© horserider1
By: C.J.
The horse, or Equine, or Equus caballus, is an animal that has been an important part of the American past since the beginning. This is one of my favorite animals, and here is a fun activity, to help you learn more about these amazing animals. There are four sections for answering horse trivia, some great pictures, a glossary of terms and an answer key.
Horses in General
1. True or False: Some horses have been known to exhibit color prejudices.
2. What is the name of the oldest horse on record?
3. What is the normal life span for a horse?
4. True or False: The teeth of a horse can show that horse's age.
5. How is a horse’s height measured?
6. How big does an equine have to be before it is considered a horse and not a pony?
7. True or False: Some horses are called hot bloods, some cold bloods, and horses with a mixed parentage are called warm bloods.
A Horse of a Different Color
1. Name five different colors that a horse can be.
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2. Name 3 of the markings a horse can have on its legs.
3. Name 4 of the markings a horse can have on its face.
Breeds
1. How many breeds of equines are there?
2. Which country has the most breeds?
3. What is a Falabella?
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4. What are they used for?
5. What is a Thoroughbred best known for?
6. What are the Arabians prized for?
7. What horse is best known as the mascot of a beer company?
8. What draft horses, that are 15.2-17.2 hands high show Arabian ancestry?
9. How many Mustangs are adopted each year through government programs?
10. What breed was first known as ‘Palouse horses’ then Palouseys, before they were given the name we know them as today?
11. It is illegal to dock the tail of what breed of horse?
12. Which horses are best known for the Levade and Capriole that they are taught at the Spanish Riding School in Austria?
13. Which horses can beat even Thoroughbreds in short distance races?
14. Which horses look like pintos in coloring, but are actually a breed?
15. What breed of horse can be traced back to a stallion named Figure, who belonged to Justin Morgan in Vermont, about 200 years ago, who lived to be 32?
16. The American Standardbred can be traced back to what American stallion?
17. What breed, originally bred by plantation owners have Morgan, Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and American Saddlebred blood?
18. What breed, also called the ‘peacock of the show ring’ was developed in America by crossing the Thoroughbred, with an old breed called the Naragansett Pacer (which no longer exists as a separate breed)?
19. The Haflinger, which is about 13.2-14.3 hands high, isn’t fully trained until it is how old?
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The Racing Forms
1. What are the three races in the Triple Crown?
2. How many horses have won the Triple Crown, all three races in the same year?
3. How many horses have won the first two Triple Crown races, but have lost the third?
4. What are the names of the first three Arabian Stallions to be put in the General Stud Book?
Glossary
- Cannon- the bone between the knee and fetlock joint
- Capriole- leaping in the air, and kicking out behind at the highest point
- Coronet- the band around the top of the hoof, from which the hoof wall grows
- Cups- indentations on the chewing surfaces of the teeth
- Dished faces- when the face curves in slightly below the eyes
- Dock tail- cut short
- Dorsal stripe- a stripe running from the end of the mane, along the center of the back, to the tail
- Feathers- a fringe of hair around the lower legs
- Fetlock- the joints on the lower part of the horse’s legs, just above the hooves
- Flaxen- pale gold
- Hands- standard measurement of height, equals four inches
- Haunches- the rear end of the horse
- Hock- joint between the gaskin and the cannon bone in the rear leg
- Levade- standing on hind legs, with forelegs tucked up
- Pastern- extends from the fetlock to the top of the hoof
- Points- the mane, tail, and lower legs of a horse
- Rack- a gait performed by some horses, in which the horse lifts its feet very high and looks as though it is dancing
- Roman nose- nose bulges out slightly below the eyes
- Rump- another name for the hindquarters
- Slow gate- much like the rack, but slower
- Triple Crown- three of the most famous horse races in the world, each taking place at a different track, in the USA
- Vaulting- gymnastics on horseback
- Withers- top of a horse’s shoulder, where the neck meets the body
Answers:
((Have you finished the questions yet?!? Are you sure? Don't look at these unless you have!))
Horses in General:
1. True
2. Old Billy, an English horse who lived 62 years from 1760-1822
3. 20-25 years
4. True, depending on what teeth a horse has and which teeth show cups.
5. In hands from their withers down
6. 14.2 hands high.
