Horses Horse Ownership Basics

20 Fascinating Facts About Horses

Learn more about these impressive animals

Horses are such fascinating creatures, and there are hundreds of horse breeds, such as the Arabian, Andalusian, Friesian, and mustang, each with its own unique personality and appearance. Whether you’re in awe of powerful draft horses or you can’t resist adorable ponies, horses make great companions for the people who love them. And, even if you never learned to ride one, you could spend your whole life studying them and still have plenty to explore.

From the fact that they can’t burp to the interesting way they’re measured, here are 20 interesting facts about horses so you can discover a bit more about these incredible animals.

  • 01 of 20

    Horses Sleep Standing Up

    three horses sleeping in sun. close up of head.
    Daniel Valla Frps / Getty Images

    Yes, horses can sleep standing up. They sleep lying down, too. Horses must lie down to achieve a full restorative sleep cycle for a minimum of 30 minutes per day to avoid sleep deprivation. There are many factors that influence a horse's ability to lie down to sleep and rest. These factors may be environmental, such as weather, available space, and comfortable bedding, or physical deterrents, such as musculoskeletal impediments (e.g., osteoarthritis).

  • 02 of 20

    Horses Can't Burp

    Horse skeleton, artwork

    SCIEPRO / Getty Images

    That's right! Horses can't burp, at least not the way humans do. They can't vomit or breathe through their mouths like humans do either. A horse's digestive system is a one-way street, unlike cattle and other ruminants who regurgitate food to re-chew it. Although they have a pretty efficient way of processing the tough fibrous foods that make up their forage, this long, one-directional system can cause problems that result in colic.

  • 03 of 20

    You Can Estimate a Horse's Age by Their Teeth

    Angry Horse On Field

    Kat Fo / EyeEm / Getty Images

    While you can't tell the exact age of a horse by their teeth, you can estimate their age. Horses need proper equine dental care for their teeth, but sometimes a horse lives longer than the teeth do, so extra care is needed when feeding senior horses.

  • 04 of 20

    Horses Can Live to Be More Than 30 Years Old

    A horse standing near a fence

    Image Source / Getty Images

    One of the most common questions about horses is, "how long does a horse live?" The answer may surprise you—some can live over 30 years. Knowledge of horse nutrition, horse care, and veterinary medicine has increased. Because of this, just as human life expectancy has increased, so has equine longevity.

    Continue to 5 of 20 below
  • 05 of 20

    The American Quarter Horse Is the World's Most Popular Breed

    Quarter Horse with western saddle.

    Kit Houghton / Getty Images

    Appreciated by beginner riders and professional horsemen alike, the American Quarter Horse is the world's most popular breed. Whether trained as working horses, show horses, or family horses, these strong animals are known for their friendly, gentle, and calm demeanor.

  • 06 of 20

    (Most) Arabian Horses Have Fewer Bones Than Other Breeds

    Rider atop a Native Arabian horse

    Christof Koepsel / Getty Images

    The Arabian horse is the foundation of many other light horse breeds. They also possess some unique characteristics. Most Arabian horses have one fewer vertebra. Their tail has one less bone in it, too, as does their rib cage.

  • 07 of 20

    Horses Are Herbivores

    Horses grazing in Canada, British Columbia, Tweedsmuir Park, Chilcotin region, Chilcotin Ark, Rainbow Mountains

    Chris Harris / Getty Images

    Humans are omnivores, lions are carnivores, and horses are herbivores. The way their teeth are formed (grinding molars to break down fibrous plant material), the position of their eyes (on the sides of the face to be on the lookout for predators), and the type of digestive system they have are all typical characteristics of herbivores.

  • 08 of 20

    Horses Are Herd Animals

    Group of Horses.

    Arctic-Images / Getty Images

    Horses in the wild live in small herds, and domestic horses feel more comfortable if they have companions, too. It can be quite stressful for a horse to live alone. Companionship for horses may be an equine stablemate or even another species such as a goat, donkey, or mule. Even a dog may become a suitable companion for a horse.

    Continue to 9 of 20 below
  • 09 of 20

    Humans Domesticated Horses More Than 3,000 Years Ago

    Drawing depicting preparation of chariot, mortuary temple of Ramesses III, Medinet Habu, Thebes

    De Agostini / C. Sappa / Getty Images

    Dogs may have become domesticated around 14,000 years ago. Cats became human companions about 8,500 years ago. Humankind's relationship with the horse began a little more recently, around 6,000 years ago, although some evidence has come to light that horses may have been domesticated even earlier.

  • 10 of 20

    Horses Are Measured in Hands

    A woman and a girl measuring height of pony using measuring stick against withers

    Bob Langrish / Getty Images

    The standard measurement for determining the height of a horse is called a hand. One hand is equal to 4 inches. A pony is an equine under 14.2 hands. The only equines not measured in hands are miniature horses, which are measured in inches or centimeters.

  • 11 of 20

    Most White Horses Are Actually Gray

    Two wild horses (Equus caballus) on coastal headland

    Steve Coleman / Getty Images

    Most of the white horses that you see were actually a much darker color at birth and gradually turned white. These "white" horses may start as bay, chestnut, or almost black. These horses aren't called white, but gray.

