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POP QUIZ: Test Your Horse 101 Smarts

ANSWER 1.
The United States, with more than 9 million horses.

ANSWER 2.
We’ve likely all heard a different version of this one and it’s easy to confuse with the comparisons to dogs and cats. Here are two of the most accurate horse/human age calculators:

  • For a rough conversion of a horse’s age to human years, multiply the horse’s age by 2.2. Example: “Dobbin” is 15 years old. 15 x 2.2 = 33 years old (in people terms).
  • Another age calculation sometimes used is counting the horse’s first year equal to 10 human years, and every year after that as 2 human years. Example: 15-year-old “Dobbin” = (1 x 10) + (14 x 2) = 10 + 28 = 38 (in people terms).

    • ANSWER 3.
    "Dude, that horse is chromed out!"... i.e. a horse with a lot of white on its legs.

    ANSWER 4.
    Horses cannot vomit, because a muscular valve that leads to the stomach prevents food from going back into the esophagus, making it virtually impossible for them to vomit. This is a large part of why colic can be deadly to horses that overeat or ingest bad feed.

    ANSWER 5.
    TRUE. Horses can get the hiccups, also known as "thumps." Whereas human hiccups are audible through the throat, hiccups in horses begin near the diaphragm and create an audible thump sound in the chest area, sometimes accompanied by a rhythmic jerk in the flank area. Hiccups are reported more often in endurance horses and racehorses that run for prolonged periods of time. They’re also known to be caused by an electrolyte imbalance, often in conjunction with colic or diarrhea.

    ANSWER 6.
    The gestation (pregnancy) period of a mare is normally 11 months, approximately 340 days. Foals born before 320 days’ gestation are considered premature, and often have life-threatening respiratory problems.

    ANSWER 7.
    Gray, spotted, or patterned colored horses, such as an Appaloosa or Pony of the Americas, often have alternating dark and white striped hooves.

    How many questions did you get correct? Whether one or seven, we hope you banked some useful horse knowledge from these answers.