAN - riding and light draft horse with speed, endurance and intelligence. Tend to be highly strung. Stands between 14.1 and 15.1 hands.
THOROUGHBRED - racing, jumping and dressage horse withn speed and stamina, highly strung and energetic. Origins lie with 3 Arab stallions (Darley Arabian, Byerly Turk and the Godolphin Barb) which were bred to English brood mares.Stand 15 to 17 hands and weigh up to 1200 lbs.
MORGAN - energetic, willing and docile with incredible endurance. Used mainly for riding, harness and light draft. Between 14.1 and 15.2 hands. The Morgan horse breed is of particular significance to the US, Vermont and to UVM. It was the first native breed of horse developed in the USA. It was developed in Vermont and is the state animal. The world famous Morgan Horse Farm is the custodian of the breed. It is situated at Middlebury and is a part of the Department of Animal and Food Sciences of which we are very proud. For more information on the UVM Morgan Horse Farm click here.
QUARTER HORSE - agile, fast and quick turning gentle and excellent for working cattle. developed in USA . Stand between 14.1 and 16 hands.
STANDARDBRED - willing and competitive horse used for trotting and pacing. Between 14.2 and 16 hands and up to 1200 lbs.
Heavy or Draft Horses.
CLYDESDALE - calm, sociable and strong used for heavy draft, farm work and parades. Originate from Scotland reaching from 16.2 to 18 hands, weighing up to 2,200lbs.
PERCHERON - Very docileand quiet but willing and strong. Heavy draft and farm work. Usually between 15 and 19 hands weighing 1700-2600 lbs.
For detailed horse breed information click here
Age of a horse
The age of a horse can be approximated by inspecting its teeth. The baby teeth of a young horse are replaced with 6 upper and 6 lower adult front teeth starting around 2 -2.5 years of age. By 3 years the top and middle incisors are usually complete. At 4 years the next pair is complete leaving only one pair of temporary incisors. Thus with practice 3,4,5 year old horses can be readily distinguished.
Horse Nutrition
The horse is a herbivore but is not a ruminant. However, the nutritional requirements are broadly similar to the other domesticated herbiviores. While not having a rumen, the horse shows an adaptation of the hind gut to allow it to efficiently digest cellulose. The cecum is enlarged cecum and houses micro-organisms that can digest cellulose. Digestion occurring in the hind gut is less efficient than digestion in the rumen hence and, consequently, horse feces contain a lot of undigested fiber. To increase the efficiency the horse will practice coprophagy (feces eating) so that additional digestion of the cellulose is possible.
The most common sources of nutrients for horses are
legume or grass forages. The legumes (e.g. alfalfa, clover) have nitrogen-fixing
ability and are generally higher in protein than the grasses.
It is commonplace to include some concentrate in the diet as an additional
source of nutrients. The most common form of supplement is cereal grain
which is a source of energy. Proetin supplemenst may also be included in
the ration. The level of supplementary feed depends upon the qualaity of
forages, the activity of the horse and its age and phsyiological state (young
old, pregnant , lactating, breeding stallion etc.). Excessive feeds of grains
is not only uneconomic but will increase the potential for severe nutritional
diseases such as laminitis and obesity. In addition to energy and protein
the diet also needs to be balanced in terms of major and trace minerals and
vitamins. See also digestion.
Reproduction.
Horses are seasonal breeders breeding in the USA from spring through the summer or early fall, depending upon location. The estrous cycle averages 21-22 d with estrus lasting 5-7days. The gestation period is around 11 months or 340 days. The breed associations impose a universal birthdate for horses of January 1. This coincides with a February breeding which is problematic since most horses will not be naturally cycling in February. By far the majority of breeding in the equine industry is by natural mating, howver some breeds utilize artifical insemination technology and in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer are becoming more common.
Health and Disease
NON INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Laminitis . Often associated with nutritional
factors such as excessive grain consumption, lush pastures or consumption
of coldwater after exercise. The affected horse will be reluctant to walk
, and will do so very gingerly. The feet are extremely painful and often
warm to the touch because of the on-going inflammation. Other causes
can be infections, fever, physical trauma e,g, from hard ground.
Colic. Colic is abdominal pain. It can be caused
by many causes such as a twisted gut, diet, or parasites (despite section
heading). The nutritional forms include gas colic, usually due to lush grass,
in which there is excessive gas production in the intestine.
Impaction colic is a blockage of the intestine and can result sudden feed
changes, excessive grain or lush pasture, or foreign objects.
VIRAL DISEASES
Equine Infectious Anemia. One of the most important viral diseases of horses in the USA. Caused by a retro virus it has both acute and chronic forms. Consists of bouts of fever and anemia and the virus is shed in all secretions and excretions. It's other name is swamp fever, and its is spread by insects such as horseflies, deerflies etc. Clinical signs are fever, loss of appetite, depression, weight loss and ventral edema. Diagnosis by Coggins test.
Rabies. In the horse rabies is often insidious in onset and may even be presented to the veterinarian as a lameness or a colic. Usually does not show the mad form but more a paralytic course of events. Prevented by vaccination.
BACTERIAL DISEASES
Tetanus. An acute, often fatal disease caused by the toxin released by Clostridium tetani. Causes violent spasms and "lock jaw". Because the bacteria are anerobic , i.e. grow without air, the diseases usually follows the infection of a deep puncture wound with the bacteria which are present in soil and horse feces. Control is by immunization with tetanus toxoid.
Salmonellosis. Most common cause of enteric diseases in the adult horse. May be transmitted to humans. May remain as a enteric disease or the bacteria may invade the bloodstream leading to dissemination of the organism, fever and septicemia.
Strangles. Infection with Streptococcus equi leads to a respiratory disease and lymph-node enlargement ain teh head and neck. Accumulation of pus and swelling of the nodes can block the airways (hence the name). Can lead to,septicemia and abscess formation elsewhere in body. Disease is contagious and is spread via inhalation or ingestion of the organism. Treatment with higha n prolonged doses of antibiotic, surgical drainage of abscesses is possible but expensive and time consuming. Some inactivated vaccines are available.
PARASITIC DISEASES
Endoparasites. Horses are well know for the potential problems with gastro-intestinal parasites. the mpst important five are large roundworms, strongyles (large and small), pin worms and bots. The elements in controlling worm problems are similar. Good stable management and hygiene, avoidance of overstocking pastures, using racks to avoid feeding on the ground, and a regular deworming program.
Ectoparasites. These include flies, ticks,
mites and lice. Some of the biting flies can transmit viral diseases (e.g.
EIA) and certainly large populations can cause significant stress and
discomfort. Control is normally by reducing populations in buildings by insecticides
and by the use of pour-on or rub-on formulations on the body.
Other horse related sites
International museum of the horse
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