15 Fascinating Facts About Horses

Horses are such fascinating creatures. Even if you never learned to ride one, you could spend your whole life studying them and still have plenty to explore. Here are 15 interesting facts about horses.

Horses Sleep Standing Up

Yes, horses can sleep standing up! They sleep laying down too. Learn all about the sleeping habits of horses. 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 lay 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; ie osteoarthritis.1

Horses Can't Burp

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.2

You Can Estimate a Horse's Age by Its Teeth

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

Horses Can Live to Be More Than 30 Years Old

One of the most common questions about horses is "how long does a horse live?" The answer may surprise you. 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.