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Long ago, horses and donkeys did a lot
of work on farms.
They pulled carts and ploughs.
They carried heavy things.
Now farmers use tractors to do the work.
Horses help farmers move cows and sheep
to different places.
Horses
A baby horse is called a foal. Its father is called a stallion, and its mother is called a mare.
Long ago horses used to be very important farm animals. Farmers needed them to pull the plough, pull carts with heavy loads, for transport and many other heavy jobs around the farm. Today these jobs are done by machines.
There
are some farmers who still use horses to plough fields. Some do
this so that we don't lose this very old way of doing things and
so we can see how it used to be done. But a few farmers believe
that ploughing is done better by horse, just like it used to be
done for hundreds of years.
The horses that worked on farms were large heavy animals. 
The largest of these was the Shire horse, like these two on the right. The horses had a heavy harness put around their neck. The plough or cart were attached to the harness. Other kinds of large horses used to pull heavy loads were the Clydesdale and the Percheron.
On large farms today, horses are used when the cattle or the sheep that have been grazing in huge paddocks have to be moved to another place. Sometimes they are moved into yards for shearing, to be branded or given medicines, or to be sold. Riders are helped by dogs as they gather the animals all together and make them move to where the farmer wants them to go.
Horses used for rounding up animals are fast and light, able to start, stop and turn quickly. They can gallop up steep hills or mountains and across fast streams.
Donkeys
Donkeys are part of the same family as horses.
A young donkey is called a foal. Its father is called a jack and its mother is called a jenny.
Donkeys are not seen working 
on farms very much any more. They used to work on farms by pulling small carts or by carrying heavy loads on their backs. People used to ride them when they travelled from one place to another. Now donkeys are mainly kept as pets.
Donkeys can be black, white, every shade of brown and grey, even a pinkish colour. Some can be two or even three colours. Donkeys live for a long time: usually about 40 years or more.
If
you use any of this information, write it in your notes like this:
Horses
and Donkeys (2001).
[Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
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Updated December 2006