5 Fascinating Facts About Horses

Horses have been teaming up with humans for
thousands of years; it’s safe to say the partnership is here to stay.  Today, let’s honor them by taking a look at
some of the more interesting aspects of their life and history.

1.  The Horse
Industry

Horses
are used for in competitions and sports, breeding, recreation, and as part of
the workforce.  In fact, horses are a massive business. Approximately 4.6 million
Americans work in the horse industry in one way or another. The U.S. horse
industry is estimated to have an economic effect of $40 billion—annually.

And
that’s just the nine million American horses. There are approximately 58
million horses in the world and the vast majority of them
are cared for by humans.

2.  Memory

You’ve
heard that elephants never forget.  A
2010 study revealed it’s true for horses as well.  The study revealed our equine friends
understand our words far better than we had previously thought.  Be kind to a horse and it will remember your
friendship for as long as it lives. You can disappear for years; the horse
instantly resumes the friendship. Oh, and they remember places, too! 

The good
memory and relatively powerful intellect of horses is not always a good thing,
though. If they get bored, they can accidentally figure out how to untie
themselves from posts and open latches and grain bins. Once they learn these
methods of mischief, they’ll never, ever forget.

3.  Horse Shoes

Everyone
knows most horses are fitted with shoes, but most people aren’t aware that
these curved pieces of metal don’t just provide protection. The hard parts of
horse hooves are made of keratin—like your hair and nails—and
leave a lot to be desired when it comes to things like traction. Imagine
running on a wet or snowy street wearing fingernails.  Ouch!   

Shoes
improve traction for the hoof and act as shock absorbers, much the same as your
running shoes.  Horse shoes also share
another similarity with the sports shoe industry—there is a huge selection of different types, such as
pronation-correcting support shoes, “natural balance” shoes, and lightweight
aluminum shoes for serious racing horses.

4.  Eyes

At a
diameter of roughly 2 inches, a horse’s eyes are the largest of any land
mammal; nine times larger than a human’s by volume. The story goes that this
means horses see things bigger, which is why they startle easily.  Spoiler: 
It’s not true!

The horse
eye has three eyelids—two ordinary ones and a third called the nictitating
membrane—which is located in the inner corner of the eye and occasionally
sweeps the eye, lubricating and cleaning it if need arises. Horses can’t
properly focus their eyes like we do. Instead, the lower parts of their retina
see objects at a distance, and the upper ones are for closer viewing. This
means that if you want to know where a horse is looking, you should pay
attention to the position of its head. If you see a horse standing in a field
and it’s standing with its head held high and ears pricked forward, the animal
is probably just looking at something interesting in the distance.

5.  Horse Names

Yes, they
can seem ridiculous…”Almost Illegal”, “Made You Look” or
“Zorro Garlic”. As random as this may seem, there are actually many traditions and
superstitions
associated with naming horses.

Many
breeders name their horses to respect pedigree, which can lead to some
unfortunate variations over time. Naming a horse after a family member is
generally avoided, because if the horse you named after your mother turns out
to be a failure, Mom probably isn’t going to be too happy. Many owners prefer
powerful names like “Man O’War,” because it is believed this brings the horse
good fortune in the races. On the other hand, naming a horse “Champion” will
likely result in a racehorse doomed to failure, so some owners decide to simply
have a bit of fun.

Actually,
there are rules governing the naming tradition. These rules vary depending on
your area. A good rule of thumb:  no
obscenities, racism, or similarity to actively competing horses.  If a horse gets famous enough, think Seattle
Slew, its name might be pulled from use altogether, much in the same way some
sports retire the numbers of particularly legendary athletes.

***

This
blog is brought to you by Diagnostic Imaging Systems.  Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. (DIS) has been providing Quality Imaging products since
1983. The company combines industry knowledge with an understanding of the
veterinary practice. For more information, go to Diagnostic Imaging Systems,
Inc. website at: www.vetxray.com