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The English Working Horse.
There are basically three types of 'working' horse:
The light riding horse, the heavy horse or draught horse, and the pony.
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Light Horse.
Breeds of light horse include the Arab, small, agile, highly spirited, and intelligent; Thoroughbred, derived from the Arab via English mares, used in horse racing for its speed (the present stock is descended from three Arab horses introduced to Britain in the 18th century, especially the Darley Arabian; they are therefore closely related and so have only a limited range of genetic characteristics to improve with breeding); Anglo-Arab, a French breed derived from crosses between English Thoroughbreds and Arabs; North American Standardbred, developed from Thoroughbreds for pacing and trotting races; Tennessee Walking Horse, developed for overseeing southern US plantations, with a special gait (smooth and comfortable for hours but as fast as a trot); quarter horse, used by cowboys for herding; hackney, a high-stepping harness horse; Lippizaner, a pure white horse, named after its place of origin in Yugoslavia (bred in Austria and Italy since the 16th century, these horses are used for advanced dressage, as practised by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna).
Heavy Horse.
Among breeds of heavy horse are the shire, the largest draught horse in the world at 17 hands (1 hand = 10.2 cm/4 in), descended from the medieval war horses which carried knights in armour, and marked by long hair or `feathering' round its fetlocks (`ankles'); the Clydesdale, smaller than the Shire but possessing great strength and endurance; and the Suffolk punch, a sturdy all-round working horse.
Pony.
The pony, with a smaller build (under 14.2 hands, or 1.47 m/58 in), combines the qualities of various of the larger breeds of horse. Pony breeds include the Highland, the largest and strongest of native British breeds, unequalled for hardiness and staying power; the Welsh cob, similar to the Highland but faster; the smaller New Forest; and, smaller again, the Exmoor and Dartmoor. The smallest breed of pony is the hardy Shetland, about 70 cm/27 in high. The Dales and Fell ponies of Cumbria were formerly used by farmers as working horses. The Connemara is a large Irish breed, frequently used as a polo pony.
The mule is the usually sterile offspring of a female horse and a male ass, and a hardy pack-animal; the hinny is a similarly sterile offspring of a male horse and a female ass, but less useful as a beast of burden.
A horse is sexually mature at two to three years and can live 20 to 30 years in reasonable conditions; a few are known to have lived past 40. The gestation period, from conception to birth of a foal, is 11 months.
photos by Sue.
