16/12/2022
You learn something new every day 😱😍 Here are some fascinating and little known facts about horses 🥰 they’re amazing animals!! ❤️
🍎 Stallions/geldings have 4 extra teeth than mares do. These are called canine teeth and are historically used for fighting.
🍏 Arab horses have one less rib, lumbar vertebrae and tail bone than all other breeds.
🍎 A horses Cerebrum (the part of the brain used for thinking and processing information) is the size of a walnut.
🍏 Secretariat and Phar Lap, two of the best racehorses that ever lived, both had a heart that was twice the size of an average horses heart.
🍎 Horses can only breath through their nose.
🍏 A horses eye is the largest of all land mammals (yes, larger than an elephants!)
🍎 If a horse is deficient in minerals they will start to eat dirt and even their own poo.
🍏 Mounting a horse on the left side is just tradition. This is because soldiers would mount their horses on the left so that their swords, anchored over their left legs, wouldn’t harm the horses backs.
🍎 Piaffe and passage were first used to keep horses fit when on boats going to war.
🍏 A Horses oesophagus can only flip backwards, not forwards, that’s why they can’t vomit and why colic is so prevalent.
🍎 Horses sleep for an average of only 2.5 - 3 hours in a 24 hour period.
🍏 A horses resting respiratory rate can be as low as 8 breaths per minute.
🍎 A horses stride directly matches their breathing rate, and horses hold their breath when jumping. If your horse struggles with oxers, their breathing can be a cause.
🍏 The lower leg of a horse has no muscles, only tendons and ligaments. The frog of the horses hoof helps to pump the blood back to the heart.
🍎It is NOT possible for a horse to have a ‘heart attack’ as it is commonly thought. This is because heart attacks are caused by a build up of cholesterol and horses do not produce cholesterol. Instead, horses can suffer from ‘sudden death syndrome’.
🍏When in a herd, horses synchronise their heartbeats and if one horses heart goes up they know there is danger. This is why it is commonly said that horses can sense your fear.
If you know any other interesting facts about horses then add them in the comments! 😁 and feel free to share 🥰