A herd of wild horses could not pull us away from this much fun . . .
“Horse: A kind of large dog that eats grass and can run like the wind.” -Author Unknown
“Wherever man has left his footprint in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we will find the hoofprint of the horse beside it.” -John Moore
What is the difference between a horse and a pony? The difference is largely in size. The heights of horses are measured from the bottom of the hoof to the highest point on the back of a horse, at the withers, which is roughly where a horse’s neck and back meet. In most of the world, horse heights are measured using the metric system; however, in the United States of America, Canada, and England, horse heights are measured in units called ‘hands.’ One hand is equal to 4 inches (10.16 centimeters). A horse is usually considered to be 14.2 (14 hands, 2 inches or 58 inches or 147.32 centimeters) or taller when mature. Any animal under 14.2 when mature is usually considered to be a pony. However, just as a matter of clarification, ponies are still horses; they are just of a smaller size, and so they are usually referred to as ponies rather than horses.
“Horse sense, noun: Stable thinking.” -Author Unknown
Horses have bigger eyes than any other land animals, other than ostriches - even elephants and humans fall far behind. Squids have the biggest eyes of any living creatures, but squids are marine, or water, animals. Because their eyes are on the sides of their heads, horses are capable of seeing almost 360 degrees, or in a nearly complete circle, all at once. What a view!
Hanna: What does it mean if you find a horse shoe in the road?
Barbara: Good luck - or else some poor horse is walking around in his socks.
A horse can look forward with one eye and backwards with the other eye. We suggest that you do not try this yourself - you will only end up dizzy, discombobulated, and possibly fall over.
“It’s much easier to ride a horse in the direction it’s going.” -Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
The large eyes and sensitive ears of horses allow them to detect predators early on, giving them ample opportunity to run swiftly away from them, and to put considerable distance between themselves and the predators, which are the animals that hunt and eat them.
“Horses are kinetic sculpture and poetry in motion.” -Author Unknown
Horses can gallop at up to about 68 kilometers (42 miles) per hour in short bursts in order to escape from predators. Horses can gallop, which is a comfortably sustainable type of running for them over long distances, at about 44 kilometers (27 miles) per hour. The fastest recorded sprinting speed of a horse is 88 kilometers (55 miles) per hour.
Jenny: Guess what - I went riding this afternoon.
Jennifer: Horseback?
Jenny: Sure is. He got back an hour before I did.
Riddle: A man took his horse out for a ride every day. Two of the horse’s legs ran 5 miles but the other two ran 6 miles. How is that possible?
Answer: The horse ran in circles.
“I can always tell which is the front end of a horse, but beyond that my art is not above the ordinary.” -Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))
Horses sleep standing up, but if they feel safe, they will sleep lying down.
Overheard: Horses just naturally have Mohawk haircuts.
“Heaven is high and Earth wide. If you ride three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will know what that means.” -Rudolf C. Binding
Horses are closely related to both zebras and donkeys.
William: What do you call a horse wearing Venetian blinds?
Billy: A zebra.
Stirrup: What you do to pancake batter.
My horse’s feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears.
-Bonnie Lewis
A visitor to the farm was asking all kinds of questions about the animals he saw. “Why doesn’t that cow have horns?” he inquired of the farmer. “Well,” drawled the farmer, “cows don’t have horns for many reasons. Some of them are removed, some kinds of cows never grow them, and some get them when they mature. That particular cow doesn’t have horns,” he added, “because he’s a horse.”
“In riding a horse we borrow freedom.” -Helen Thomson
About to take his first horseback ride, the greenhorn was checking out the horses in the stable. The old wrangler asked whether he wanted an English saddle or a Western saddle. “What’s the difference?” asked the tenderfoot. “The English saddle is flat, while the Western has a horn on the front.” “Better give me the English saddle,” the fellow replied. “I don’t expect to be riding in traffic.”
“It’s always been and always will be the same in the world: The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped.” -Author Unknown
Sarah
Schubert had a horse named Sarah.
He drove her to the big parade.
And all the time the band was playing
Schubert’s Sarah neighed.
by Marge Roedig
Rebecca: What do you call the horse that lives next door?
