I heard that a horse is not "officially" a horse until it reaches the age of 3-4 years old. Is this true?

Question

I heard that a horse is not "officially" a horse until it reaches the age of 3-4 years old. Is this true?

Answer 1

A horse is a horse of course of course unless of course its a talking horse and his name is Mr. Ed.

LOL Sorry, but.....

What they are saying is that.... a kitten isnt a cat until how old? or a puppy isnt a dog until when? How about a child isnt a human until what age???

Do you realize how silly your question is. You may tell the person that told you this that it is stupid!

Answer 2

you're not a horse (in Thoroughbred-speak) unless you are:

1)  male

2)  5 years old or older

3)  not a gelding

For male thoroughbreds:

you are a colt until you are 5, and once your turn 5 you are a horse, UNLESS you are gelded, then you are a gelding, no matter how old you are.

For female thoroughbreds:

you are a filly until you turn 5, then you are a mare.

Answer 3

yes , the first years of a horse's life is its foal stage

Answer 4

they are of the horse species from the moment they are born but:

before that they are considered foals : colt or filly and after that they are yearling colts and yearling fillies

Answer 5

The term 'horse' is really only classifying the height of the animal. When it reaches 14.2 hh (hands high) it is then classifed as a horse and not a pony. So it doesn't really matter what age it is.

Answer 6

the one answer is pretty close but :

mare is a 5 year old or older  female horse

heres  a tough one the term stallion is used on any male horse that is not castrated( also known as being entire) that is used to breed.

the term colt is used on any entire male horse under 5 yrs old, once their 5 if they aren't breeding they are called a horse. and of course a gelding is a gelding from the time they are gelded until the end of time. the facts about foals,weanlings,yearlings were right on though.

Answer 7

Yes it is true.  Before 3 years of age, they are (males) colts and (females) fillys.

Answer 8

The term horse is only used to describe horses measuring 14.2 hands high or more. Anything under than is considered a pony.

1 hand = 4 inches

The following terminology is used to describe horses of various ages:

Foal: a horse of either s*x less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling. Most foals are weaned at 4-6 months of age.

Yearling: a horse of either s*x that is between one and two years old.

Colt: a male horse under the age of four.

Filly: a female horse under the age of four.

Mare: a female horse four years old and older.

Stallion: a non-castrated male horse four years old and older.

Gelding: A castrated male horse of any age. Many people refer to a young gelding under the age of four as a "colt."

Answer 9

That is British terminology... in a lot of the European countries, they call all unaltered male equines "horses" and all females are "mares", with the altered ones being "geldings" once they reach a certain age.  Up until around two they are called "colts" and "fillies" and newborns are called "foals" up until around 6 months to a year or weaning, depending on location.

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

if you mean in terms of maturity, it can vary largely on the breed.

some breeds of horses mature faster and live shorter lives (thoroughbreds, average lifespan maybe 20 years) and other breeds mature more slowly and live longer (lipizzans may not be considered 'fully' matured until age 6, but live well into their 30's.)

Answer 11

Their skeletal structure (bones) is no longer soft & brittle by 4 years of age.  If they receive a proper diet & care by their owners!