Fun Facts About Horses Part I
1. Arabian horses are the oldest purebred horse. As early as 3000 to 2500 B.C. they were the horse of the nomadic people of Arabia. The Arabian horse was originally bred as a war horse because it was so loyal and hardy. It is said that this horse is the foundation of modern horse breeds today.
2. Horses have been around in some form or other for at least 50 million years!
3. Foals are born with legs 90% of their full adult length.
4. Most foals are born at night.
5. All Thoroughbreds birthdays are celebrated on the same day-August the first.
6. A horse has two blind spots-right behind the horse and just in front of and beneath the nose.
7. A horse’s height is measured in hands (10.2 cms).
8. The world’s smallest horse is the Falabella which ranges from 38-76 cm tall.
9. Apart from Antarctica, Australasia is the only continent with no native horses.
10. The oldest ever horse lived to be 62!
11. Horseshoes are said to be lucky and the luckiest horseshoe of all is one from the hind leg of a gray mare.
12. Foals can stand an hour after they are born.
13. There are over 150 different breeds and types of horses.
14. There are about 75 million horses in the world.
15. A horse has approximately 205 bones.
16. A horse’s teeth can be used to estimate its age.
17. A zebroid or zorse is a cross between a horse and a zebra. A cross between a zebra and a donkey is a zeedonk.
18. The smallest pony ever was a stallion named “Little Pumpkin” who was only 35 cms tall!
19. The fear of horses is known as equinophobia.
20. Horses can’t breathe through their mouths.
21. Breeding a male donkey to a female horse results in a mule. Breeding a male horse to a female donkey results in a hinny.
22. Mules and hinnies are almost always sterile.
23. A donkey stallion is called a jack. A donkey mare is called a jenny.
24. One of the tallest horses on record was a Percheron called Dr Le Gear. He stood 21 hands high (2.13 metres) and weighed 1 370 kilograms!
25. Arab horses have 17 ribs (all other horses have 18), five lumbar vertebrae (other horses have six) and 16 tail vertebrae (other horses have 18).
26. The last remaining truly wild horse is the Przewalski Horse (Asiatic Wild Horse). It has 66 chromosomes-all other horses have 64.
27. The Brumby is the feral horse of Australia, the Kaimanawa is the feral horse of New Zealand.
28. The sensitive, wedge-shaped part of a horse’s foot is called the frog.
29. The right hand side of a horse is called the off side. The left hand side is the near side.
30. Horses sleep between two and three hours per day. Only 45 minutes of this sleep time is spent lying down.
31. Modern horses are known as Equus caballus.
32. Zebra stripe patterns are as distinctive as human fingerprints.
33. The horse’s hoof is a marvel of the natural world. The study of the equine hoof has been more controversial than any other part of the horse’s anatomy.
34. Horses can see, hear and smell better than humans.
35. A horse’s eyes are set on either side of its head making it very easy to see in every direction except directly in front of their nose and behind their tail.
36. Horses have a very sensitive sense of touch. They can tell if a fly has landed on their body and then flick their tail to get rid of it. A horse also has whiskers on its muzzle and around its eyes, which act like antennae when feeling objects around them.
37. Large ears on the horse’s head allow for easy movement in many directions. A horse can rotate its ears 180 degrees towards a sound. The ears on a horse can also tell you how a horse is feeling or reacting to a particular sound. For example ears up could mean curiosity or interest and ears flat back against head could mean scared.
38. A horse can eat 20lbs or 10 kg of hay per day. They drink 25 liters of water per day, which is 13 times what an average human drinks.
39. There are many names for the different ages and sex of horses. A stallion is a male horse old enough to sire babies. Trifon is a stallion. Colt is the name given to a young male horse under four years of age. A mature female horse is called a mare and a filly is a young female horse under four years of age.
40. When horses have babies, the mare is pregnant or in “foal”, for 11 months. When the foal or baby horse is born, its legs are almost as long as they will be when it is full grown. A foal can stand and walk within one hour of being born. The average human baby takes 8-12 months to learn to stand and walk on its own.
41. Horses are measured in “hands”. Originally this meant the width of an adult man’s hand, now it has been standardized to mean 4 inches or 10 centimeters.
42. A special hoof pick is used to pick dirt or small stones out of horse’s hooves.
43. Saddles benefit both the rider and the horse. The saddle stops the digging of the horse’s spine into the rider and helps to spread the weight of the rider evenly over the horse.
44. Stirrups hang from the saddle and support the rider’s feet.
45. There are four different ways to describe a horse’s movement.
46. The first is walking or a four beat gait. In this movement the horse has three feet on the ground with only one foot in the air at any time.
47. The second is trotting or a two beat gait. This movement has the opposite fore and hind feet hitting the ground together in turn.
48. The third type is cantering or three beat. When a horse is cantering, two diagonal feet hit the ground together and the other two feet hit the ground separately. There is a time when no feet are on the ground.
