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 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.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
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: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
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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