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tufts of long and stringy, white hair dangling over their hooves. They are thought to be descended from Midieval war horses.

Stock horses, which include mustangs, Arabian horses, American Quarter horses and Morgan horses, are usually used in ranch work or stock horse competitions.

Feral horses are often identified as "wild horses," but differ in an important way - they are descended from once-domesticated animals. There is only one surviving breed of true "wild" horses, known as the Przewalski's horse.

HOW WE BENEFIT FROM "HORSE POWER"
The spectrum of horse breeds is a broad and widely contrasted collection of beautiful and valuable animals - though your perception of "value" will likely depend on your needs. While some horses are bred merely for recreational riding, others are bred for racing, ranching, search and rescue operations, rodeo, and drafting.

In recent years, horses have also found a place in therapeutic work with the disabled - a practice known as hippotherapy. A similar practice is the use of horses in prisons, where studies have shown a dramatic change in the behavior and demeanor of long-serving inmates when working with - or simply in the presence of - the horses.

MODERN TERMINOLOGY
Horses are referred to by specific terminology that classifies them by age and anatomy. Depending on the breed and lifestyle, domesticated horses typically live 25 to 30 years, though reports have confirmed rare cases of lifespans exceeding 60 years.

"Foal" refers to a horse of either sex less than a year old, while a "yearling" is a horse of either sex that is between one and two years. Male horses younger than four are called "colts," and females are known as "fillies." A female horse who turns four becomes a "mare."

Male horses are slightly more complicated. A non-castrated male that is four years old or older is called a "stallion," whereas its castrated counterpart is a "gelding." A "rig" is a stallion with an undescended testicle.

The names might seem excessive, but behaviors differ among the different classifications - particularly among castrated and non-castrated males.

AROUND THE WORLD
In 2003, China had more horses than any other country - more than 8 million. Mexico came in second with 6,260,000, followed by Brazil with 5,900,500 and the United States with 3,655,000.

Learn more about this author, Todd Christian.
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