Horse
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification
Unrecognized taxon (fix):	Equidae
Genus:	Equus
Species:	E. ferus
Subspecies:	E. f. caballus
Trinomial name
Equus ferus caballus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
at least 48 published

Horse riding

Horses are a group of animals of the family Equidae. They are herbivores, which means they eat grass and other plants. Some plants are dangerous for them, like ragwort, lemongrass (oil grass) and sometimes acorns.

The standard horse is the species Equus caballus. It was domesticated from wild horses by humans at least 5000 years ago. They are large, strong animals and some breeds are used to pull heavy loads. Racehorses can gallop up to 30 miles an hour.

A male horse is a stallion, and a female horse is a mare, while the general term for a young horse is a foal. A young female horse is a filly, and a young male horse is a colt. A castrated horse is a gelding. Horses have hooves which sometimes have protection called horseshoes from hard or rough ground.