kimerajamm
Joined: 28 Nov 2010 Posts: 785
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Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:20 am Post subject: The term |
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The typical Thoroughbred ranges between 15.2 to 17.0 hands (62 to 68 inches, 157 to 173 cm) high, averaging 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm). They are most often bay, seal brown, chestnut, black, or gray.[1] Less common colors, recognized in the United States include roan and palomino. White is very rare, but is a recognized color separate from gray.[2] The face and lower legs may be marked with white,[3] but white will generally not appear on the body. Coat patterns that have more than one color on the body, such as Pinto or Appaloosa, are not recognized by mainstream breed registries.[2][4] Good quality Thoroughbreds have a well-chiseled head on a long neck, high withers, a deep chest, a short back, good depth of hindquarters, a lean body, and long legs.[3][5] Thoroughbreds are classified among the "hot-blooded" breeds, which are animals bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited and bold.[6]
Thoroughbreds born in the Northern Hemisphere are officially considered a year older on the first of January each year;[7] those born in the Southern Hemisphere officially are one year older on the first of August.[8] These artificial dates have been set to enable the standardization of races and other competitions for horses in certain age groups.[9]
[edit] Terminology
The Thoroughbred is a distinct breed of horse, although people sometimes refer to a purebred horse of any breed as a thoroughbred. The term for any horse or other animal derived from a single breed line is purebred.[10][11] While the term probably came into general use because the English Thoroughbred's General Stud Book was one of the first breed registries created, in modern usage horse breeders consider it incorrect to refer to any animal as a thoroughbred except for horses belonging to the Thoroughbred breed.[10] Nonetheless, breeders of other species of purebred animals may use the two terms interchangeably,[11] though thoroughbred is less often used for describing purebred animals of other species.[10][11] The term is a proper noun referring to this specific breed,[12] though often not capitalized, especially in non-specialist publications, and outside the US. For example, the Australian Stud Book,[13] the New York Times,[14] and the BBC do not capitalize the word.[Pop up displays
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