.In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Composition No (1) HORSES
Horses exist all over the world. In fact, there are several species of horses, of which some are wild. A truly wild horse is a species or subspecies with ancestors that have never been under domestication. Such wild species have nearly exterminated. However, our concern here is the domestic horse. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 B.C, and horses have been friends of man ever since.
Horses are hot-blooded mammals who belong to different regions, of which we can mention “oriented horses” such as the Arabian horse;Turkic horse; as well as the one breed developed in England and in North America.
Horses come in many colours, including black, brown and white.
Female horses, called mares, are biologically capable of reproduction at the age of five years, and they remain pregnant for approximately 11 months; hence, a young horse can stand and run shortly after birth. Owing to this outstanding built-up, most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of three and four, whereby they are considered mature. Horses have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.
The size of horses varies according to breed and nutrition. The average horse usually ranges in height from 56 to 64 inches, and can weigh from 380 to 550 kilograms.
As for their diet, we can well say that horses are grazing animals, and their major source of nutrition is good-quality forage from hay or pasture. Therefore, horses are herbivores possessing a digestive system which is adapted to a forage diet of grasses and other plant material, consumed steadily throughout the day. A horse can eat 7 to 11 kilograms of food per day, and drink 38 litres to 45 litres of water.
True enough, through selective breeding, horses are trained to carry out several activities and tasks.
It has been estimated that a horse can gallop at about 88 kilometres per hour. That is why horses are very efficient in sports, particularly racing. Notwithstanding tough ground, horse’s hard hoofs together with horseshoes would endure this tedious activity of sports.
In former days, horses were used to pull coaches for carrying people and their luggage. Their being exploited in such transportation is due to their great strength. It is noteworthy that horse’s strength is used as a mechanical criterion to measure machine operative capability; people say, for instance, “this machine works at energy or capacity of – say- 18 horses”.
Even today, horses carry out the same function of transportation, most notably carrying mounting-police officers, who move around, riding horses to keep guard.
In ancient time, and before the invention of modern weapons, horses were used in warfare. Cavalry knights and fighters were used to fighting on horseback. There was an English rhyme coined in the 15th century. It indicates necessity of military logistics, advocating that negligence of trifle matters might result in crucial consequences, depicting the horseshoe-nail as an example.
For want of a nail the horseshoe was lost
For want of a shoe the horse was lost
For want of a horse the rider was lost
For want of a rider the message was lost
For want of a message the battle was lost
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail
Moreover, there is a nutritious benefit derived from horses- namely human food. Some people are quite accustomed to eating horse meat, which they highly enjoy. A considerable number of international restaurants is specialized in serving horse-meat as a delicious human diet.
This is not to neglect using horses in agriculture where they are used to pull plows and transfer crops for the sake of marketing purposes.
As a matter of fact, other multiple uses can be obtained from horses: some medicine is extracted from horse urine; the musician uses horse tail for making strings for his violin; the carpenter uses glue made of horse’s hoofs.
Finally, let’s not forget the aesthetic aspects of horses. Horses are famous for their beautiful shapes and stature. If an English man wants to flirt with his lover courteously, he will tell her that she is like a horse.