Attraction (horse)

Attraction (foaled 19 February 2001) is a retired British racehorse who was bred in Scotland and trained in England. She won several important races and was the first horse to win both the 1000 Guineas and the Irish 1000 Guineas. In a career which lasted from 2003 to 2005 she ran fifteen times and won ten races. She was also well known for her unusual and distinctive action.

Background

Attraction was bred by her owner the Duke of Roxburghe at his stud at Floors Castle, near Kelso, Scotland. She is one of many good horses sired by Efisio and is half-sister to several minor winners.

Attraction's status as a thoroughbred is slightly contentious, as, unlike the overwhelming majority of racehorses, her family cannot be traced back to one of the accepted foundation mares. The family was therefore considered "half-bred", until it was admitted to the General Stud Book in 1969.

Attraction was born with crooked forelegs, a flaw that became even more apparent when she galloped. Because of this, her breeder believed that it would be impossible to sell her, and decided to race her under his own colours. Her action was variously described as resembling "a helicopter" and "a demented haymaker wielding a scythe", while one of her prospective trainers said that "it looked as though God had taken a day off when he created her",. She was eventually sent into training with Mark Johnston at Middleham, North Yorkshire.

Horse

The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Hyracotherium, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated, such as the endangered Przewalski's horse, a separate subspecies, and the only remaining true wild horse. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.

Horses' anatomy enables them to make use of speed to escape predators and they have a well-developed sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight response. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down. Female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.

Horse (disambiguation)

A horse is a hoofed mammal of the species Equus ferus caballus.

Horse or Horses may also refer to:

Animals

Arts and entertainment

Horse (zodiac)

The Horse (馬 午) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. There is a long tradition of the horse in Chinese mythology. Certain characteristics of the Horse nature are supposed to be typical of or to be associated with either a year of the Horse and its events, or in regard to the personality of someone born in such a year. Horse aspects can also enter by other chronomantic factors or measures, such as hourly.

Years and the Five Elements

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Horse", while also bearing the following elemental sign:

Basic astrology elements

Relationship compatibility

Horses are thought to be particularly incompatible with Rat and Ox personalities; and to be particularly compatible with people of the Tiger and Dog type.

See also