Horse Facts
The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.
~Sharon Ralls Lemon
~Sharon Ralls Lemon
Horse Facts
A stallion is a male horse
A mare is a female horse
A foal is a baby horse
A filly is a young female horse
A colt is a young male horse
A foal is a yearling after it's first birthday
A sire is the word used for the father of a horse
A dam is the word used for the mother of a horse
A pony is not a baby horse. It is a fully grown small horse
A horse's height is measured in hands. One hand =4"
An average life span for a horse is around 20-25 years,
though they can live for up to 30 years. The oldest recorded horse
was "Old Billy" an English barge horse, who lived to be 62 years old.
There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies.
These fall into four main groups:
1. "light" horses with small bones, thin legs and weighing less
than 1300 pounds;e.g. Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses,
Morgan horses and Arabians.
2. "heavy" or draft horses which can weigh up to 2000 pounds
and are strong with large bones and sturdy legs; e.g.
Percherons, Draft, Clydesdale, and Shire horses.
3. ponies which are usually not more than 58 inches tall (14.2
hands and under), e.g. Shetland,Halflinger, and Caspian ponies.
4. feral horses which are wild or semi-wild horses.
A mustang is a feral horse.
Horses are measured by the width of a human hand-4
inches or 10 centimeters. Measurement is taken from the ground up
to the withers, the highest point on the horse's shoulder. A light
horse such as a Lipizzana measures between 15.1 and 16.2h
while a heavy horse such as a Shire is between 16.2 and 17.2h.
Ponies are under 14hh.
It is possible to age a horse fairly accurately up to 10
years of age by their teeth. Whether they are first teeth, permanent
teeth, the presence of incisor teeth, the length and slope of teeth
all help indicate a horse's age. It ia more difficult to age adult horses
by their teeth.
Horses belong to the equus family. Equus comes from
the ancient Greek word meaning quickness. Horses are mammals
in the same family as zebras, mules, and donkeys.
Conformation- The shape of a horse's body. A horse with good conformation
is stronger and more likely to stay sound than one with weak conformation.
Horses can drink up to ten gallons of water a day
It's impossible to predict a horse's color from the foal coat color. They generally will go through several color changes. The color finally becomes "fixed" around two years of age.
The difference between a mule and a hinny. The mother of a mule is a Mare and the father is a Jackass. The mother of a hinny is a Jenny and the father is a Horse (Stud)
Horses expend more energy lying down than they do when they are standing up!
Rabbits are not rodents. They are lagomorphs, and are more closely related to horses than they are to rats or mice.
The British racehorse Humorist, who won the English derby in the early 20´s, should never have been able to race. When he died shortly after the derby, an autopsy was made, and it was found out that he had been born with only one lung.
With his long limbs and large heart and lungs, the horse is designed for galloping. Jumping is not a natural activity for horses and left to their own devices most will go around obstructions.
China not only has the most people in the world, but also has the most Horses with 10,000,000
The fastest Pony Express ride was 7 days, 17 hours and was carrying Lincoln's inaugural address.
There is no such thing as a white horse. They are all called gray horses because they have little black and white hairs that combine to make them look white. Horses which are white with pink eyes, a pink mouth, and pink ears are called albino.
Horses cannot vomit.
The male seahorse is the one who gets pregnant and delivers the baby seahorses
HIPPOPHOBIA - Fear of horses.
EQUINOPHOBIA - Fear of horses.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Horses cannot breathe through their mouths. That's why you'll never see one panting like a dog.
Horses have a good sense of memory, if you've been with the same horse for a long time, they will remember you, but if you haven't, they usually wont remember you.
When spoken to, horses distinguish tones rather than particular words.
The longest tail measured was 22ft long was grown by an American Palomino named Chinook
The longest mane was 18 ft long and grown by a Californian mare named Maude
Horses have "2 BLIND SPOTS". One is directly behind them and the other is directly in front of them.
A horse's "HEART WEIGHS" about 10 pounds!
The average horse's HEAD WEIGHS 11.84 pounds
You can tell how old a horse is by how many teeth it has. A horse gets all of its teeth by the time it is five years old. After that, they just get longer.
A stallion is a male horse
A mare is a female horse
A foal is a baby horse
A filly is a young female horse
A colt is a young male horse
A foal is a yearling after it's first birthday
A sire is the word used for the father of a horse
A dam is the word used for the mother of a horse
A pony is not a baby horse. It is a fully grown small horse
A horse's height is measured in hands. One hand =4"
An average life span for a horse is around 20-25 years,
though they can live for up to 30 years. The oldest recorded horse
was "Old Billy" an English barge horse, who lived to be 62 years old.
There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies.
These fall into four main groups:
1. "light" horses with small bones, thin legs and weighing less
than 1300 pounds;e.g. Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses,
Morgan horses and Arabians.
2. "heavy" or draft horses which can weigh up to 2000 pounds
and are strong with large bones and sturdy legs; e.g.
Percherons, Draft, Clydesdale, and Shire horses.
3. ponies which are usually not more than 58 inches tall (14.2
hands and under), e.g. Shetland,Halflinger, and Caspian ponies.