Becky: Our neigh-bor!
“The horse is the only animal into which one can hammer nails.” -Jules Renard (1864 - 1910)
“You have probably heard the expression, ‘I am so hungry that I could eat a horse!’ But have you ever started to eat a horse and then realized that you were not that hungry after all?” -Author Unknown
“Be wary of the horse with a sense of humor.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Horse Dreams
I wonder if horses have dreams
Of fresh grass and cold crystal streams,
No shoes and clean air,
A breeze through their hair,
And freedom - they ought to, it seems.
by Author Unknown
“You know what they say . . . you can’t fall off a horse unless you were riding one to begin with. Now let’s all get out there and fall off some horses!” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
The Prince of Bombay
There was a young prince of Bombay,
Who always would have his own way;
He pampered his horses
On five or six courses,
Himself eating nothing but hay.
by Walter Parke
“There are no handles to a horse, but the 1910 model has a string to each side of its face for turning its head when there is anything you want it to see.” -Stephen Leacock (Stephen Butler Leacock (1869 - 1944)): “Literary Lapses” (1910), ‘Reflections on Riding’
The horses paw and prance and neigh,
Fillies and colts like kittens play,
And dance and toss their rippled manes
Shining and soft as silken skeins
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior (1809 - 1894): “The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes” (1852), ‘How the Old Horse Won the Bet’
“A dog may be man’s best friend, but the horse wrote history.” -Author Unknown
A man was walking down a country road when he heard a voice coming from behind a tree, but all he could see was a horse. “Hello, remember me?” the voice said. “I won the Kentucky Derby Race two years ago.” “A talking horse!” the man exclaimed, and he rushed over to a nearby field where a farmer was working and asked, “What would you take for that horse?” “That horse is no good. You can have him for twenty dollars.” “Twenty dollars! I’ll give you two thousand dollars.” “Has that hay-bag been giving you that nonsense about winning the Kentucky Derby? Listen, I happen to know he came in last.”
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” -Winston Churchill (Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 - 1965))
Benjamin: What has four legs and flies?
Franklin: A horse in the summer time.
“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.” -Author Unknown
Horses and Ponies Facts
- An adult male horse or pony is called a stallion.
- A young male horse or pony is called a colt.
- An adult female horse or pony is called a mare.
- A young female horse or pony is called a filly.
- A male or female horse or pony that is less than one year of age is called a foal.
- A group of horses or ponies is called a herd, a team (harnessed), a stable, a string (racing), a band, or a mob.
- The sounds made by horses are called neighs, snorts, and whinnying, along with the hoof sounds called clips, clops, and clippity-clops.
- Horses and ponies are herbivores, or animals that eat plants.
- Domestic horses have a lifespan of about 20 to 35 years.
Martin: Why was the pony sent to the principal’s office?
Robin: He was horsing around too much.
Ponies Facts
- Ponies are small horses.
- Ponies have thicker manes and tails than horses.
- Ponies have proportionally shorter legs, thicker necks, and shorter heads than horses.
- Pound for pound, ponies are stronger than horses.
- Ponies are easy to look after and require half the food that horses of the same weight require.
- Well-trained ponies are good for children while they are learning to ride, as ponies often have calmer and less excitable dispositions than horses, and are easier to saddle and climb onto.
Horse Sense
A horse can’t pull while kicking.
This fact I merely mention.
And he can’t kick while pulling
Which is my chief contention.
Let’s imitate the good old horse
And lead a life that’s fitting;
Just pull an honest load, and then
There’ll be no time for kicking.
by Author Unknown
“Small children are convinced that ponies deserve to see the inside of the house.” -Maya Patel
“A horse is worth more than riches.” -Author Unknown: Spanish Proverb
Did you know that horses are constantly stepping on frogs? The underside of a horse’s hoof is called a ‘frog.’ Frogs fall off a horse several times a year as new growth takes place.
Somewhere . . .
Somewhere in time’s own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some Paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.
by Stanley Harrison
There are an estimated 75,000,000 horses in the world. Some people think that’s not enough.
