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Just for fun!
Please take our new survey below
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Did you know?
Many horses live, (and work),
until they are over 30 years old!
The oldest recorded horse was
a barge horse in England known
as "Old Billy". He lived
till the
grand old age of 62!!
It is estimated that there
are about 750 million
horses
in the world.
Most foals are born
at night when the
herd is least
likely to
be on the move.
Modern racehorses all
posess very similar genes
- making
it VERY
hard to pick a winner!
Foals can stand soon
after birth and can
follow the herd
within
several hours.
MURPHY'S HORSE LAWS
There is no such thing as a sterile barn cat.
No one ever notices how you ride until you fall off.
The least useful horse in your barn will eat the most, require shoes every four weeks and need the vet at least
once a month.
A horse's misbehavior will be in direct proportion to the number of people who are watching.
Your favorite tack always gets chewed on, and your new blanket gets torn.
Tack you hate will never wear out and blankets you hate cannot be destroyed.
Horses you hate cannot be sold and will outlive you.
Clipper blades will become dull when your horse is half clipped.
If you approach within 50 feet of your barn in clean clothes, you will get dirty.
The number of horses you own will increase to the number of stalls in your barn.
Your barn will fall down without baling twine.
Hoof picks always run a way from home.
If you fall off, you will land on the site of your most recent injury.
If you are winning, then quit, because there is only one way to go Down!
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Horse Anatomy Facts
A full grown horse that weighs about 1,000 pounds contains
approximately 13.2 gallons of blood.
Horses have about 175 bones in their body..
A horse's hoof grows at a rate of about 1 cm
per month.
A horse's leg joints are not fully fused (grown) until
around the age of 3 1/2.
Most horse breeds have 18 ribs..
The Arabian has 17 ribs.
Most horses have 6 lumbar bones.
The Arabian has 5 lumbar bones.
Most horses have 18 tail vertabrea.
The Arabian has 16 tail vertabrea.
Horses can see in two directions at once.
Horses can see everywhere, except directly in front or
behind them.
Horses make 8 basic sounds- snort, squeal, greeting nicker,
courtship nicker, maternal nicker, neigh, roar, blow.
It is almost impossible for a horse to vomit-- if they do, their stomachs
usually rupture soon after.
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What is a Thoroughbred?
HOTBLOOD
OVERVIEW
The Thoroughbred is one of the most brilliant and versatile horses bred in the world today. It is mostly
noted for its speed on the race track, but also has great ability in hunting, polo, eventing and jumping. The Thoroughbred
has been used to create new breeds of horses and to up-grade others. The key to the Thoroughbred's greatness is its great
speed and endurance, for which it has been bred for nearly 300 years. The Thoroughbred originated in Great Britain, and its
ancestors were Arabians who were imported and bred to native sprinting mares. The breed is traditionally traced to three "foundation"
stallions: the Byerly Turk, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Darley Arabian.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The appearance of the Thoroughbred reveals its Arabian ancestry. It has a refined head,
with widely-spaced, intelligent eyes, a long, arched neck and prominent withers. The shoulder is extremely sloped. The heart
girth is deep and relatively narrow. The croup is high and the quarters are substantial. The legs are clean and long with
pronounced tendons. It has a long, low stride, giving it incomparable speed as a race horse. The Thoroughbred is predominately
bay in color, but gray, black, brown and chestnut are also found. It stands between 15 and 17 hands, the Thoroughbreds best
suited for sprinting have shorter backs, more substantial quarters and less height.
ORIGIN
The Thoroughbred's genetic origin is Arabian. The Arabian foundation stallions which were brought to Britain
in the late 1600s and early 1700s were bred to domestic mares - very probably Scottish Galloways - although they may have
been bred to Arabian mares, too. A substantial number of early Thoroughbreds were bred in the vale of Bedale in the County
of Yorkshire in Northern England.
The foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed and years in which they arrived in England were: the Byerly Turk (1689),
the Darley Arabian (1705) and the Godolphin Arabian (1728). Their progeny were the first Thoroughbreds, per se, and although
the foundation stallions had many off-spring, three of their descendants stand out as supreme: Herod, Eclipse and Matchem.
In the lines of these horses were some outstanding Thoroughbreds: for instance, Princequillo and Round Table descend from
Herod; Citation and Sir Ivor descend from Eclipse; and Man O' War from Matchem.
INTERESTING FACTS
The first Thoroughbred to arrive in America was a stallion named Bulle Rock, by the Darley
Arabian. He was imported to Virginia in 1730 by Samuel Gist. In 1757, Janus, a grandson of Godolphin Arabian, was imported
and became the founder of the Quarter Horse breed. Diomed, who was imported in 1800 was the most important Thoroughbred imported
to America in its early years. Lexington, by Boston, was foaled in 1850 and was the greatest sire of the 1800s.
Some famous modern Thoroughbreds are:
- Synsonby -- bred by Foxhall Keene, 1902, lost only two races in his career to Artful and Race King.
- Colin -- unbeaten in his brief career in 1907 and 1908, won the English Epsom Derby in 1908.
- Exterminator -- born in 1915, purchased in 1918 as a work horse for Sun Beau, the Derby favorite. When Sun Beau broke
down before the race, Exterminator, raced at thirty to one odds, was the surprise winner.
- Man O' War -- born in 1917, bought as a yearling by Samuel Riddle for $5,000, trained by Louis Feustel, his only loss
was to Upset, as a two-year-old when he was Horse of the Year. Won 20 of 21 races. One of the greatest Thoroughbred sires
of all times.
- Equipose -- won the 1931 Preakness and the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont, known as the "Chocolate Soldier." In 1942,
the year's leading sire posthumously, when his colt, Shut Out, won the Derby and was the top money winner.
- Citation -- The first Thoroughbred millionaire in history and a Triple Crown Winner. A versatile runner, by Bull Lea and
born at Calumet Farm, Lexington, in 1945. He died there in 1970 at age 25, after a long and successful career as a sire.
- Tom Fool -- born in 1949, purchased by Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney, Greentree Stable. Trained by John M. Gaver, second horse
in history to win the Handicap Triple Crown. Horse of the Year and Handicap Horse of 1953.
- Native Dancer -- this silver gray horse won 21 of 22 races in his career. Owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, best two-year-old
of 1952 and champion three-year-old in 1953, retired in 1954. Sired Raise A Native, Majestic Prince and Kauai King.
- Kelso -- Horse of the Year 1960-1964. Won the Handicappers' Triple Crown in 1961 followed by nearly every important American
Handicap Race. Owned by Mrs. Richard C. Dupont, trained by Carl Hanford. The gelding earned $1,977,896 after 8 seasons of
39 wins in 63 races.
- Secretariat (as pictured)-- in 1973, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Citation in 1948, won 16 of 21 starts,
fourth all-time money winner. Tied or broke 5 track records. Secretariat sold for an all-time of $6,080,000.
INFLUENCES
1. Arabian 2. Turk 3. Barb
For more information:
The Jockey Club Newmarket Suffolk CB8 8JL ENGLAND
The Jockey Club 821 Corporate Drive
Lexington KY 40503-2794 Phone: (606) 224-2700 or 800-444-8521 Fax: (606) 224-2710 Internet: http://www.equineonline.com
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Copyright 2009, Encore Thoroughbreds
a Daisymom05 Production
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