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A stallion standing up. A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ().Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to female horses, known as mares, and castrated males, called geldings.
Most young horses in the wild are allowed to stay with the herd until they reach sexual maturity, usually in their first or second year. Studies of wild herds have shown that the herd stallion will usually drive out both colts and fillies; this may be an instinct that prevents inbreeding. The fillies usually join another band soon afterward ...
Yearling (horse) A yearling. A yearling is a young horse either male or female that is between one and two years old. [1] Yearlings are comparable in development to a very early adolescent and are not fully mature physically. While they may be in the earliest stages of sexual maturity, they are considered too young to be breeding stock.
Horse breeding. Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses. Furthermore, modern breeding management and technologies can ...
A few horse owners delay gelding a horse on the grounds that the testosterone gained from being allowed to reach sexual maturity will make him larger. However, recent studies have shown that this is not so: any apparent muscle mass gained solely from the presence of hormones will be lost over time after the horse is gelded, and in the meantime ...
Horses mate in spring and summer; autumn is a transition time, and anestrus occurs during winter. A feature of the fertility cycle of horses and other large herd animals is that it is usually affected by the seasons. The number of hours daily that light enters the eye of the animal affects the brain, which governs the release of certain ...
The traditional standard for height of a horse or a pony at maturity is 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm). An animal 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm) or over is usually considered to be a horse and one less than 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm) a pony, [31]: 12 but there are many exceptions to the traditional standard.
The young are nursed for a relatively long time, often into their second year, with rhinos reaching sexual maturity around eight or ten years old, but horses and tapirs maturing around two to four years old. [19] [20] Perissodactyls are long-lived, with several species, such as rhinos, reaching an age of almost 50 years in captivity. [21]