Animal Wallpapers Blog: Horse Wallpapers

Horse

Horse: The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated, such as the endangered Przewalski's horse, a separate subspecies, and the only remaining true wild horse. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.
Horses' anatomy enables them to make use of speed to escape predators and they have a well-developed sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight instinct. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down. Female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.

Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited "hot bloods" with speed and endurance; "cold bloods", such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and "warmbloods", developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, developed for many different uses.
For complete detail on Horse please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse

List of Horse Breed and their information please visit: Horse Breed Info

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Horse in Hindu Mythology

Horse has his own place in Hindu scriptures.

Sangyaa and Ashwinee Kumaar
The first mention we find is of Soorya's wife Sangyaa. Soorya Dev's first wife Sangyaa could not tolerate Soorya Dev's Tej, so after giving birth to three children, she kept her shadow (Chhaayaa) with Soorya Dev and went to Uttar Kuru Desh to do Tapasyaa. At that time she changed her form also, to a mare. When Soorya Dev made out that Chhaayaa was not his real wife, He went to hs father-in-law Vishwakarmaa and asked him Sangyaa's whereabouts. He told him that she had gone to Uttar Kuru and was living there in the form of a mare. Soorya Dev went there assuming the form of a horse and wanted to make love with her, but Sangyaa wouldn't agree as she did not know who that horse was. Later Soorya Dev showed his real form and made love with her in the horse form and had a twins - Ashwinee Kumaar. Later they were appointed as Devtaa's Vaidya (traditional doctors). They had the head of horse.

Soorya Appears Again as a Horse
When Yaagyavalkya vomited out the knowledge given by his Guru Vaishampaayan Jee, he looked for better knowledge. he worshipped Soorya and pleased him. Soorya Dev appeared before him in the form of a horse and asked him to ask for a Var. He asked Soorya Dev to give him the knowledge which has never been given before to anybody else. Then Soorya Dev (in the form of horse) delivered him Shukla Yajur Ved to him. Since this knowledge was delivered by the horse's mouth, it is called Vaajsaneya Sanhitaa too. For more information please visit: Sushmajee

Seventh Horse of the Sun

Suraj ka saatvaan ghoda..

Still remember this title from an obscure movie I had watched on Doordarshan as a kid. The movie went on to become a classic by Shyam Benegal and the phrase has always stayed in some corner of my mind.. What could it have meant, the '7th Horse of the Sun'? For that matter, why have seven horses in the first place?

In Hindu mythology, Surya travels through the sky on a seven-horse, twelve-spoked chariot, driven by Arun (the brother of Garud), with its arrival heralded by Usha, the goddess of Dawn. For more info please visit: Decode Hindu Mythology

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Interesting Websites to visit:

National Geographic
The Horse
International Museum of the Horse

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Horse Wallpapers: