User:Dani Mercier/sandbox

My Articles
My first Wikipedia article is Thoroughbred. Wikipedia contributors. "Thoroughbred." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 Sep. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012

My second Wikipedia article is Arabian horse. Wikipedia contributors. "Arabian horse." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Sep. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012

My third Wikipedia article is American Quarter Horse. Wikipedia contributors. "American Quarter Horse." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 Sep. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012

My Search Process
I chose these articles, all on different breeds of horses, because I am familiar with all three of them. I've been around horses for nearly 15 years, so it seemed like a good topic to pick. Even my own horse is a combination of two of them! She is a Throughbred Quarter Horse cross, which is called an Appendix.

My chosen encyclopedia was the World Book Encyclopedia. It did not have articles on the breeds by themselves, but under "Horse".

Price, Stehen D., Landsman, Bill (1993). Horse. In The World Book Encyclopedia. (Vol. 9 pp. 342-362). Chicago, IL: World Book Inc.

What I noticed about all three articles was that the Wikipedia articles were more thorough, and even went into the health problems that each of the breeds are prone to, while the encyclopedia skimmed the basics. There were pictures of the three horses, but only one picture each, and basic information within the paragraphs on the types of horses.

Dani Mercier (talk) 22:21, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

Assignment 2: Wikipedia Comparison
I decided to use the Thoroughbred horse for my assignment.

The Wikipedia article was under “Thoroughbred”. The summary of this article is as follows: The Thoroughbred is a horse breed that is around 16hh, and considered a “hot-blood”. It comes in almost any colour, except Pinto or Appaloosa. The Thoroughbred has an extensive history, which began in the Middle East with three foundation stallions: the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian, and the Byerley Turk. All Thoroughbreds trace back to these studs. England started seriously breeding fast racehorses in the 18th century, and races started being created for different ages, sexes, and distances. The average Thoroughbred stands at around 16hh, and comes in most colours, including palomino, white, and roan. Pinto and Appaloosa are not accepted in most breed registries. The Thoroughbred can have white markings on its legs and face, but typically not on the body. This breed is characterized by a lean body, long legs, short back, high withers, and a long neck.

The history of the Thoroughbred is interesting. The Royals greatly promoted the breeding of the Thoroughbred by creating races, importing foundation mares and stallions, and becoming very much involved in the sport. The foundation stallions were Middle Eastern stallions: the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian. Other stallions also made good contributions, but these three were the foundation of the Thoroughbred. As the years went by, more races were created to match horses with race distance preferences and with age and/or sex segregation. Stud books were created to ensure the Thoroughbred line remained pure to the foundation stallions and mares. The first Thoroughbred in America was brought in 1730, and horse importation was continued until the American Industrial Revolution, when this practice was almost stopped, but luckily a peace treaty resolved matters. After that, Kentucky and Tennessee became the Thoroughbred racing and breeding centre in the United States. After the American Civil War, races were changed from being run in two or more heats over four miles to being run in one heat up to a mile and a half. America also used the Thoroughbred to improve other breeds and as part of the Remount services, especially during WWI and WWII. The Thoroughbred has also made its mark in other countries, especially in Europe and Australia and New Zealand. Most of the countries have their own Stud Books and breeding programs. Thoroughbreds are extremely popular horses, and each year, there are about 37,000 foals that are registered in North America alone. An interesting thing to note is Thoroughbreds are registered only if they have been conceived by live cover, which involves an actual stallion being witnessed being bred to a mare. Artificial insemination or embryo transfer is not permitted if the horse is to be registered. The value of a Thoroughbred horse depends largely on its age, pedigree, conformation, and the market in general. The Jockey Club did state that the average price for a weanling (foal generally around 6 months of age) was around $44,000 at the Keeneland Sales. United States stud fees can also be lucrative, going from $2,500 to $500,000 per mare.

Thoroughbreds are highly versatile. It is primarily used for flat racing or steeplechasing, but are also used for show jumping, eventing, dressage, hunter, polo, fox hunting, western events, and mounted police work.

Thoroughbreds can have specific health issues, other than accidents at the discipline-related sports. For example, one-tenth of Thoroughbreds have orthopedic problems. They can also suffer from exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage, low fertility, and foot soreness issues. Some theories for the problems include inbreeding, therefore producing inferior animals or too much stress too young (most racehorses are 5 years old or under).

The second Encyclopedia used is Britannica Online Encyclopedia. The summary is as follows: Thoroughbreds are horses that are very multi-purpose, but mainly used for racing and jumping. It descended from Arabian and Barb horses that trace back from the 3rd century. England was an ideal breeding area, and the thoroughbred thrived, especially under selective breeding pertaining to racing. James I and Charles I both imported the Royal mares and introduced the General Stud Book so all thoroughbreds that are registered trace back to these mares and/or to the three imported foundation stallions. These stallions were the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian, and the Byerly Turk. The Thoroughbred was first introduced to America in 1730, in the form of a Darley Arabian colt. In the next 45 years, 186 Thoroughbred horses came from England to become the foundation stock in the United States.

