Fun Facts About Horses for Kids

Horses are magnificent animals and one of the noblest of creatures. Humans have domesticated horses for a long time now. There are many facts associated with these beautiful creatures and if you wish to give your child some more information or fun facts about horses, well, you are just at the right place!

Horse Facts Your Child May Not Know

The following is some interesting information about horses for your children:

1. What Are Ponies?

A small horse is called a pony. This shouldn’t be confused with the young one of a horse. They are called colt (male) and filly (female).

2. What Do Horses Eat?

Horses are herbivores, which mean they eat plants. Horses enjoy grazing on grasslands and they like eating hay. They also relish apples, beans, peas and other such kinds of fruits and vegetables.

3. In Which Colours Are Horses Available?

Well, horses have different coloured coats and they are also named according to their colours. Following are some widely available colours:

• Chestnut – Horses in this colour category have a reddish coat with no black hue.
• Pinto – This variety of horse has patches of brown, white, black and other colours or they can multi-coloured patches.
• Palomino – Horses in this colour group have a lighter shade of golden.
• Dun – Horses in this colour variety have a tan or yellowish coloured coat.
• Sorrel – This variety of horses have a chestnut coat with reddish hues.
• Black – This category of horses is jet black.
• Gray – This group of horses have black skin with black and white hair.
• Bay – These horses can range from light reddish brown to dark brown. The tail, mane and lower part of the legs can be black.

4. What Are Horses Called?

Well, horses are given different names according to their age and gender too. Here are some names that are usually used for horses:

• Foal – A baby horse that is younger than a year.
• Yearling – A horse between the age of one to two years.
• Filly – A female horse, which is less than four years old.
• Colt – A male horse, which is less than four years old.
• Stallion – A male horse that is more than four years old, which is not gelded.
• Mare – A female horse that is more than four years old.

5. What Are the Different Horse Breeds?

Though there are more than 300 kinds of horse breeds, broadly they can be classified into three categories. ‘Cold Bred’ are the kind of horses that are usually bred for heavy work and strength like agriculture. ‘Hot Bred’ horses are famous for speed and thus are mostly bred for racing or sports purposes. ‘Warm Blood’ horses usually result from crossing a ‘Cold Bred’ and a ‘Hot Bred’ horse.

6. Are Horses Wild Animals?

Well, horses are not wild animals as they have been domesticated for 5000 years. However, there is a breed known as the Przewalski’s horses, also called the Mongolian wild horse, which are an endangered species that live in the forests of Mongolia and China.

7. How Fast Can Horses Run?

Horses are amazingly fast creatures and they can easily gallop 27 mph or (44 kph). The fastest horses in the world can run as fast as 55 mph (88 kph).

8. How Long Do Horses Live?

Horses have a longer life span and domesticated horses can live up to 25 years on an average.

Other Horse Facts for Kids

Here are some more fun facts on horses:

1. Horses can run soon after birth.

2. A horse named ‘Old Billy’ lived for 62 years.

3. Horses can sleep lying down as well as standing.

4. There are 205 bones in a horse’s body.

6. There are approximately 60 million horses in the world.

7. Horses can see nearly 360 degrees at a time.

8. One of the interesting horse riding facts and information for kids is that horse riding is used as therapy for people with various disabilities.

9. Horses have an excellent sense of balance, and brilliant eyesight and sense of hearing.

10. Horses were first tamed around 4000 BC and one of the interesting Arabian horse facts for kids is that these horses were amongst the first tamed horses and are one of the oldest breeds.

So, how many of them did your child know?

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