“Horses lend us the wings we lack.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.” -Sharon Ralls Lemon
Denise: Why did the mare go to Hollywood?
Dennis: She wanted to play ‘bit’ parts in the movies.
“To ride a horse is to ride the sky.” -Author Unknown
“A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks, but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Scientists believe that horses have evolved over the past 50 million years from much smaller creatures. Horses have been domesticated for more than 5,000 years.
“To me, horses and freedom are synonymous.” -Veryl Goodnight
Zack: What is the difference between a horse and a duck?
Zachary: One goes quick and the other goes, “Quack!”
“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Star: Why did one horse reach over another horse’s neck to get some hay?
Violet: It had bad stable manners.
“Many people have sighed for the ‘good old days’ and regretted the ‘passing of the horse,’ but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses.” -C. W. Anderson
Overheard: “Help - I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy-up!”
“Clydesdales are tall and majestic, and Shetland ponies are small but very strong; both contribute to making our world better in their own ways.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
“A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open.” -Gerald Raferty
It has long been known that birds will occasionally build nests in the manes of horses. The only known solution to this problem is to sprinkle baker’s yeast in the mane, for, as we all know, yeast is yeast and nest is nest, and never the mane shall tweet.
“Feeling down? Saddle up.” -Author Unknown
Horses vanished from both North America and South America in a wave of extinction that occurred about 15,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Horses also nearly became extinct in the rest of the world, and about 7,000 years ago, the only horses in the world lived in a small area in the still open grassland steppes of what is now the Ukraine and central Asia. Horses were not seen in the Americas again until 1494, when Italian explorer Christopher Columbus transported them over on ships from Spain during his second voyage to the new world.
“Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls, they give us hope.” -Toni Robinson
“Why did this animal that had prospered so in the Colorado desert leave his amiable homeland for Siberia? There is no answer. We know that when the horse negotiated the land bridge . . . he found on the other end an opportunity for varied development that is one of the bright aspects of animal history. He wandered into France and became the mighty Percheron, and into Arabia, where he developed into a lovely poem of a horse, and into Africa where he became the brilliant zebra, and into Scotland, where he became the massive Clydesdale. He would also journey into Spain, where his very name would become the designation for gentleman, a caballero, a man of the horse. There he would flourish mightily and serve the armies that would conquer much of the known world.” -James Michener
“If you want a stable friendship, get a horse.” -Author Unknown
“He’s of the color of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger . . . he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “Henry V” (written in about 1599)
And so now we hand the reigns over to you because it is your turn to do the horsing around . . . while we trot on to the next article . . . on MFOL!
“Horse: A kind of large dog that eats grass and can run like the wind.” -Author Unknown
“Wherever man has left his footprint in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we will find the hoofprint of the horse beside it.” -John Moore
What is the difference between a horse and a pony? The difference is largely in size. The heights of horses are measured from the bottom of the hoof to the highest point on the back of a horse, at the withers, which is roughly where a horse’s neck and back meet. In most of the world, horse heights are measured using the metric system; however, in the United States of America, Canada, and England, horse heights are measured in units called ‘hands.’ One hand is equal to 4 inches (10.16 centimeters). A horse is usually considered to be 14.2 (14 hands, 2 inches or 58 inches or 147.32 centimeters) or taller when mature. Any animal under 14.2 when mature is usually considered to be a pony. However, just as a matter of clarification, ponies are still horses; they are just of a smaller size, and so they are usually referred to as ponies rather than horses.
“Horse sense, noun: Stable thinking.” -Author Unknown
Horses have bigger eyes than any other land animals, other than ostriches - even elephants and humans fall far behind. Squids have the biggest eyes of any living creatures, but squids are marine, or water, animals. Because their eyes are on the sides of their heads, horses are capable of seeing almost 360 degrees, or in a nearly complete circle, all at once. What a view!
Hanna: What does it mean if you find a horse shoe in the road?
Barbara: Good luck - or else some poor horse is walking around in his socks.
A horse can look forward with one eye and backwards with the other eye. We suggest that you do not try this yourself - you will only end up dizzy, discombobulated, and possibly fall over.
