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Did You Know?

Here are some interesting Equine Facts for you!

  • There are over 350 different breeds of horses and ponies.
  • Horses belong to the Equus family which comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "Quickness".
  • A horse is considered adult at age four.
  • Horses usually live to be 20-25 years old. The oldest horse was "Old Billy", a 18th century horse that lived to be 62.
  • The longest tail measured was 22 foot long, and was grown by an American Palomino named Chinook.
  • The longest mane was 18 foot long and grown by a Californian mare named Maude.
  • Horses are measured in hands with 1 hand equal to 4 inches.  They are measured from the floor to their withers (bottom of the neck).  Anything 14.2 hands high and under is a pony.
  • Horses have 2 blind spots. One is directly behind them and the other is directly in front of them.
  • A horse's head makes up approximately 10% of its body weight.
  • A horse's brain is the size of a walnut.
  • The average weight of a horse's heart is about 9 pounds.  The great racehorse Secretariat's heart weighed a whopping 22 pounds!
  • The hoof of a horse is like a fingernail, it keeps on growing and needs regular clipping.
  • Horses can drink up to ten gallons of water a day.
  • Horses lose more energy lying down than they do when they are standing up.
  • The smallest pony ever recorded is "Little Pumpkin". Foaled on April 15, 1973; he stood 14 inches high and weighed just 20 pounds a year later.
  • The tallest documented horse was a shire gelding named Sampson. Foaled in 1846, he measured 21.2 hands high in 1950 weighed 3,360 pounds.
  • The word 'Dressage' comes from the French verb "dresser" meaning to train.

 

 

 
Photographs and text © Ascot Racecourse 2006
Colts and Fillies Club, Ascot Racecourse , Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7JX
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