Fun facts about horses-All the Fun facts at a Glance

Bear in mind that just as the dog is man’s best friend, so is the horse!!  to its horse-loving Master.  Horses have been around the planet for centuries for more than 4000 years B.C.  Horses are temperamental and gentle creatures.  They are the noblest of all animals.  They have worked for man, fought in battles and won wars, been honored as heroes, taken part in the Ascot races, and other competitions, and been a means of transportation, drawn carriages, carried royalty, been a workhorse and a companion and pet to its master.

The horse is supposed to have lived about 50 million years ago, and the prehistoric horse was known as the Eohippus horse.  It is said that this prehistoric horse had 4 padded toes on the front legs and 3 padded toes on the back legs.  Horses are beautiful horses and have a great personality.  It is definitely a better place to live with these amazing creatures.  Here are some more quirky, weird facts about the rest of our horsey friends.

Fun facts about horses-Interesting facts about horses

Did you know that a horse’s eyes are like a CCTV camera meaning that their eyes are located on the side of their faces?  So this means they can see at 360 angles, you know like the security camera fixed in your home, which also turns about giving a perfect angle of what it sees, well so does the horse.  As for the horse, this makes it easy for it to spot the enemy coming from their 360 angles of vision or the moving eye.  Their eyes are the biggest among all land mammals, and 10 times bigger than human beings naturally!!  Just imagine if we humans had eyes as large as a horse!

Now isn’t that a fascinating fact?   

But the funniest thing is that the horse can’t see you, even if you are standing right under its nose!  So be aware when standing in front of a horse, always let it know that you are there or you may get a kick in the rear or stomach! Whichever direction that you happen to be standing.   Also remember if the horse’s tail is tied with a red ribbon (No, it is not the horses Birthday!!!)  It means that the horse is liable to kick you in the ass, and of its paddock!!!

Fun facts about horses-Did you also know that they can sleep while standing or lying down?

They have this magical mechanism in their horsey knees that has the unique ability to click together which makes it easy for them to sleep lying down or standing up.  This is also good for them to be on their guard when wild animals come their way for the kill.  So that when the horse sleeps in this position it can easily unravel itself and run for safety.  In a herd, while the rest of the horses are asleep there is one horse that keeps guard in the standing mode.  Amazing!

Fun facts about horses-Do you know how a horses’ height is measured? 

A horse’s height is usually measured by the highest point of the horses back, between the neck and back.  Each hand equals 4” a double h (hh) is a short form that refers to ‘hand height’.  This is used after the number of hands that horse measures.  If say for example that a horse is 60’ tall at the back, then it is called 15hh.  If on the other hand the horse does not measure to an even number then the number will be something like 15.2 which reads as fifteen and half hands high.  With every 4” you count the next hand will be as follows:

15hh   =   60” tall at withers

15.1hh=   61” tall

15.2   =   62” tall

15.3   =   63” tall

16hh   =   64” tall

16.1hh   =   65” tall and so forth

Furthermore…

Horses eat only plants, and they do love chomping on apples and carrots as a treat.  Hay and grass are their staple and their main feed; they also feed on grain, fruits, and vegetables.  They drink about 25 gallons of water a day, more during the hot and humid dog days of summer!  Remember never feed your horse friend with meats or dairy products, though you could sneak in a sugar cube or two as a special treat for being such good sport and winning the race for you.  Be careful when mowing down that lawn remembers to remove all the mown grass, and don’t let your horse eat it as mown grass can cause colic in horses.

Now going back in time and ancient days, remember that horses have been on this planet for over thousands of years.  They have been with people and been a part of humans and participated in all their activities.  From wars to transportation to working horse, entertainment, and as a pet for riding, racing, etc.

Fun facts about horses-How do you differentiate these horses?

Now keep in mind, that beautiful and majestic black Stallion is known as a mature male horse.  While the female horse is called a mature Mare.  The baby horse is a foal, while the baby male horse is known as a colt.  And a female baby horse is called a filly.  The young horses that have been weaned from their mother are called a wealing while a young horse of one year is known as a yearling.  A horse that has been gelded is called a gelding. (This type of horse cannot breed).  Sounds so poetic!  These types of horses are easy to manage and handle and ride rather than the temperamental great Stallion.    Hee-Haw…

The Horse Gait

Have you seen how the horse walks? Clip-clop… the sedate gait, there are 4 types of speeds in which the horse can walk.

• Walking
• Trotting
• Canter
• Gallop

The horse can gallop at 27 miles per hour.  The fastest sprint of a horse was recorded at 55mph.

