This was the day…

Our Foal should have been born today.  Squirty’s due date was 2/19/2013.  No, it probably isn’t like a miscarriage in a family, however it still doesn’t hurt any less because not only did we lose our foal, we lost our Squirty too.  It’s been 5 months since Squirty passed away and the pain is still there.

Horses are very much a part of my family now as they always have been.  They’re kind of like brother’s and sisters to me, if that doesn’t sound too weird, which it obviously does so scratch that!

So today I thought I would share some facts about horses with you.

A Horse is measured in hands.  A hand is 4″.  So a horse that is 15 hands tall is 60″ tall or 5 feet tall.  The measurement is done from the ground on the front foot to the top point of the withers. 14.2 hands is the “traditional” cut off between horse and pony.

• American Quarter Horse – Generally 14-16 hands but some can get as tall as 17 hands.
• American Saddle Bread – Average 14-16 hands but can range from 14.2-17 hands
• Arabian – 14.1-15.1 hands
• Clydesdale – 16-18 hands

• Andalusian – Males – 15.1 1/2 hands (61.5 inches or 156 cm), Females – 15 1/2 hands (60 inches, 152cm)
• Friesian – 14.2-17 hands tall
• Haflinger – 13.2-15 hands
• Icelandic – 13-14 hands (which is pony size but they are referred to as horses)

• Lipizzaner – 14.2-15.2 although horses bred closer to the original carriage-horse are taller, approaching 16.1
• Missouri Fox Trotter – 14-16 hands
• Morgan – 14.1-15.2 hands
• Belgian – currently the tallest on record stands 19.31/2 hands tall 

• Percheron – smallest of the Draft horses at 15.1-18.1 hands
• Peruvian Paso – 14.1-15.1 hands
• Tennessee Walking Horse – 13.2-17.2 hands
• Thoroughbred – 15.2-17.0 hands averaging 16 hands

• Welsh Pony – 11-16 hands
• Shetland Pony –  7 hands (28 in/71cm) to the max of 11 hands (44inches/107cm)

Males have 40 teeth but females have 36.
 
Horses have the largest eye of any land animal.

Their teeth take up more space in their head than their brain.

They have better memories than elephants.

They don’t have gallbladders.

Horses cannot vomit.

Horses teeth never stop growing.

Horses have 16 muscles in each ear, allowing them to rotate their ears 180 degrees.

When cantering (loping), a horse takes a breath with every stride.

The walk is a four beat gate which means every foot hits the ground at separate times.

A trot is a 2 beat gate meaning front left and right hind hit the ground at the same time, front right and hind left hit the ground at the same time.

A lope (canter) is a three beat gate.  In the canter, one of the horse’s rear legs – the right rear leg, for example – propels the horse forward. During this beat, the horse is supported only on that single leg while the remaining three legs are moving forward. On the next beat the horse catches itself on the left rear and right front legs while the other hind leg is still momentarily on the ground. On the third beat, the horse catches itself on the left front leg while the diagonal pair is momentarily still in contact with the ground

Race Horses have a triple crown made up of the Kentucky Derby (1 1/4 mile dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville KY), The Preakness Stakes (1 3/16th mile dirt track held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD) & the Belmont Stakes (1 1/2 miles held at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY – Longest dirt track race).

Cutting Horses have their own Triple Crown made up of the NCHA Futurity (December – first ever show, their 3 year old year), The Super Stakes (April as a 4 year old) & Summer Spectacular Derby (July/August) all held at Will Rogers Coliseum in Ft. Worth, TX.

Arabian’s generally have one less vertebrae and one less rib pair than other horses.

To truly be considered a “Black” horse, the horse must contain NO white on it.