Horses

Horses are a mainstay of the countryside with riders travelling on the back of the horses along country roads. Horses have played a large role in aiding humans for centuries, as they were the one of many forms of transport before the dawn of the car. Of course they also play a large role in sports.

In the UK, everyone comes together once a year to observe the Grand National and along with show jumping, endurance riding, harness racing and conventional horse racing across the country, they are a large part of British culture. There are various forms of horses and their title will depend on their age. A foal is a horse under one year old, regardless of gender. It then becomes a yearling between the ages of one and two. Then gender comes into play, as a horse under the age of four (or five in UK thoroughbred racing) is a colt if it is a male, but a filly if it is a female. They then become a stallion (non-castrated male), a gelding (castrated male) or a mare (female) after the age of four (or five in some cases). Horses can generally live to between the ages of 25 to 30.