49. Lastly is galloping, same pattern as a canter, but paired feet do not hit the ground together.
50. Girth is a leather or nylon strap that goes around the horse’s belly and holds the
saddle on.
2. Horses have been around in some form or other for at least 50 million years!
3. Foals are born with legs 90% of their full adult length.
4. Most foals are born at night.
5. All Thoroughbreds birthdays are celebrated on the same day-August the first.
6. A horse has two blind spots-right behind the horse and just in front of and beneath the nose.
7. A horse’s height is measured in hands (10.2 cms).
8. The world’s smallest horse is the Falabella which ranges from 38-76 cm tall.
9. Apart from Antarctica, Australasia is the only continent with no native horses.
10. The oldest ever horse lived to be 62!
11. Horseshoes are said to be lucky and the luckiest horseshoe of all is one from the hind leg of a gray mare.
12. Foals can stand an hour after they are born.
13. There are over 150 different breeds and types of horses.
14. There are about 75 million horses in the world.
15. A horse has approximately 205 bones.
16. A horse’s teeth can be used to estimate its age.
17. A zebroid or zorse is a cross between a horse and a zebra. A cross between a zebra and a donkey is a zeedonk.
18. The smallest pony ever was a stallion named “Little Pumpkin” who was only 35 cms tall!
19. The fear of horses is known as equinophobia.
20. Horses can’t breathe through their mouths.
21. Breeding a male donkey to a female horse results in a mule. Breeding a male horse to a female donkey results in a hinny.
22. Mules and hinnies are almost always sterile.
23. A donkey stallion is called a jack. A donkey mare is called a jenny.
24. One of the tallest horses on record was a Percheron called Dr Le Gear. He stood 21 hands high (2.13 metres) and weighed 1 370 kilograms!
25. Arab horses have 17 ribs (all other horses have 18), five lumbar vertebrae (other horses have six) and 16 tail vertebrae (other horses have 18).
26. The last remaining truly wild horse is the Przewalski Horse (Asiatic Wild Horse). It has 66 chromosomes-all other horses have 64.
27. The Brumby is the feral horse of Australia, the Kaimanawa is the feral horse of New Zealand.
28. The sensitive, wedge-shaped part of a horse’s foot is called the frog.
29. The right hand side of a horse is called the off side. The left hand side is the near side.
30. Horses sleep between two and three hours per day. Only 45 minutes of this sleep time is spent lying down.
31. Modern horses are known as Equus caballus.
32. Zebra stripe patterns are as distinctive as human fingerprints.
33. The horse’s hoof is a marvel of the natural world. The study of the equine hoof has been more controversial than any other part of the horse’s anatomy.
34. Horses can see, hear and smell better than humans.
35. A horse’s eyes are set on either side of its head making it very easy to see in every direction except directly in front of their nose and behind their tail.
36. Horses have a very sensitive sense of touch. They can tell if a fly has landed on their body and then flick their tail to get rid of it. A horse also has whiskers on its muzzle and around its eyes, which act like antennae when feeling objects around them.
37. Large ears on the horse’s head allow for easy movement in many directions. A horse can rotate its ears 180 degrees towards a sound. The ears on a horse can also tell you how a horse is feeling or reacting to a particular sound. For example ears up could mean curiosity or interest and ears flat back against head could mean scared.
38. A horse can eat 20lbs or 10 kg of hay per day. They drink 25 liters of water per day, which is 13 times what an average human drinks.
39. There are many names for the different ages and sex of horses. A stallion is a male horse old enough to sire babies. Trifon is a stallion. Colt is the name given to a young male horse under four years of age. A mature female horse is called a mare and a filly is a young female horse under four years of age.
40. When horses have babies, the mare is pregnant or in “foal”, for 11 months. When the foal or baby horse is born, its legs are almost as long as they will be when it is full grown. A foal can stand and walk within one hour of being born. The average human baby takes 8-12 months to learn to stand and walk on its own.
41. Horses are measured in “hands”. Originally this meant the width of an adult man’s hand, now it has been standardized to mean 4 inches or 10 centimeters.
42. A special hoof pick is used to pick dirt or small stones out of horse’s hooves.
43. Saddles benefit both the rider and the horse. The saddle stops the digging of the horse’s spine into the rider and helps to spread the weight of the rider evenly over the horse.
44. Stirrups hang from the saddle and support the rider’s feet.
45. There are four different ways to describe a horse’s movement.
46. The first is walking or a four beat gait. In this movement the horse has three feet on the ground with only one foot in the air at any time.
47. The second is trotting or a two beat gait. This movement has the opposite fore and hind feet hitting the ground together in turn.
48. The third type is cantering or three beat. When a horse is cantering, two diagonal feet hit the ground together and the other two feet hit the ground separately. There is a time when no feet are on the ground.
49. Lastly is galloping, same pattern as a canter, but paired feet do not hit the ground together.
50. Girth is a leather or nylon strap that goes around the horse’s belly and holds the
saddle on.
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