Wikipedia

Colt (horse): Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→References: fix Commons category link using AWB
No edit summary
Tags: Manual revert section blanking Mobile edit Mobile web edit
 
(40 intermediate revisions by 35 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{Short description|Male horse usually below 4 years old}}
{{OtherFor|other usesthings called "colt"|Colt (disambiguation){{!}}Colt}}
 
A '''colt''' is a young [[male]] [[horse]], usually below the age of four years.<ref>This definition is preferred by [https://web.archive.org/web/20120712031841/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/colt OED], [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colt Merriam Webster], [http://www.answers.com/topic/colt Saunders Veterinary dictionary], [http://www.yourdictionary.com/colt Websters (with narrow exceptions)] and [http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/colt Collins]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/colt |title=Colt &#124; Define Colt at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date= |accessdate=2012-10-21}}</ref>
 
==Description==
The term "colt" only describes young male horses and is not to be confused with [[foal]], which is a horse of either sex less than one year of age. Similarly, a [[yearling (horse)|yearling]] is a horse of either sex between the ages of one and two. A young female horse is called a [[filly]], and a [[Mare (horse)|mare]] once she is an adult animal. In [[horse racing]], particularly for [[Thoroughbred]]s in the United Kingdom, a colt is defined as an uncastrated male from the age of two up to and including the age of four.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Punter's Friend |last1=Waterman |first1=Jack |year= 1999 |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=Harpenden, Herts, UK |isbn=1852916001 }}</ref>
{{clear}}
 
The term is derived from [[Proto-Germanic]] *''kultaz'' ("lump, bundle, offspring") and is [[etymologically]] related to "child."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOYOAQAAMAAJ&q=kultaz+colt|title=Prehistoric Steppe Adaptation and the Horse|first1=Marsha Ann|last1=Levine|first2=Colin|last2=Renfrew|first3=Katherine V.|last3=Boyle|first4=McDonald Institute for Archaeological|last4=Research|date=August 26, 2003|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research|isbn=9781902937090|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/colt|title=colt &#124; Origin and meaning of colt by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref>
{{multiple image▼
 
An adult male horse, if left intact, is called either a "[[stallion (horse)|stallion]]" if used for breeding, or a "horse" (sometimes full horse); if [[castration|castrated]], it is called a [[gelding]]. In some cases, particularly informal nomenclature, a gelding under four years is still called a colt. A rig or [[ridgling]] is a male equine with a retained testicle or one which has been incompletely castrated.<ref>Summerhayes, RS, Encyclopaedia for Horsemen, Warne & Co, London & New York, 1966</ref>▼
 
In the wild, colts are driven from their herds by the herd stallion somewhere between the age of one and two. This may be, in part, an instinct to prevent [[inbreeding]]. When driven out, they usually join with other young stallions in a [[bachelor herd]]. They stay with this band until they are mature enough to form their own herd of mares. The terms "rag" or "rake" have been historically used to refer to a group of colts, but they have fallen out of modern usage.<ref>Barrows, Edward M. ''Animal Behavior Desk Reference''. CRC Press, 2001. p. 296.</ref><ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' 1933: Rag</ref>▼
 
▲ {{multiple image
|align=center
| header = Colts of different ages
Line 24 ⟶ 31:
| height3= 599
| image3 = AA Couture (Mishaal HP x Bint Bint Aminaa) in the World Class colts Class at the 2009 Egyptian Event (3636510363).jpg
| alt3 = A two -year -old colt
| caption3 = A two-year-old colt
| width4=398
Line 32 ⟶ 39:
|caption4=A three-year-old colt
}}
{{clear}}
▲An adult male horse if left intact is called either a "[[stallion (horse)|stallion]]" or a "horse" (sometimes full horse); if [[castration|castrated]], it is called a [[gelding]]. In some cases, particularly informal nomenclature, a gelding under four years is still called a colt. A rig or [[ridgling]] is a male equine with a retained testicle or one which has been incompletely castrated.<ref>Summerhayes, RS, Encyclopaedia for Horsemen, Warne & Co, London & New York, 1966</ref>
 
▲In the wild, colts are driven from their herds by the herd stallion somewhere between the age of one and two. This may be in part an instinct to prevent [[inbreeding]]. When driven out, they usually join with other young stallions in a [[bachelor herd]]. They stay with this band until they are mature enough to form their own herd of mares. The terms "rag" or "rake" have been historically used to refer to a group of colts, but they have fallen out of modern usage.<ref>Barrows, Edward M. ''Animal Behavior Desk Reference''. CRC Press, 2001. p. 296.</ref><ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' 1933: Rag</ref>
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
{{Commonssubject categorybar|commons=y|commons-search=Colt (horse)|wikt=y|wikt-search=colt}}
{{wiktionary|colt}}
 
[[Category:Types of horse]]
[[Category:Male horses]]
[[Category:Horse racing terminology]]
 
[[simple:Colt (horse)]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_(horse)"