4. feral horses which are wild or semi-wild horses.
A mustang is a feral horse.
Horses are measured by the width of a human hand-4
inches or 10 centimeters. Measurement is taken from the ground up
to the withers, the highest point on the horse's shoulder. A light
horse such as a Lipizzana measures between 15.1 and 16.2h
while a heavy horse such as a Shire is between 16.2 and 17.2h.
Ponies are under 14hh.
It is possible to age a horse fairly accurately up to 10
years of age by their teeth. Whether they are first teeth, permanent
teeth, the presence of incisor teeth, the length and slope of teeth
all help indicate a horse's age. It ia more difficult to age adult horses
by their teeth.
Horses belong to the equus family. Equus comes from
the ancient Greek word meaning quickness. Horses are mammals
in the same family as zebras, mules, and donkeys.
Conformation- The shape of a horse's body. A horse with good conformation
is stronger and more likely to stay sound than one with weak conformation.
Horses can drink up to ten gallons of water a day
It's impossible to predict a horse's color from the foal coat color. They generally will go through several color changes. The color finally becomes "fixed" around two years of age.
The difference between a mule and a hinny. The mother of a mule is a Mare and the father is a Jackass. The mother of a hinny is a Jenny and the father is a Horse (Stud)
Horses expend more energy lying down than they do when they are standing up!
Rabbits are not rodents. They are lagomorphs, and are more closely related to horses than they are to rats or mice.
The British racehorse Humorist, who won the English derby in the early 20´s, should never have been able to race. When he died shortly after the derby, an autopsy was made, and it was found out that he had been born with only one lung.
With his long limbs and large heart and lungs, the horse is designed for galloping. Jumping is not a natural activity for horses and left to their own devices most will go around obstructions.
China not only has the most people in the world, but also has the most Horses with 10,000,000
The fastest Pony Express ride was 7 days, 17 hours and was carrying Lincoln's inaugural address.
There is no such thing as a white horse. They are all called gray horses because they have little black and white hairs that combine to make them look white. Horses which are white with pink eyes, a pink mouth, and pink ears are called albino.
Horses cannot vomit.
The male seahorse is the one who gets pregnant and delivers the baby seahorses
HIPPOPHOBIA - Fear of horses.
EQUINOPHOBIA - Fear of horses.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Horses cannot breathe through their mouths. That's why you'll never see one panting like a dog.
Horses have a good sense of memory, if you've been with the same horse for a long time, they will remember you, but if you haven't, they usually wont remember you.
When spoken to, horses distinguish tones rather than particular words.
The longest tail measured was 22ft long was grown by an American Palomino named Chinook
The longest mane was 18 ft long and grown by a Californian mare named Maude
Horses have "2 BLIND SPOTS". One is directly behind them and the other is directly in front of them.
A horse's "HEART WEIGHS" about 10 pounds!
The average horse's HEAD WEIGHS 11.84 pounds
You can tell how old a horse is by how many teeth it has. A horse gets all of its teeth by the time it is five years old. After that, they just get longer.
Fast Facts about The Nature of Horses
A horse trailer or 'horse box' was invented in England in 1836 by Lord George Bentinck. Pulled by six horses it was invented to get his race horses from one track to the next.
The name 'Philip,' and the feminine variant, 'Philippa,' mean 'lover of horses.'
-Will Rogers (1879-1935) a political humorist had a horse named Soapsuds.
- The horse is the state animal of New Jersey.
-Cars with Horse names are the Ford's Mustang, Pinto, Bronco and the Dodge's Colt.
The original Justin Morgan horse was 14 hands high. This bay horse was foaled in 1793 in Massachusetts, and lived in Vermont from age two until his death in 1821. His Death was neglect after being kicked.
A ' furlong' is the measurement used at race tracks and the British 'furrow-long,' the standard length of a farmer's field. A furlong = 220 yards. One Miles - the distance around most racetracks = 8 furlongs, as 1 furlong = 1/8 mile.
At John F. Kennedy's funeral - November 25th, 2009 - the riderless horse was named Black Jack. The boots reversed in the stirrups indicated a fallen leader who would ride no more, a tradition tracing back to the ancient Mongols.
The name 'Philip,' and the feminine variant, 'Philippa,' mean 'lover of horses.'
-Will Rogers (1879-1935) a political humorist had a horse named Soapsuds.
- The horse is the state animal of New Jersey.
-Cars with Horse names are the Ford's Mustang, Pinto, Bronco and the Dodge's Colt.
The original Justin Morgan horse was 14 hands high. This bay horse was foaled in 1793 in Massachusetts, and lived in Vermont from age two until his death in 1821. His Death was neglect after being kicked.
A ' furlong' is the measurement used at race tracks and the British 'furrow-long,' the standard length of a farmer's field. A furlong = 220 yards. One Miles - the distance around most racetracks = 8 furlongs, as 1 furlong = 1/8 mile.
At John F. Kennedy's funeral - November 25th, 2009 - the riderless horse was named Black Jack. The boots reversed in the stirrups indicated a fallen leader who would ride no more, a tradition tracing back to the ancient Mongols.