  • 12 of 20

    A Horse's Resting Respiratory Rate Is About 8-14 Breaths per Minute

    Veterinarian examining the horse

    Alina Solovyova-Vincent / Getty Images

    It's important to know the resting pulse and respiration rate of your horse. While the resting respiration rate of a horse can be as low as eight breaths per minute, that can quickly increase with work or distress. Learn your horse's resting pulse and respiration rate (TPR) so you can keep an eye on them in case changes occur.

    Continue to 13 of 20 below
  • 13 of 20

    Horses Are Not Native to North America

    Rock painting of tarpans (ponies), c.17000 BC

    Paleolithic / Getty Images

    Every horse on the North American continent is a descendant of European horses. Even the horses that we regard as "wild" are actually feral horses whose ancestors escaped from captivity. Horses disappeared from the Americas more than 11,000 years ago, and there is ample fossil evidence that the horse's ancestors lived there prior to that.

  • 14 of 20

    A Baby Horse is Called a Foal

    Nursing foal.

    ElaiEva / www.freeimages.com/

    What is the difference between a filly, a colt, and a foal? It all depends on gender and age. Generally, a foal is a baby horse, but a filly is female and a colt is a male. After they are weaned from their dam, they are called a weanling. Horses remain fillies or colts until they are 4 years old.

  • 15 of 20

    The Original "Horse" Was the Size of a Golden Retriever

    Close-up of a phorusrhacos (Phorusrhacos longissimus) chasing Eohippuses

    DEA PICTURE LIBRARY / Getty Images

    The original horse was no larger than a golden retriever. Diminutive Hyracotherium may have looked more like a small goat or deer than a modern-day horse. Hyracotherium lived during the Eocene Epoch about 50 million years ago.

  • 16 of 20

    Horses Are Extremely Intelligent

    two brown horses walking through a meadow

    A horse can learn human words and remember you even if you’ve been away from each other for a long time, especially if you treated them well. Their memory is comparable to that of elephants. And, like dogs, horses can be trained.

    Continue to 17 of 20 below
  • 17 of 20

    Horses Can Only Breathe Through Their Nose

    bumps on horse's nose

    Rollover / Getty Images 

    Unlike other animals, including humans, who can breathe through their nose and mouth, horses can only breathe through their nose. They are known as obligate nose breathers. This is something that horse riders and trainers should keep in mind while exercising their animals.

  • 18 of 20

    Horses Have Excellent Hearing and Vision

    tan and white speckled horse with ears perked up tall while sun sets

    grandriver / Getty Images

    Horses have a strong sense of hearing, able to pick up sounds in the 55–33,500 hertz range, so they can hear things that humans (who can hear between 20–20,000 hertz) miss. In addition, horses can see very well, with a nearly 360-degree field of vision, and their eyes are larger than those of any land mammal.     

  • 19 of 20

    Foals Can Stand, Run, and Trot Shortly After Birth

    przewalski mare and foal
    A 12-year-old mare named Ieda with her new foal are in the pasture at the Highland Wildlife Park in 2013 in Kingussie, Scotland. The foal was the first newborn Przewalski's horse at the park in five years.

    Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

    Unlike human infants who are helpless after birth, foals are able to get up and move around not long after being born. Within just one hour of birth, a foal can stand. Within the first two hours after birth, a foal can nurse.

  • 20 of 20

    Horses Have Fast Reflexes

    beautiful kentucky mountain saddle horse running in nature
    Carmelka / Getty Images

    Horses can react surprisingly quickly when they need to, especially since they are prey animals that have to protect themselves. Their reaction time (less than 1 second) is faster than a human’s, which is why you should know where to stand when near a horse to avoid getting hurt if they get spooked or feel threatened. 

The Spruce Pets uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Burla J-B, Rufener C, et. al. (2017) Space Allowance of the Littered Area Affects Lying Behavior in Group-Housed Horses. Front. Vet. Sci. 4:23. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2017.00023

  2. Horse Colic Can Be a Real Pain! Kentucky Equine Research

  3. Determining the Age of Horses by Their Teeth. University of Missouri.

  4. Welfare of Aged Horses. National Library of Medicine.

  5. The History of the American Quarter Horse Breed. American Quarter Horse Association.

  6. A Closer Look at the Equine Spine. Kentucky Equine Research.

  7. Understanding Digestion in the Horse: Comparative Approach. Kentucky Equine Research.

  8. Behavioral Problems of Horses. Merck Veterinary Manual.

  9. Origin of horse domestication. Britannica.

  10. Hand. Brittanica.

  11. Gray. UC Davis Veterinary Medicine.

  12. Measuring Temperature, Pulse, & Respiration (TPR): What's Normal For My HorseRutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

  13. Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies. Science.

  14. Stable Talk: Horse Terms. Kentucky Equine Research.

  15. Hyracotherium. Florida Museum.

  16. Horses never forget human friends. NBC News.

  17. Every Breath Horses Take Affects Every Move They Make. American Association of Equine Practitioners.

  18. 10 Facts on Horses' Hearing. Fédération Équestre Internationale.

  19. Delivery and Newborn Foal Care. Merck Animal Health.

  20. Defensive Horse Safety. USDA United States Forest Service.