“It’s much easier to ride a horse in the direction it’s going.” -Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
The large eyes and sensitive ears of horses allow them to detect predators early on, giving them ample opportunity to run swiftly away from them, and to put considerable distance between themselves and the predators, which are the animals that hunt and eat them.
“Horses are kinetic sculpture and poetry in motion.” -Author Unknown
Horses can gallop at up to about 68 kilometers (42 miles) per hour in short bursts in order to escape from predators. Horses can gallop, which is a comfortably sustainable type of running for them over long distances, at about 44 kilometers (27 miles) per hour. The fastest recorded sprinting speed of a horse is 88 kilometers (55 miles) per hour.
Jenny: Guess what - I went riding this afternoon.
Jennifer: Horseback?
Jenny: Sure is. He got back an hour before I did.
Riddle: A man took his horse out for a ride every day. Two of the horse’s legs ran 5 miles but the other two ran 6 miles. How is that possible?
Answer: The horse ran in circles.
“I can always tell which is the front end of a horse, but beyond that my art is not above the ordinary.” -Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))
Horses sleep standing up, but if they feel safe, they will sleep lying down.
Overheard: Horses just naturally have Mohawk haircuts.
“Heaven is high and Earth wide. If you ride three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will know what that means.” -Rudolf C. Binding
Horses are closely related to both zebras and donkeys.
William: What do you call a horse wearing Venetian blinds?
Billy: A zebra.
Stirrup: What you do to pancake batter.
My horse’s feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears.
-Bonnie Lewis
A visitor to the farm was asking all kinds of questions about the animals he saw. “Why doesn’t that cow have horns?” he inquired of the farmer. “Well,” drawled the farmer, “cows don’t have horns for many reasons. Some of them are removed, some kinds of cows never grow them, and some get them when they mature. That particular cow doesn’t have horns,” he added, “because he’s a horse.”
“In riding a horse we borrow freedom.” -Helen Thomson
About to take his first horseback ride, the greenhorn was checking out the horses in the stable. The old wrangler asked whether he wanted an English saddle or a Western saddle. “What’s the difference?” asked the tenderfoot. “The English saddle is flat, while the Western has a horn on the front.” “Better give me the English saddle,” the fellow replied. “I don’t expect to be riding in traffic.”
“It’s always been and always will be the same in the world: The horse does the work and the coachman is tipped.” -Author Unknown
Sarah
Schubert had a horse named Sarah.
He drove her to the big parade.
And all the time the band was playing
Schubert’s Sarah neighed.
by Marge Roedig
Rebecca: What do you call the horse that lives next door?
Becky: Our neigh-bor!
“The horse is the only animal into which one can hammer nails.” -Jules Renard (1864 - 1910)
“You have probably heard the expression, ‘I am so hungry that I could eat a horse!’ But have you ever started to eat a horse and then realized that you were not that hungry after all?” -Author Unknown
“Be wary of the horse with a sense of humor.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Horse Dreams
I wonder if horses have dreams
Of fresh grass and cold crystal streams,
No shoes and clean air,
A breeze through their hair,
And freedom - they ought to, it seems.
by Author Unknown
“You know what they say . . . you can’t fall off a horse unless you were riding one to begin with. Now let’s all get out there and fall off some horses!” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
The Prince of Bombay
There was a young prince of Bombay,
Who always would have his own way;
He pampered his horses
On five or six courses,
Himself eating nothing but hay.
by Walter Parke
“There are no handles to a horse, but the 1910 model has a string to each side of its face for turning its head when there is anything you want it to see.” -Stephen Leacock (Stephen Butler Leacock (1869 - 1944)): “Literary Lapses” (1910), ‘Reflections on Riding’
The horses paw and prance and neigh,
Fillies and colts like kittens play,
And dance and toss their rippled manes
Shining and soft as silken skeins
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior (1809 - 1894): “The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes” (1852), ‘How the Old Horse Won the Bet’
“A dog may be man’s best friend, but the horse wrote history.” -Author Unknown
A man was walking down a country road when he heard a voice coming from behind a tree, but all he could see was a horse. “Hello, remember me?” the voice said. “I won the Kentucky Derby Race two years ago.” “A talking horse!” the man exclaimed, and he rushed over to a nearby field where a farmer was working and asked, “What would you take for that horse?” “That horse is no good. You can have him for twenty dollars.” “Twenty dollars! I’ll give you two thousand dollars.” “Has that hay-bag been giving you that nonsense about winning the Kentucky Derby? Listen, I happen to know he came in last.”
