Farm & Ranch
A Horse of Many Colors: How Domestication Changed the Horse
By contributing writer Martin Aldridge
The sheer variety of coats equines exhibit is simply astonishing. Everything from the common sorrels and bays, the gaudy paints and appaloosas, to the lesser known perlinos and cremellos, all have been achieved through breeding various types of horses with each other. Breeding for certain colors and patterns is now common
practice, but where exactly did all this diversity come from? Animals evolving in a natural state have been known to display a huge variety of colors and patterns, but colors and patterns in the wild evolve for specific survival purposes.
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looking at fossil horse DNA from specimens found in Europe and Asia revealed 18
brown colored animals, six black and six with a mutation for spotting.
As it turns out, the very act of domesticating wild animals might have a lot to do with the diversity we see today. The ancestral breed or breeds from which domesticated
horses sprang has become extinct. Wild herds today, like mustangs and other horse and pony populations living in a wild state, are technically considered “feral” since they all developed from domesticated stock.
To read more pick up the March 2014 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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