30 Fun Facts About Horses for Kids

Horses have worked, raced and played alongside people for thousands of years. They are big, strong and surprisingly sensitive, with eyes on the sides of their heads and ears that never seem to stop moving. Here are 30 fun facts about horses for kids, from how they see to how fast they can run.

When you finish, print a few from our animal coloring pages or color a horse next to a castle on a princess coloring page.

How horses see and hear

1. Horses have very large eyes. Their eyes are among the biggest of any land mammal.
2. Their eyes are on the sides of the head. That lets them see nearly all the way around, which is useful for spotting danger.
3. Horses have two blind spots. One is right in front of the nose and the other is directly behind the tail, so it is best to approach a horse from the side.
4. Their ears move in many directions. Horses can turn each ear almost all the way around to follow sounds.
5. Ears show mood. Ears pointed forward mean interest, and ears pinned back flat mean the horse is upset.
6. Horses have an excellent sense of smell. They use it to recognize each other and to check out new things.

Sleep and daily life

7. Horses can sleep standing up. A special arrangement of tendons and ligaments in the legs lets them lock their joints and rest without falling.
8. They also lie down. A horse needs to lie down for a short time to get its deepest sleep.
9. Horses sleep in short naps. They get a few hours of rest in total, spread out through the day and night.
10. They spend most of their time eating. In the wild, horses graze on grass for much of the day.
11. A horse can't vomit. That is why what a horse eats has to be chosen carefully.
12. Horses breathe through their noses. They can't breathe through their mouths like we can.

Speed and strength

13. Horses are fast. Fast horses gallop at more than 40 miles per hour (about 64 km/h) over a short distance.
14. There are four main gaits. They are walk, trot, canter and gallop.
15. Their hooves are like fingernails. They are made of the same material as hair and nails, and they keep growing.
16. Horseshoes protect hooves. Putting them on does not hurt the horse because the outer hoof has no feeling, like a nail.
17. Horses are measured in hands. One hand equals 4 inches, and a horse is measured from the ground to its withers, the high point of the shoulders.
18. Ponies are not baby horses. A pony is a smaller kind of horse. Adult ponies are fully grown but stay short.

Colors and breeds

19. Horses come in many coat colors. Common ones are bay (brown with a black mane and tail), chestnut (reddish brown), black, gray, palomino (golden with a white mane) and pinto (patches of white and another color).
20. Gray horses are born darker. Many gray horses start out dark and turn lighter as they age.
21. There are hundreds of horse breeds. They range from sturdy workhorses to slender racehorses and tiny miniature horses.
22. People have kept horses for thousands of years. Horses were first tamed about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.
23. Most "wild" horses were once tame. Mustangs, for example, come from horses that escaped or were released long ago. The Przewalski's horse of Mongolia is often called the last truly wild horse.

Foals and herds

24. A baby horse is called a foal. A girl foal is a filly and a boy foal is a colt.
25. Foals stand up within hours. They can walk and even run soon after birth, which helps them keep up with the herd.
26. A mother horse carries her foal for about 11 months. That is a little longer than most people expect.
27. Horses live in herds. A herd has a social order, and an experienced mare often helps lead.
28. Horses show friendship. They sometimes stand nose to tail, so each can swish flies off the other's face.
29. A horse's teeth keep growing. They wear down from chewing, and a vet can estimate age by looking at them.
30. Many horses live 25 to 30 years. With good care some live even longer.

Horse coloring ideas

• Try a palomino with soft golds and a pale mane. See what colors make orange and what colors make brown for warm coat shades.
• Add a green meadow behind your horse, and use darker greens at the edges so it looks like it goes back into the distance.
• For a fantasy twist, give your horse a flowing mane in pinks and purples using what colors make purple.