Horse Topics for a School Speech

Horses are beautiful creatures who have for centuries been used for riding, working and as companions. There are many topics you can discuss in a speech concerning horses, as there are many different breeds, blood types, and anatomical differences within horses. Horses also have interesting mating rituals and births, and there are many equine-specific diseases that can be mentioned.

There are close to 300 different breeds of horses and ponies, so you will have to narrow it down for your speech. You can choose light colors, dark colors, most popular, most athletic (used for racing or equestrian training, or different blood types), hot-blooded, warm-blooded and cold-blooded.

The five most popular breeds, according to All About Horses, are the American Quarter, American Paint, Arabian, Thoroughbred and Appaloosa.

Depending on the amount of time you have for your speech, talk about the characteristics, colors, markings, temperament, size and strength of the animals.

According to National Geographic, horses were domesticated around 5,500 years ago, in Kazakhstan, and since then they have had different levels of domestication, skills and uses. Talk about their use in war, on farms, in competition, use in human sports, and which breeds remain wild.

Discuss the differences between the first horse and the modern horse. Explain a horse’s skeletal system and organs. Digestion, teeth specifications, the 250 bones in their skeletal system, and a horse’s senses are all possible subtopics.

Do you know that a foal can stand within one to two hours of being born? Discuss the mating process, gestation period, the amount of foals born at one time, and the birth. You can also talk about the development of foals in and out of the womb.

There are many horse-specific diseases that can be discussed. Talk about the most common diseases or illnesses that plague these creatures, along with symptoms, treatments and vaccinations. The most common diseases found with horses are tetanus, also known as lockjaw, equine encephalomyelitis, equine influenza, equine rhino pneumonitis, West Nile Virus and rabies.