Curious facts about horses
Purebred Arabian Horse
- Horses that still look like wild horses to this day (such as wild mustangs) are actually descended from domestic horses. They came to America as a result of their import from Spain in the 16th century. The true wild horses are the ones that come from Asia.
- The precursor to horses, in fact, a very small dinosaur called “gyrocoteria”. It was only 14 centimeters tall and weighed 5 kg. Unlike modern horses, it had 4 sprays on the front hoofs and 3 sprays on the rear.
- There are no horce fossils found in Australia. They were brought there in the 18th century.
- Before being tamed (4,000 BC) in the Middle and Far East, horses were a major hunting target because for their meat and skin.
- After humans began domesticating these noble animals, in many Indo-European countries they were sacrificed to the pagan gods. And in the Caucasus, this is still practiced today.
- The horses teeth are indeed an extremely accurate sign of their age and their health.
- Most horses live 25-30 years. The oldest horse is “Old Billy” from England, who has lived to a very old age – 64 years. (If the age of the horses is compared to the human one, then one horse equals to 12 human, the 2nd horse equals 7 more human, and the next few years equal 2.6 human each. So he has lived 174 human years!)
- In horses, the five major receptors are well-developed – taste, smell, vision, hearing and touch sensitivity.
- Horse eyes are one of the largest in the animal world. They are capable of moving independently (as in chameleons), providing them with detailed panoramic vision. They also perceive colors as human, which is extremely rare in animals.
- The sense of smell of the horse is developed to a very high level – they are able to sense whether their rider is nervous or calm and they can smell a drunk person from a great distance. With the smell of blood, the horse can literally go crazy. With the smell of blood, the horse can literally go crazy.
- There are over 160 different breeds of horses in the world. The purest and noblest breed is the Arabian – the most expensive breed.
- The Persians were known as the best riders in the world. It is the horses that owe their dominance to the East. This is one of their most important symbols.
- The fertility goddess, Demetra, was depicted with a black mare’s head.
- The Hindus compared the horses to space, and the whites were considered to be the embodiment of Vishnu.
- In literature, horses are also a symbol of beauty and even of sexual ability (“stallion”).
- The mind and herd nature of horses is also developed to a high standard. There are quite a few cases where, in a fire, the horses open their own and other horses’ doors to release them.
- Horses are able to distinguish emotions in the human voice.
- Horse sleep consists of only 2 phases – SWS (short deep sleep) and REM (rapid eye movement). Horses have the unique ability to sleep straight, deliberately blocking the tendons of their limbs so they do not fall.
- In addition to emotions, horses are also very sensitive to music – they like calm or cheerful instrumental music, but are crazy about rock or more aggressive music.
- The horses’ hooves are actually extremely sensitive, and they have a very interesting purpose – when the horse steps on its hoof, but on the inside, it presses against their blood vessels. Due to this, their blood returns to the main circulatory system, ie. hooves make the heart function a little easier!
- The newborn’s mother is entirely focused on raising him, but when it comes to protection, then the father, siblings, and sometimes other males of the herd are included.
- They meet herds of wild horses where the leader is actually a mare.
- Horses have extremely strong muscles around the stomach. They are even so strong that they will be torn rather than allowing the horse to vomit.
- The word “hippopotamus” means “river horse”, even though they belong to pigs rather than horses.
- In some states in the US, there are a number of extremely stupid laws regarding horses. For example, unmarried girls are forbidden to ride a horse on Sunday, and married men are not allowed to speak on a horse without their wife.
- Exceptions are made only for families who have been married for more than 1 year.
