Horses

Fun Facts About Horses

Fun Facts About Horses
Written by Arlene S. Lane

Fun facts about horses that will definitely surprise you or you may haven’t heard them before. Yes, this is true, horses have been a part of human society for centuries. They are being used domestically for as long as 3000BC. But is that it? Horses are interesting animals and if pet properly can be just too close to humans like a dog.  While dogs are great pets, horses are not less than them.

Though horses may not be a preferred pet choice for many American households they are still as papular as any other pets around. They are considered to be low-maintenance pets for many pet horse owners. If you are interested in learning about horses then these facts about horses will surely surprise and entertain you.

1- Horses Have a Wide Range Of Vision

Among the several fun facts about horses, this one is actually surprising. As we all know that eyes of horses are located on the sides of their heads. This benefits them by providing them with a wide range of visions. They can see almost 360 degrees and they also have blind spots but only in front of their head and the backside of their body. Another surprising fact about horse vision is that they can use their eyes separately which is known as monocular vision. This also means that horses can look around and process things differently. However, when they use binocular vision, they can focus both of their eyes on an object.

2- Ponies and Miniature Are Different Horses

Among other horse facts, you will be surprised to know that not all ponies are small horses while ponies can be miniature horses. Ponies are horses that measure less than 14.2 hands (58 inches) at the withers. Miniature horses must not be taller than 34 inches. This gives them both the pony category and the miniature one which can be their own category.

In contrast to ponies, which have shorter legs, longer bodies, and an all-around stockier build, miniature ponies maintain regular horse body proportions, leading many horse fans to believe that they are a separate breed of horse.

3- Highly Intelligent Animals

Some of the surprising facts about horses include higher intelligence in them. You can teach them a bunch of different tasks with some training and positive reinforcement just like a dog. It is even observed that horses can communicate with their owner when they need something. They can communicate when they need something such as a blanket to even food.

4- They Are Related to Rhinosources

The fun facts about horses can become scientific as well. You may be surprised to know that the horse family is thought to exclusively contain members of the genus Equus, which comprises horses. In addition to the domesticated horse (Equus caballus), the species also encompasses zebras, donkeys, and Przewalski’s horses. These, however, are not the horse’s nearest surviving relatives, which is surprising, aren’t they?

The horse is most closely belongs to the similarly hooved rhinoceros as an odd-toed ungulate.

5- Fixed Pelvis In Horse

Have you ever seen a horse doing splits? Don’t talk about looney toons, in real life, and if not then don’t worry. Horses have a fixed pelvis. While they do have lateral movement but they cannot do split because of their anatomy.

6- Horses Can Sleep While Standing

Another interesting horse fact is that horses can sleep while standing. Horses have tendons and ligaments structure known as the “stay apparatus” which enables horses to keep their legs in place so they can relax and sleep without falling over. Horses use this system when they aren’t resting so they won’t feel any exhaustion from standing around for extended periods of time. This enables them to save energy when standing and be prepared to run when necessary. Horses actually spend a little period of time each day lying down for deeper slumber, contrary to the popular belief that they never do so.

7- Lightening Fast Reflexes

Forget spiderman, horses have the fastest response to any situation among any domestic animals. They have super fast reflexes so much so that they can go from standing still to kicking someone in just 0.3 seconds without any second thought.

8- Horse With Metallic Coat

One doesn’t have to worry much about horse care as well as seen and heard. Some horses may require daily grooming, and brushing their body or so to maintain their shine, a horse breed named Akhal-Teke has one of the best-looking coats among all horses. Without doing much maintenance, these horses naturally have metallic coats. Everything has to do with the hair they are born with. The Akhal-hair Teke’s strands lack or have very little core, unlike the opaque core found in the majority of horse breeds.

9- No Teeth In The Middle Of The Mouth

Among the craziest facts about the horse, this should be top on the list. Unlike several other types of herbivores, horses don’t have teeth in the middle of their mouth. Only the front and back side of the mouth has teeth. Also, you can count his age by checking his teeth of it as well. 

10- They are Social Animals

As we all know several herbivores are herd animals. They lie to graze around in groups. This may be their evolutionary instinct to avoid attacks from predators, the fact about horses is that they are naturally social animals. You will rarely see a horse alone (except as a pet). Ponies are famous for feeling depression and stress when they don’t have other ponies around. This is why it is important to have a pair of ponies instead of a single pony.

11- Muscular Ears of Horses

Another interesting horse fact is that they have muscular ears. Though humans have them as well they just have 3 muscles. On the other hand, horses have 10 muscles in their ears. This is because they can move their ears individually, and independently. They can move their ears nearly 180 degrees.

12- No Mouth Breathers

other surprising facts about horses include, they cannot breathe from their mouth. They are nose obligator breather species. This means they can only breathe via their nose.

Bottom Line

There you have it, our version of fun facts about horses. If you find them unique and interesting then stay tuned for further articles like this. Hope you enjoyed reading this. For more pet horse care guides and articles regarding pets, keep browsing our blog for more pet care guides.

About the author

Arlene S. Lane

Arlene S. Lane is a veterinary technician and hospital manager with over 12 years of experience. Arlene has been contributed expert content to The Pet's Rise for over 10 years.
Arlene has worked in veterinary medicine since 2017. Arlene's veterinary experience ranges from routine wellness care and preventive medicine to emergency and specialty care, where she has performed duties ranging from specialized nursing to clinical administration.

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