7. True, hot bloods are Arabs, and Thoroughbreds, cold bloods are big work horses, usually from the north
A Horse of a Different Color:
1. bay (reddish/brown coat, black points), Dun (yellow to reddish coat, with dorsal stripe), grey (black skin, white or grey hairs), white (pink skin, white hair, must have a white parent, rare), buckskin (yellow/tan coloring, black points), chestnut (AKA Sorrel, reddish brown, points the same color), black (pure black coat, no signs of other colors), palomino (gold colored coat, white or cream mane and tail), roan (any color coat with white hairs mixed in, but not spots, single hairs), champagne (bright pink skin, blue eyes), dappled grey (grey and black hairs forming clear rings), pinto (black/brown coat, white areas all over)
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2. coronet (white covering coronet), pastern (white covers entire pastern), half-pastern (white covers half the pastern), fetlock (white covers the fetlock), sock (white extends half way up the cannon, AKA half stocking), stocking (white extends from coronet to knee or hock), distal spots (dark spots in white, AKA Ermine spots)
3. star (white mark on forehead), snip (white mark between nostrils), stripe (white mark between eyes and muzzle, on bridge of nose), blaze (covers area of star, strip, and snip), bald (white covers most of face, including lips), lip (white lip), muzzle (just the muzzle is white)
Breeds
1. 207 (67 ponies, 36 working horses, 104 sport horses)
2. Russia, 27; Britain, 19; France, 18; USA and Germany, 16 each; Italy, 10; Poland 9
3. a miniature horse, 34 inches tall when full grown, born the height of a Barbie doll
4. Companionship, pulling carts, circus acts, some are trained as seeing eye animals for the blind
5. Racing, but also make excellent jumpers
6. Stamina, they are strong dainty looking horses with large, wide-spaced eyes, dished noses and small ears, they come in any color
7. Clydesdales, large, strong draft horses, with long feathers on their legs, can be 16-18 hands high, usually dark brown or bay
8. Percheron, they have a little feathering, and come in any shade of grey or black, a favorite of bareback circus riders
9. 6000-7000 wild mustangs, they can be any color or size, 14.2 hands high on average
10. Appaloosas, horses that can be any color with spots, they stand 14.2- 15.2 hands high, first bred by the Nez Perce Native Americans
11. Friesians, 15-16 hand high horses, with full manes and tails, feathered legs, and always black coats
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12. Lipizzaner, born dark colored, become white as they grow, 15-16 hands high, often have Roman noses
13. Quarter horse, 15-15.3 hand high, come in all solid colors
14. Paint, 14-17 hands high, they can do many things, and are allowed to have a Thoroughbred or QH parent
15. Morgan, 14.2-15.2 hand high, usually bay, dark brown, or chestnut, but palomino coloring is allowed
16. Hambletonian, who lived 200 years ago, they are 15-16 hands high, and usually bay, brown, or black, can be grey or roan
17. Tennessee Walking Horse, 14.3-17 hand high, average about 15.2 hands, come in all colors
18. American Saddlebred, 16-17 hands high, bay, chestnut, black, or brown, long, flowing manes and tails
19. 4 years old, it can be any shade of chestnut, from reddish gold to light chocolate, with full, thick manes and tails, ranging from flaxen to white, can make a good vaulting horse
The Racing Forms
1. The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont
2. 11, Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed
3. 20, Burgoo King, Bold Venture, Pensive, Tim Tam, Carry Back, Northern Dancer, Kauai King, Forward Pass, Majestic Prince, Canonero II, Spectacular Bid, Pleasant Colony, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide, and Smarty Jones
4. The Darley Arabian, The Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerly Turk
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Page Review
Peter: looks good, has a lot of information, liked the opening picture
Jo Ellen: looks good, interesting
Information on the Internet
- Triple Crown History a history of three of the most famous horseraces, run each year
- Breeds of Livestock: Horses a list of the many breeds of horses with some information about each
- Equine Research Park: Educational Materials for Horse Owners a guide to the markings, colors, and some of the tatoos that horses have
- The Guide Horse Foundation training miniature horses to be guide animals for the blind
- Body Parts of the Horse a site, showing the conformation of the horse
