Horse
Classification
The Horse is a single-hooved (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. 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.
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Subclass:
Theria
Infraclass:
Eutheria
Order: Perissodactyla
Family:
Equidae
Genus:
Equus
Species:
E. ferus
Subspecies: E. f. caballus
The horses' anatomy enables them to make use of speed to escape predators and they have a welldeveloped 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.
gestation lasts for approximately 335–340 days and usually results in one foal, twins are rare in
horses. Horses are a precocial species, and foals are capable of standing and running within a short
time following birth.
Horses are herbivores with a digestive system adapted to a forage diet of grasses and other plant
material, consumed steadily throughout the day. Therefore they have a relatively small stomach but
very long intestines to facilitate a steady flow of nutrients.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse
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Skull and mandible of a horse, lateral view
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1. Facial crest
2. Fossa for lacrimal soc
3.Zygomatic arch
4. Zygomatic process of frontal bone
5.Articular tubercle
6. Mandibular fossa
7. External sagittal crest
8. Nuchal crest
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9. Temporal fossa
10. Coronoid process
11. External acoustic meatus
12. Mastoid process
13. Condyloid fossa
14. Occipital condyle
15. Jugular process
16. Condylar process
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17. Mandibular notch
18. Ramus of mandible
19. Angle of mandible
20. Retroarticular process
21. Mental foramen
22. Nasal process of incisive bone
23. Infraorbital foramen
24. Nasoincisive notch
Skull and mandible of a horse, lateral view
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Body of incisive bone
Incisor teeth
Interalveolar border
Premolar teeth
Molar teeth
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Skull and mandible, caudal view
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External occipital
protuberance
Nuchal crest
Coronoid process
Mandibular fossa
Condylar process
Jugular process
Caudal alar
foramen
Hamulus of
pterygoid
Body of mandible
Angle of mandible
Mandible foramen
Ramus of
mandible
Choanae
Foramen magnum
Occipital condyle
Zygomatic arch
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1.Interincisive canal
2. Body of incisive bone
3. Nasal process of incisive bone
4. Infraorbital foramen
5. Facial crest
6. Orbit
7. Zygomatic process of frontal
bone
8. Zygomatic arch
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9.Temporal line
10. Nuchal crest
11. External saggital crest
12. Temporal fossa
13. Supraorbital foramen
14. Rostral lacrimal process
15. Nasoincisive notch
Skull of horse, ventral view
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1.Incisor teeth (11. 12. 13)
2. Palatine process of maxilla
3. Rostral end of facial crest
4. Choanae
5. Vomer
6. Wings of vomer
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7. Hamulus of pterygoid bone
8. Caudal alar foramen
9. Tympanic bulla
10. Foramen magnum
11. Occipital condyle
12. External acoustic meatus
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