The horse is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, close to Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BCE, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BCE. 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, which are horses that never have been domesticated and historically linked to the megafauna category of species. 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.
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated camels. By comparison, the equivalent term for castrated male cattle would be steer, and wether for sheep and goats.
A veterinarian (vet) is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal reproduction, health management, conservation, husbandry and breeding and preventive medicine like nutrition, vaccination and parasitic control as well as biosecurity and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention.
The New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is a college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. It was founded in 1894. It is the first statutory college of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
The Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is the veterinary school of Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland, College Park - both of which are public research universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland, respectively. The college was created as a joint venture of the two universities and their respective state governments in order to fill the need for veterinary medicine education in both states. Students from both states are considered "in-state" students for admissions and tuition purposes.
Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler cowboy" to develop a rapport with horses, using methods said to be derived from observation of the natural behavior of free-roaming horses and rejecting abusive training methods.
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities, ranging anywhere from equine sports such as horse racing, dressage, or jumping, to therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities.
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old. The word can also be used for other female equine animals, particularly mules and zebras, but a female donkey is usually called a "jenny". A broodmare is a mare used for breeding.
Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a degree in veterinary medicine Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine is an American educational institution located in Raleigh, North Carolina that offers master's and doctorate-level degree programs; interdisciplinary research in a range of veterinary and comparative medicine topics through centers, institutes, programs and laboratories; and external engagement through public service programs and activities.
Veterinary acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine and a pseudoscientific practice of performing acupuncture on animals. The best studies of the effects of animal acupuncture have produced consistently negative results.
The Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) is a national association of student chapters of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) at schools and colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. SAVMA acts as a single national voice for veterinary students in accordance with the policies and goals of the AVMA, coordinates AVMA student chapter activities, facilitates the exchange of information, and represents the interests of student veterinarians within AVMA, the veterinary profession and in the political and legislative arenas nationally.
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is a program of natural horsemanship, founded in 1981 by Pat Parelli. The program is headquartered in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
Veterinary chiropractic, also known as animal chiropractic, is chiropractic for animals – a type of spinal manipulation. Veterinary chiropractors typically treat horses, racing greyhounds, and pets. Veterinary chiropractic is a controversial method due to a lack of evidence as to the efficacy of chiropractic methods. Contrary to traditional medicine, chiropractic therapies are alternative medicine. There is some degree of risk associated with even skilled manipulation in animals as the potential for injury exists with any technique used. The founder of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, used the method on animals, partly to challenge claims that the placebo effect was responsible for favorable results in humans. Chiropractic treatment of large animals dates back to the early 1900s. As of 2019, many states in the US provide statutory or regulatory guidelines for the practice of chiropractic and related treatments on animals, generally requiring some form of veterinary involvement.
Pediatric spaying or neutering is defined as performing an ovariohysterectomy (spaying) or orchidectomy on a kitten or puppy between the ages of 6 and 14 weeks. Spaying and neutering are sterilization procedures which prevent the animals from reproducing. The procedures are also referred to as “gonadectomies” in the veterinary literature.
Veterinary medicine in the United States is the performance of veterinary medicine in the United States, normally performed by licensed medical professionals, and subject to provisions of statute law which vary by state. Veterinary medicine is normally led by veterinary physicians, termed veterinarians or vets, but also by paraveterinary workers, such as veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants. This can be augmented by other paraprofessionals with specific specialties, such as animal physiotherapy or dentistry, and species-relevant roles such as farriers.
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which may include contests and other riding purposes. The level of education and the yearly salary they can earn for this profession may differ depending on where the person is employed.
Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital was established in Lexington, Kentucky in 1986 as a partnership between veterinarians William Rood and Thomas Riddle. The facility offers a range of services for the treatment of horses. They have cared for many famous Thoroughbreds both at the racetrack and on the farm. They also provide support for other equine sporting events such as the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games held in Lexington. Rood & Riddle operates branches in Saratoga Springs, New York and Wellington, Florida.
Susan Marie Stover is a professor of veterinary anatomy at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory. One of the focuses of her wide-ranging research is musculoskeletal injuries in racehorses, particularly catastrophic breakdowns. Her identification of risk factors has resulted in improved early detection and changes to horse training and surgical repair methods. On July 30, 2016, Stover received the Lifetime Excellence in Research Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association. In August 2016, she was selected for induction into the University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame.