Ponies

Who doesn’t love a pony? Ponies are small sturdy creatures a small kind of horse, but it is called a Pony.  It measures about 14.2hh or even smaller.  These horses/ponies are very sturdy and strong through their stature and are small in size.  Believe it or not, if not for their small frame they are considered to be much stronger than a horse!  They are also easy to maintain and keep; they eat only half of what a horse eats.  Ponies are lovable and affectionate creatures and also mischievous, they can also be as stubborn as a mule, and will be up to all sorts of tricks under the sun.

But, they are friendly content creatures and very good with kids and children and with everyone sundry!  It is also not scared one bit of the horse and it will stand its own ground.  The pony’s mane and the tail are much thicker than horses’.  Their coats grow an extra coat to protect them from the harsh winter colds.  Pony’s legs are short and sturdy, the neck is thick.  They are healthy and strong and live up to 50 years and outlive taller horses, Interesting facts about horses.

Fun facts about horses-Did you know that a male horse can be crossed with a female pony? 

The result of this would be a mule.  A cross male horse and a female donkey is called a hinny.  Have you ever noticed your horse with a cheeky grin on his face?  That is when it is sniffing or smelling something, its smell senses are high.  This is called ‘Flehmar response’.  Male horses have 40 teeth while the female horse has 36 teeth.  If you look into a horse’s mouth you can tell its age from its teeth. (Now don’t go and look a gift horse in the mouth)!  Horses are generally known to use their horse sense! With their large sweet eyes, and nostrils to show their emotions.

This is how they express their feelings and moods.  They can run and gallop with all four legs in the air off the ground.  Horses are known to use many different sounds like whinnying and neighing to greet other horses.  A horse’s snort is a warning to other horses to alert them to dangers.  If a horse falls sick and unable to vomit this can make the horse very ill with colic pain which is fatal to a horse since it cannot throw up its food.  If a horse feels sick or cold the best way to find out is by feeling the ear to see whether it’s cold, if it is, then the rest of his body is cold too.  You can tell a horse is okay from the gurgling sounds that come from his stomach.

Horses have 16 muscles…

Horses have 16 muscles in their ears which is very useful to them as the ears can rotate at 180 degrees just like its eyes.  They love the company and being with their other horse friends.  Never keep a horse alone in a field as it will get lonely and depressed.   The horse’s lifespan is about 25 years.  The oldest horse on record lived up to 62 years.

The adult horse’s brain weighs about 22 ounces while the heart of a horse weighs up to 10 pounds; such is the love of a horse eh?!!!  The hooves of a horse grow just like the nails on your hands and the hooves have got to be trimmed, like how you would trim your own pretty nails!!!   The center of the hoof is called a frog.  This frog is of triangular shape and it acts as a buffer for the horse’s leg.  This helps to pump blood back up the leg.  A horse’s hoof takes about 12 months to regrow.

Horses also have 250 bones in their skeleton.  Their seeing eye is perfect for night vision and can see better than a human!  Horses are not color blind but they can see green and blues while the reds and other dark colors are seen as brown.  Horses with pink skin are more apt to get sunburnt.  That is why you sometimes see them with a sun hat!!!  Isn’t that cute?

Fun facts about horses-More details…

A horse is usually mounted from the left side.  Women in the olden days normally would sit on a horse on side-saddle.  Even today the Trooping of the Color ceremony, which is the ceremony of the Queen’s official Birthday; would sit side-saddle and ride her horse.

There are about 60 million horses on the planet.  These 60 million horses are all domesticated and cared for by human beings.  The horse can produce about 60 gallons of saliva a day.  The horse’s ears and eyes can see and hear at the same time when it turns its direction.  If you look at a horse’s rear you will notice that the horse is slightly shorter on one side than on the other side.  Horses don’t breath from their mouth but through their nostrils, this is to help prevent them from inhaling food.  These are some of the Fun horse facts.

There are about 400 horse breeds.  These breeds are of various size and build, they are horses that participate in racing, ranching, and working horses and pulling of carts.

Wild horses

Wild horses congregate in groups.  The groups consist of a stallion, a few mares, and their offspring.   Among the mares, one emerges as the head mare.  The mare decides when the group or herd will graze, drink, and sleep and where they will roam.  Meanwhile, the stallion protects the herd from other stallions and predators.  When the offspring colts mature and are about 2 years old, the head stallion will chase it away from the herd.  These young stallions will then go elsewhere and form their own herd.