Thoroughbred conformation is built for speed. This horse has lean bodies, broad chests, short backs and leg bones, and a high-spirited nature. It is usually around 16hh, and found in most colours. Since it is well renowned for its speed and stamina, it has been cross-bred with other breeds, which are used in a variety of disciplines.

The difference between the two articles is quite startling. Even though the Britannica Encyclopedia is a really good encyclopedia, it only has three short paragraphs, while the Wikipedia article is very in depth. They both do have pictures, but the Wikipedia article has more of them, with captions describing them. However, Britannica does have a video link showing Thoroughbreds, which was quite interesting. They also both mention Bulle Rock, who was the first Thoroughbred in America.

The Wikipedia article is very comprehensive, and has no notice on the top of the article saying that it needs more citations or improving. It is well written, and covers the following topics: breed characteristics, terminology, history, registration/breeding/population, value, uses, and health issues. The historical part of this article includes the early beginnings of the breed in England with the first races and foundation stallions and mares. It also goes over the Thoroughbred’s later history in England, as well as its history in America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and other areas. Other areas that Wikipedia expands on is the breed’s uses and health issues. There is only very brief information about this breed in Britannica, and then only on basic history and conformation and uses.

For example the Britannica states: “Under the reigns of James I and Charles I, 43 mares—the so-called Royal Mares—were imported into England, and a record, the General Stud Book, was begun in which were listed only those horses that may be traced back to the Royal Mares in direct line, or to one of three other horses imported to England: the Byerly Turk (imported in 1689), the Darley Arabian (after 1700), and the Godolphin Barb (about 1730).” This is the summary given about the royals who started supporting Thoroughbred breeding and racing. However, the Wikipedia is more in depth, as the following statement proves: “Racing continued at fairs and markets throughout the Middle Ages and into the reign of King James I of England. It was then that handicapping, a system of adding weight to attempt to equalize a horse's chances of winning as well as improved training procedures, began to be used. During the reigns of Charles II, King William III, Queen Anne of Great Britain, and King George I the foundation of the Thoroughbred was laid. Under James' grandson, Charles II, a keen racegoer and owner, and James' great-granddaughter Queen Anne, royal support was given to racing and the breeding of race horses. With royal support, horse racing became popular with the public, and by 1727, a newspaper devoted to racing, the Racing Calendar, was founded.” Thus, we now understand that there were quite a few royals involved with Thoroughbreds, rather than just two who happened to start the trend.

Another example is when Wikipedia states: “Good quality Thoroughbreds have a well-chiselled head on a long neck, high withers, a deep chest, a short back, good depth of hindquarters, a lean body, and long legs.” However, the Britannica states that the breed has short legs. Technically, so it has a long stride. Technically, this is not an error. Thoroughbreds do indeed have long legs, but short cannon bones (the bones below the knees or hocks but above the hooves), so this could be misleading.

Wikipedia has footnotes that cite the sources of information, and there are 135 of them, which is confidence-building that the article has been very well researched. There are also 40 reference materials used, ranging from books to horse magazines and websites. There are three external links provided as well for further information. The links are for the USA Jockey Club, Thoroughbred Bloodlines, and the Australian Stud Book. Britannica does provide the Jockey Club external link, and also has a list of related articles.

Contributors to the Britannica encyclopedia are only stated as editors. The Wikipedia article shows who contributed to the page, but one cannot tell if they truly are experts in their field. Britannica has no revision data available, but the Wikipedia article is definitely current, as it shows the last edit to be November 6th 2012. This is important as the article shows the monetary values of this horse, which obviously needs to be kept up to date as time goes by and our money values change.

In conclusion, the accuracy of the Thoroughbred horse Wikipedia article was spot on, and would be a great starting point for any in depth research regarding this breed of horse, including health related issues and historical information. It would be very easy to use the links off this article to find more information elsewhere for any sort of project, or for fact finding. Resources about this topic can be found here:
 * R. S. Summerhays. “The English Thorougbred”. Summerhays’ Encyclopedia for Horsemen. 1952.
 * M. E. Ensminger. “Thoroughbred”. The Complete Encyclopedia of Horses. 1977.
 * "Thoroughbred Horse." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
 * Marquardt, Katy. "The Ups And Downs Of Owning A RACEHORSE." Kiplinger's Personal Finance 60.5 (2006): 56-59. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
 * "On The Muscle: Portrait Of A Thoroughbred Racing Stable." Booklist 104.9/10 (2008): 17. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
 * "Talk." Horse & Rider 48.7 (2009): 22. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
 * "Unbridled Love." People 60.6 (2003): 110. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
 * “Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society: National Office”. Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society. 2012. 14 November 2012. 
 * “BloodHorse.ca”. Blood Horse Magazine. 2012. 14 November 2012. www.bloodhorse.com
 * “Canadian Thoroughbred Stallion Registry”. Canadian Thoroughbred. 2012. 14 November 2012. 

Dani Mercier (talk) 17:00, 14 November 2012 (UTC)