Whisker (horse)

Whisker (1812 – 11 March 1832) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1815 Epsom Derby and was a full-brother of the 1810 winner Whalebone. Whisker raced until he was a six-year-old, but did not race in 1817. Whisker was retired to stud in 1819, where he became a successful and influential sire. The offspring of Whisker and Whalebone continued the sire-line of Eclipse into the 20th century.

Background

Whisker was bred by the Duke of Grafton and was foaled in 1812 at his Euston Hall stud farm near Newmarket. Whisker was sired by the 1793 Epsom Derby winner Waxy out of the mare Penelope (foaled in 1798), both owned by the Duke. As a racehorse, Penelope was a contemporary of the 1801 Derby-winning filly Eleanor, beating her several times, and was half-sister to 1809 Derby winner Pope and the mares Pope Joan (both sired by Waxy), Parasol (Partisan's dam) and Prudence. Penelope was a prolific and influential broodmare, producing eight full-siblings to Whisker that achieved success on the turf. She produced 13 foals between 1806 and 1823, all with names beginning with the letter W. Whisker was her seventh foal and his full-siblings include Whalebone (the 1810 Derby winner), Web, Woful, Wilful, Wire, Wildfire and Windfall. Penelope died in 1824.

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