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Grass is a natural source of nutrition for a horse. Equine nutrition is the feeding of horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and other equines. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care. Horses are non-ruminant herbivores of a type known as a "hindgut fermenter." Horses have only one stomach, as do humans.
A newborn horse is "foaled". After a horse is one year old, it is no longer a foal, and is a "yearling". There are no special age-related terms for young horses older than yearlings. When young horses reach breeding maturity, the terms change: a filly over three (four in horse racing) is called a mare, and a colt over three is called a stallion.
A weanling horse is a foal that has been weaned, usually between four and six months old. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling. Weanlings are separated from their dam and often grouped with other weanlings to keep each other company. Weaning is a very stressful time for a foal. [4] [5]: 231
A measurement of the height of a horse. Originally taken from the size of a grown man's hand but now standardized to 4 inches. The measurement is usually taken from the ground to the withers. If expressed with a period and number after it, the number represents additional inches, so 15.3 hands ("fifteen-three") would be 15 times four inches ...
Weaning in horses usually takes place when the foal is 4 to 5 months old, [30] as by this point the foal no longer needs nutrients beyond what the mare offers. [31] Prior to weaning the foal, there is usually a creep feeder set up to allow the foal to begin consuming feed that the mare cannot access. [31]
Obese American horse: fat deposits can be seen on the back, between the ribs and on the rump. The horse body mass is highly variable, depending on breed, model, physiological state, condition, owner's purpose and usage of the animal. Always 65 % to 75 % water, it is divided on average between 50 % muscle, 11 % bone and 10 % fat.
The adult height of the PHBA horse should be 14 to 17 hands (56 to 68 inches, 142 to 173 cm), and the horse must not show draft horse or pony characteristics. An individual that does not meet the height requirements may still be accepted if it is registered in one of the breed registries recognized by the PHBA.
Horse teeth often wear in specific patterns, based on the way the horse eats its food, and these patterns are often used to conjecture on the age of the horse after it has developed a full mouth. As with aging through observing tooth eruption, this can be imprecise, and may be affected by diet, natural abnormalities, and vices such as cribbing .