Why are horses so big? Why do horses have tails and manes? How do their legs move? Are their bones in their hooves? What do they eat and how do they run and jump? We tackle those questions and more in this episode all about horses. We’ll also learn a little bit more about the unique horses in Iceland, where there’s a strict ban on horses coming in from other countries. But Why visited riding instructor Sonja Noack at Hestasnild, a riding school in Iceland, to get answers to all your equine questions.
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- Horses have not always been as big as they are now. Early horse ancestors started appearing around 56 million years ago, and they were quite a bit smaller, about the size of a dog! Over many millions of years, they’ve gotten bigger and taller as they became grassland grazing animals.
- Modern horses have so much variety because humans got involved in breeding them and selecting horses for different characteristics, like being really fast, or able to pull a heavy load, or being tall!
- Horses can sleep standing up because their bodies are designed to allow them to do it, unlike ours! We’d most likely collapse if we fell asleep standing. But horses can lock their legs to help keep their body in place. That ability to lock their legs is called a stay apparatus. Have you ever seen a horse standing tall on three legs while its fourth leg is bent and not taking any weight? As a horse naps, it rotates which leg is getting a break, so by the time it wakes up, all of its legs have gotten some time off!
- Horses can lie down when they want to get a very deep sleep. But they often prefer to lie down when they’re in a group so at least one horse among them can stay standing to warn their friends if predators arrive.
- Horses have tails to swat flies and to protect their backsides. They use their mane to protect their back from insects, weather, and other horses, who sometimes bite!
- Horses eat mostly grass and hay. They have a digestive system that can digest the tough material in grasses.
- Icelandic horses are a special breed of horse. The island country allows horses to leave, so Icelandic horses can be found in many other places, but you won’t find any other kinds of horses in Iceland! The country has strict controls on imports. So Icelandic horses have not bred with other horse breeds, meaning they’re remarkably similar to the ones brought to Iceland by Viking explorers and settlers over a thousand years ago!
- Icelandic horses have a thick mane and long fur, which helps them survive in cold, wintery conditions.
- Icelandic horses are also known for having a special way of running. You may have heard of a walk, a trot, canter and a gallop, but Icelandic horses can do two other styles: tölt and pace!
