Horse owners who plan to breed one or more mares should have a working knowledge of heredity and know how to care for breeding animals and foals. The number of mares breed that actually conceive varies from about 40 to 85 percent, with the average running less than 50 percent. Some mares that do conceive fail to produce living foals. This means that, on average, two mares are kept a whole year to produce one foal, and even then, some foals are disappointments from the standpoint of quality. By careful selection, breeders throughout history have developed various kinds of horses with a wide variety of characteristics to suit many different needs. The Great Horse of the Middle Ages, for example, was breed for size and strength to carry a heavily armored knight. The massive horses of such breeds are often called ‘cold blooded’. The Arabs breed lithe desert horses that were small and swift. These animals are often referred to as ‘hot blooded’. Cross-breeding of hot-blooded and cold-blooded horses for certain characteristics produced breeds ranging from riding horses to draft horses. The Throughoutbreed is considered by many to be the highpoint of elegance and fine selective breeding. Many persons mistakenly apply the name Throughbreed to any purebreed horse. But a Throughbreed is a distinct breed of running horses that traces its ancestry through the male line directly back to three Eastern stallions : the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Barb. For convenience the breeds of horses are often divided into three major groups : (1) ponies, (2) heavy, or draft horses, and (3) light horses. 1. Which of the following is not an example of an Eastern stallion ? a. Bayern Turk b. Darley Arabian c. Throughoutbreed d. Godolphin Barb 2. Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of the Great Horse of the Middle Ages ? a. Largesize b. Swiftness c. Strength d. Cold-bloodedness 3. It can be inferred from the passage that cold-blooded and hot-blooded horses were cross-breed for what reason ? a. Such cross-breeding was a safer means of reproduction b. Cross-breed horses were preferred by Arabs c. By cross-breeding, horses with desirable mixed characteristics could be produced d. Cross-breeding produced Throughoutbreed horses 4. In line 11, ‘lithe’ most nearly means a. Graceful b. Clumsy c. Massive d. Bulky 5. Which of the following is NOT one of the major divisions of horse breeds ? a. Draft horses b. Ponies c. Foals d. Light horses 6. According to the passage, which of the following horses is considered to be the finest purebreed ? a. Darley Arabian b. Throughoutbreed c. Godolphin Barb d. Byerly Turk 7. To conceive is to a. Become sick b. Become pregnant c. Die d. Be born 8. A foal is a a. Male horse b. Female horse c. Old horse d. Baby horse 9. The average amount of mares breed which actually conceive is less than what percent ? a. 40 b. 50 c. 85 d. 75 10. A mare is a a. Male horse b. Baby horse c. Female horse d. Old horse Answers 1. c 2. a 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. d 9. b 10. c