30+ Things You Didn't Know About Horses

I love learning interesting facts about horses. We will never stop being amazed by our horses. They are fascinating, beautiful, elegant, and incredibly intelligent. We might spend a lot of time with them, but a few things surprise us.

In this article you can read some interesting facts you probably didn't know about our steeds and ponies!

1. A horse's brain weighs about half of a human brain.
2. According to much research, horses enjoy classical music very much. Also, this type of music can calm down agitated ones.
3. The first horse was cloned in Italy in 2003 from the Haflinger breed.
4. The word chivalry is inspired by a horse derived from the French word for horse (cheval).
5. Horses have huge eyes - the largest of all land mammals.
6. Chariot Races was the first Olympic sport making horses a part of the first edition of this event.
7. The horse has a heightened sense of touch. For instance, the horse will feel a mosquito the second it lands on his body.
8. The fastest horse is Secretariat, whose record was set in 1973 and hasn't been beaten still.
9. A horse's heart weighs 4,5 kg!
10. Horses don't like to eat anything sour or bitter.
11. As horses lack the gag reflex muscle right before their stomach, they can't vomit.
12. Horses can't get frostbite on their legs.
13. The intestines of a horse are over 27 meters long!
14. The length of a newborn foal's leg indicates their height when they mature.
15. To check whether your horse is feeling cold, touch his ears. If his ears are cold, so is he.
16. A horse can't breathe through his mouth.
17. Since horses have eyes on both sides of their head, they can see nearly 360 degrees.
18. There are seven typical horse blood types.
19. Arabian horses have one rib less when compared to other breeds.
20. In case of a loss, whether it's human or any other creature, horses will mourn them.
21. The oldest horse lived until the age of 62.
22. If you think your horse is dehydrated, pinch his skin. If you notice it takes too long before it returns to its initial state, give him water ASAP!
23. The first people who domesticated horses were Mongolians - around 5,000 years ago.
24. Horses' teeth never stop growing and they take up more space than their brain.
25. Horses have an impressive long-term memory.
26. They can sleep standing up.
27. Horses run a few hours after birth.
28. They see in the dark better than humans, but it takes them longer to adjust to darkness from light and vice versa.
29. Approximately 4.6 million Americans work in the US horse industry with a $39 billion annual income.
30. They're the only animal on the planet that move their skin without moving their muscles.
31. The horse's ears have 16 muscles which enable him to rotate them 180 degrees.
32. Horses are great with routines, especially with food. They want the same food at the same time each day.
33. A horse produces 38 litres of saliva a day.
34. It's a common misconception that horses are colourblind. They see yellow and green much better than, for example, purple and violet.
35. The highest horse jump on record is 247,20 cm.
36. Horses can express their mood through facial expression.
37. Male horses have 40 teeth, while a female horse has 36 of them.

Did you know many of these facts already? Comment below and let us know if you know more interesting information which should be on our list!