Definitions

Colt - male horse, 4 years old or younger

Filly - female horse, 4 years old or younger

Foal - newborn or very young horse, male or female

Gelding - male horse that has been castrated, or gelded

Mare - mature female horse

Stallion - male horse that has not been castrated

Dam - term give to a mare when she becomes a mother

Sire - term given to a stallion when he becomes a father

Facts

Horses height is measured in units known as "hands." One hand is equal to 4 inches.

Horses cannot breathe through their mouths.

All horses, regardless of when they were actually born, are considered to have a common birthday of January 1. Even if a foal is born on December 31st he or she will have their first birthday the very next day.

Horses can lock the muscles in their legs so they can go to sleep standing up and not fall over.

In the wild, the mare decides when and where the herd will go while the stallion follows.

The left side of a horse is called the “near side” and the right side is the “off side”

A horse has approximately 205 bones

Adult respiratory rate is 8-16 breaths per minute

A healthy adult horse should have a pulse of between 36 and 40 beats per minute while at rest

Horses drink at least 25 gallons of water a day or more.

Trivia

The world record for a horse galloping over a short, sprint distance is 88 kilometers per hour (55 mph).

The record for the highest jump made by a horse is held by a horse named Huaso who jumped 8 feet, 1 and 1/4 inches on February 5th, 1949 in Vina del Mar, Chile. He was ridden by Captain Alberto Larraguibel.

The record for the longest jump over water is held by a horse named Something who jumped 27 feet, 6 and 3/4 inches on April 25, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was ridden by Andre Ferreira.

A horse’s knee joint is the equivalent to a human wrist, and their hock joint is equivalent to the human ankle.

Studies have assessed equine intelligence in the realms of problem solving, learning speed, and knowledge retention. Results show that horses excel at simple learning, but also are able to solve advanced cognitive challenges that involve categorization and concept learning.