The Horse belongs to the Equus Family. Equus comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "QUICKNESS"
One of the first horses was called a Hyracotherium. It lived about 50 million years ago and was as tall as a fox. It had toes! This horse changed over millions of years to become a modern horse.
Did you know that the Pliohippus was the first ancestor of the horse to have hoofs?
The world's horse population is estimated at 75,000,000.
The average lifespan for a horse is around 20 - 25 years, though they can live up to 30 years.
The "OLDEST" horse recorded to date is - "Old Billy", an English Barge horse who lived to the age of 62 years old.
The"OLDEST" pony in history was 54 years old when he died in France.
The "OLDEST" horse ever to give birth was a 42 year old Australian brood mare.
The "SMALLEST" breed is the Falebella of Argentina. The tallest of the breed stands about 74cm (30 inches) at the shoulder.
The "SMALLEST" pony in history was a stallion named "Little Pumpkin." He stood 14 inches and weighed only 20 lbs!
The "TALLEST" ever horse recorded was a Shire called Samson. He stood 21.2 and a half hands ( 7 ft 2 inches)
Samson is also recorded as the "HEAVIEST" horse weighing 1524kg (3360lbs)
World Record "LOG PULLING" was set in 1893. 2 Clydesdale Stallions hauled a sledge stacked with timber weighing 128 tonnes. The equivalent of pulling 22 African Elephants.
There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies.
There are more than 600 Przewalski's horses worldwide.
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 "2BLIND 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.
The world speed record for a horse is 43.2 mph, it was set by a four year old race horse named Big Racket.
Did you know that in the old black and white films, when the script said that a horse was to be shot, they really did the shooting on screen?! Sad, huh?
Horses can communicate how they are feeling by their facial expressions. They use their ears, nostrils, and eyes to show their moods. Beware of a horse that has flared nostrils and their ears back. That means it might attack!
Most foals are born at night under the cover of darkness and away from prying eyes and possible danger.
In the wild horse world, the mare decides when and where the herd will go while the stallion follows.
"LAST PRIMARY ANIMAL" to be domesticated.
Horses can drink up to ten gallens 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 only horse to defeat the great race horse Man'O War was named 'Upset'.
The difference between a mule and a hiny. The mother of a mule is a Mare and the father is a Jackass. The mother of a hiny 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 20īs, 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 re ceived 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'v been with the same horse for a long time, they will remember you, but if you havent, they usually wont remember you
