this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024
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Wait what's the deal with the horses? I want to feel good about myself today.
Edit: Wow, those bastards have it rough.
Sometimes they will die because they can’t puke. Also broken legs are usually fatal even with vet care.
To add on why broken legs are fatal: its because horses are so big, that even with a sling, they cannot support themselves well on 3 legs. And lying down is also not an option as their own weight will crush their internal organs if they stay down for too long.
I thought horses not being able to lie down for long was just competition horses! It's all of them?
Oh, wow, I had always thought that shooting a horse with a broken leg was an act of brutal expedience, not mercy.
It's sad, but it's common medical practice in modern horse hospitals:
Also, don't they need to run to move food through their digestive tract? Or to force themselves to cough if they have something stuck in their lungs? I think there is some sort of dependency of basic functions that relies on the movement of their lungs/stomach going back and forth while running that they can't easily do if they just stand in one place all day
Also their blood gets pumped through their hooves, and to much weight on one hoof can impede blood flow through their body.
They only have 4 toes total.
And they run around at 60mph on the tips of their toenails.
I mean, humans run around on something that birds would consider knees, and stupidly try to support their entire body weight using only half their legs.
Humans have multiple toes because our ape ancestors used their toes like fingers. Having multiple, separate toes is probably bad for survival unless you're using toes to manipulate tools.
Animals that have distinct toes include apes, geckos, mice, raccoons and similar animals which need them to grip onto surfaces or to manipulate things. There are predators which have separate toes because they're a place to mount claws: eagles, cats, etc. There are animals that have separate toes with webbing between for swimming. But, for a lot of animals, separate toes aren't really useful, so they've evolved away: elephants, rhinos, giraffes, horses, cows, etc.
Tbh if I could I think I would turn on the gene for prehensile feet.
Just to try. Looks fun.
Their genetics have sacrificed nearly every aspect of basic resiliency for maximum speed on the plains. Most of the work caring for horses is keeping them from accidentally killing themselves. Full disclosure: I worked as a stable hand as a child in exchange for riding lessons. Will never ever own a horse.
Basically a 900LB Cocker Spaniel that's afraid of it's own farts and will eventually kill every single tree within reach. I also will never own horses.
What preditor was so fast horses had to evolve to that extent??
Big cat. You're aware of the cheetah? Just picture that but not in Africa
You know what really caught me up: where are horses native to?
There are wild horses on the Mongolian steppes.
All other horses are domesticated. Even the free horses in USA and Australia are descendants of domesticated horses.
You're right! But also, horses were native to North America but they went extinct 10,000 years ago and weren't introduced until much more recently.
Don’t tell that to a Mormon
PBS Eons has a couple good videos on both horse evolution and domestication.
It’s just a damn good series in general as well
Equus simplicidens lived around 4 million years ago in North America, relying on speed, stamina, and herd behavior for protection from predators like early wolves and big cats. Their survival, much like modern equids, depended on strong social structures and collective awareness. Over time, this lineage spread to other continents via land bridges before becoming extinct in North America. evolved into the distinct species of horses, zebras, and donkeys and where reintroduced into the American continent by humans
-chatgpt + edits
ChatGPT? Then everyone should assume this is horse shit until verified.
My teachers used to say the same about Wikipedia.
I did edit heavily, this is 3 outputs combined including a fact check this using Wikipedia
It does not fail on such basic questions, “fact check this:” in a new instance works more reliably then asking a human.
Equus simplicidens, also known as the Hagerman horse, lived around 4 million years ago in North America and is considered an ancestor of modern horses, zebras, and donkeys[3][5]. These animals relied on speed, stamina, and herd behavior for protection against predators such as early wolves and big cats[3]. Their survival was supported by strong social structures and collective awareness[3]. Over time, Equus species migrated to other continents via land bridges[4]. They eventually went extinct in North America around 10,000 years ago during the Pleistocene extinction event[1][2][4]. Horses were later reintroduced to the continent by humans in the late 15th century[4].
Citations: [1] POST-PLEISTOCENE HORSES (EQUUS) FROM MÉXICO https://meridian.allenpress.com/tjs/article/74/1/Article%205/487323/POST-PLEISTOCENE-HORSES-EQUUS-FROM-MEXICO [2] Horses in North America: A Comeback Story | Blog | Nature - PBS https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/american-horses-horses-in-north-america-a-comeback-story/ [3] The Hagerman Horse (Equus simplicidens) - National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/equus_simplicidens.htm [4] Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife https://awionline.org/content/wild-horses-native-north-american-wildlife [5] Park Archives: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument https://npshistory.com/publications/hafo/index.htm [6] American Zebra (Equus simplicidens) - iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/317782-Equus-simplicidens [7] Hagerman Horse - Start Packing Idaho https://www.startpackingidaho.com/blog/hagerman-horse/
So, what, did ChatGPT just rip this off wikipedia?
Yes. If you check the other top Google results you'll frequently find the articles they plagiarized.
I do have a custom instruction to use Wikipedia as a source where possible.
The difference is i dont need to know what i am looking for i can just ask some a basic question.
Llms are limited and for that reason vey hated on lemmy but they can be very useful when configured right.
Bro...
Just link the Wikipedia.
That requires knowing the names of the pages i need which is practically never the case.
If i have plenty of time to do a deepdive sure but here i wanted a quick fact of the day kinda thing.
Human. Not for food, but because they always choose to breed on the Porcshe over the Toyota Hilux for racing.
The wording here makes it sound like we hunted horses for the specific purpose of having sex on them, and honestly, I'd probably be running as fast as a car if that kept happening to me too!
Saber toothed tigers and shit
the mongols
Us. They basically tried to beat pursuit predation by outrunning the distance humans will be willing to track over.
It did not work, they went extinct in North America because of how much it did not work.
Large predatory flightless birds probably didn't help either.
Ah, sweet home Caelid
"What are those? I know predatory and flightless birds, but both?"
I have looked it up before posting, I learned something new today.
Same for rabbits. The are basically as much lean muscle that can fit on the lighest possible skeleton.
If you pick up a rabbit wrong, they can snap their own back with the momentum from kicking their back legs.
I did this too and will also never own a horse lmao. This is why horse people are weird.
Some people love caring for fragile things. Boosts their self-esteem. It can also break them when they fail.
*one reason
The term healthy as a horse is mostly survivorship bias
From what i read here there's no unhealthy horse, it's either healthy or dead.
"So, Timmy, do you want to be healthy as a horse?"
The term healthy as a horse is mostly survivorship bias