(no subject)
Today, I got a field guide to HORSIES!!! (^_^) It's so hard to find books that are for outside observers of horses instead of books for people planning to own horses themselves, yanno? But this Smithsonian Handbook is exactly what I've been looking for. Now, if only I could find a similarly sensible book on varieties of koi....
Interesting notes:
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* "Pony" breeds tend to form "through a natural habitat in which a harsh climate, sparse vegitation, and rugged terrain allowed only hardy, wily, sure-footed animals to flourish." Well, that certainly has...interesting implications for a certain pink franchise, now doesn't it? This might also explain why some people I know say ponies are mean.
*the tallest ponies are the same height as human beings. The shortest horses are slightly taller than human beings.
*Lots of colors found in american horse breeds used to be in spanish horses, but are no longer found in spanish breeds. I wonder why...
*Plenty of horse breeding associations have open stud books, meaning it's okay for new blood from one breed to enter another breed. Why can't this be true of dog breeding? Siiiiigh...