Horse Facts & Trivia

Horse Facts

• Horses are herbivores (plant eaters).
• A male horse is called a stallion.
• A female horse is called a mare.
• A young male horse is called a colt.
• A young female horse is called a filly.
• There are over 200 breeds of horses in the world.
• A horse’s gestation period (time between breeding and birth) is about 11 months, but can be anywhere from 10-12 months.
• The scientific name for the horse is equus caballus.
• Horses have five highly developed senses: taste, touch, hearing, smell, and sight.
• There are nearly 160 distinctive breeds and types of horses around the world.
• No two horses are identical.
• Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up.
• A horse typically sleeps 2.5 to 3 hours per day.
• Horses have bigger eyes than any other mammal that lives on land.
• Horses gallop at around 27 mph.
• Horses can run shortly after birth.
• A 19th century horse named ‘Old Billy’ is said to have lived 62 years.
• Estimates suggest that there are around 60 million horses in the world.
• Scientists believe that horses have evolved over the past 50 million years from much smaller creatures.
• Horses use their ears, eyes and nostrils to express their mood.
• Horses and other equines have better senses of smell and hearing than humans.
• The horse is one of the 12 Chinese signs of the zodiac.
• The horse is the state animal of New Jersey.
• Cars with Horse names are the Ford’s Mustang, Pinto, Bronco and the Dodge’s Colt.
• Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos are football teams with ‘equine’ names.
• Horseshoes are supposed to be lucky.
• Brass from a horse’s equipment protects the bearer from witchcraft.
• Never change a horses’ name it will bring you bad luck.
• If you see a horse with its back to a hedge rain is forthcoming.
• When you see a white dog say nothing until you see a white horse.
• A horse whinnying at your door forebodes sickness.
• A couple seeing a gray horse on their way to marry means their life together will be lucky.
• Horseshoe nails bent into a circle make potent talismans.
• When a horse’s master dies, it cries.
• Horses with four white feet won’t make good racers.
• The Arabian horse is unique in that it is the purest of all of the breeds.
• In Bluff, Utah an unmarried woman could be jailed for riding a horse on Sunday.
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Perissodactyla
• Family: Equidae

Horse Movies

• War Horse (2014)
• Horse Camp (2013)
• Midnight Stallion (2013)
• Cowgirls N Angels (2012)
• Flicka: Country Pride (2012)
• Buck (2011)
• The Cup (2011)
• The Turin Horse (2011)
• War Horse (2011)
• Whitney Brown (2011)
• Flicka (2010)
• Secretariat (2010)
• Tangled (2010)
• The Horse Boy (2009)
• The Way of Life (2009)
• The Wild Stallion (2009)
• In Pursuit of Honor (2008)
• Moondance Alexander (2007)
• Ruffian (2007)
• The Wild Horse Redemption (2007)
• Flicka (2006)
• Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005)
• Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
• The Derby Stallion (2005)
• Racing Stripes (2005)
• The Colt (2005)
• Hidalgo (2004)
• The Long Shot (2004)
• Into the West (2003)
• Seabiscuit (2003)
• The Young Black Stallion (2003)
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
• Virginia’s Run (2002)
• Ready to Run (2000)
• All The Pretty Horses (2000)
• Running Free (1999)
• Shergar (1999)
• Natalie Rose (1998)
• Nico the Unicorn (1998)
• Second Chances (1998)
• The Horse Whisperer (1998)
• Flash (1997)
• Black Beauty (1994)
• 8 Seconds (1994)
• The Black Stallion Returns (1993)
• The Silver Stallion, King of the Wild Brumbles (1993)
• Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1993)
• Dark Horse (1992)
• The Winter Stallion (1992)
• Let It Ride (1989)
• The Man From Snowy River II (1988)
• Sylvester (1985)
• Phar Lap (1983)
• The Man From Snowy River (1982)
• The Electric Horseman (1979)
• The Black Stallions (1979)
• Black Beauty (1978)
• Casey’s Shadow (1978)
• International Velvet (1978)
• Blue Fire Lady (1977)
• Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1972)
• Black Beauty (1971)
• The Horsemen (1971)
• Run Wild, Run Free (1969)
• The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)
• Miracle of the White Stallion (1963)
• Misty (1961)
• The Horse with the Flying Tail (1960)
• Tonka (1958)
• White Mane (1953)
• Gypsy Colt (1954)
• Crazy Over Horses (1951)
• Francis Goes to the Races (1951)
• The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
• The Red Pony (1949)
• The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)
• The Strawberry Roan (1948)
• The Red Stallion (1947)
• Black Beauty (1946)
• Gallant Bess (1946)
• My Pal Trigger (1946)
• Smoky (1946)
• The Great Dan Patch (1946)
• Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945)
• National Velvet (1944)
• My Friend Flicka (1943)
• Longshot (1939)
• Kentucky (1938)
• A Day At The Races (1937)
• Black Beauty (1921)
• The Derby (1895)

Horse Theme Songs

• Black Beauty, from the book “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell
• Black Stallion, from the movie “The Black Stallion”
• Bree Hee Hinny Hoo Hah, from the book “The Horse and His Boy” by C.S. Lewis
• Bullseye, from the movie “Toy Story”
• Flicka, from the movie “Flicka”
• Ginger, from the movie “Black Beauty”
• Gulliver, from the movie “The Horse Whisperer”
• Mr. Ed, from the TV sitcom “Mr. Ed”

Horse Songs

• A Horse With No Name, by America
• Beer For My Horses, by Toby Keith
• Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, by KT Tunstall
• Dark Horses by Switchfoot
• Guns and Horses, by Ellie Goulding
• Heavy Horses, by Jethro Tull
• Horse Latitudes, by The Doors
• Pale Horses, by Smashing Pumpkins
• Save A Horse, (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich
• White Horse, by Taylor Swift
• Flying Horses, by Dispatch
• Wild Horses, by Dave Matthews Band & Rusted Root