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” -Winston Churchill (Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 - 1965))
Benjamin: What has four legs and flies?
Franklin: A horse in the summer time.
“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.” -Author Unknown
Horses and Ponies Facts
- An adult male horse or pony is called a stallion.
- A young male horse or pony is called a colt.
- An adult female horse or pony is called a mare.
- A young female horse or pony is called a filly.
- A male or female horse or pony that is less than one year of age is called a foal.
- A group of horses or ponies is called a herd, a team (harnessed), a stable, a string (racing), a band, or a mob.
- The sounds made by horses are called neighs, snorts, and whinnying, along with the hoof sounds called clips, clops, and clippity-clops.
- Horses and ponies are herbivores, or animals that eat plants.
- Domestic horses have a lifespan of about 20 to 35 years.
Martin: Why was the pony sent to the principal’s office?
Robin: He was horsing around too much.
Ponies Facts
- Ponies are small horses.
- Ponies have thicker manes and tails than horses.
- Ponies have proportionally shorter legs, thicker necks, and shorter heads than horses.
- Pound for pound, ponies are stronger than horses.
- Ponies are easy to look after and require half the food that horses of the same weight require.
- Well-trained ponies are good for children while they are learning to ride, as ponies often have calmer and less excitable dispositions than horses, and are easier to saddle and climb onto.
Horse Sense
A horse can’t pull while kicking.
This fact I merely mention.
And he can’t kick while pulling
Which is my chief contention.
Let’s imitate the good old horse
And lead a life that’s fitting;
Just pull an honest load, and then
There’ll be no time for kicking.
by Author Unknown
“Small children are convinced that ponies deserve to see the inside of the house.” -Maya Patel
“A horse is worth more than riches.” -Author Unknown: Spanish Proverb
Did you know that horses are constantly stepping on frogs? The underside of a horse’s hoof is called a ‘frog.’ Frogs fall off a horse several times a year as new growth takes place.
Somewhere . . .
Somewhere in time’s own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some Paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.
by Stanley Harrison
There are an estimated 75,000,000 horses in the world. Some people think that’s not enough.
“Horses lend us the wings we lack.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.” -Sharon Ralls Lemon
Denise: Why did the mare go to Hollywood?
Dennis: She wanted to play ‘bit’ parts in the movies.
“To ride a horse is to ride the sky.” -Author Unknown
“A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks, but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Scientists believe that horses have evolved over the past 50 million years from much smaller creatures. Horses have been domesticated for more than 5,000 years.
“To me, horses and freedom are synonymous.” -Veryl Goodnight
Zack: What is the difference between a horse and a duck?
Zachary: One goes quick and the other goes, “Quack!”
“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” -Pam Brown (born 1928)
Star: Why did one horse reach over another horse’s neck to get some hay?
Violet: It had bad stable manners.
“Many people have sighed for the ‘good old days’ and regretted the ‘passing of the horse,’ but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses.” -C. W. Anderson
Overheard: “Help - I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy-up!”
“Clydesdales are tall and majestic, and Shetland ponies are small but very strong; both contribute to making our world better in their own ways.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
“A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open.” -Gerald Raferty
It has long been known that birds will occasionally build nests in the manes of horses. The only known solution to this problem is to sprinkle baker’s yeast in the mane, for, as we all know, yeast is yeast and nest is nest, and never the mane shall tweet.
“Feeling down? Saddle up.” -Author Unknown
Horses vanished from both North America and South America in a wave of extinction that occurred about 15,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Horses also nearly became extinct in the rest of the world, and about 7,000 years ago, the only horses in the world lived in a small area in the still open grassland steppes of what is now the Ukraine and central Asia. Horses were not seen in the Americas again until 1494, when Italian explorer Christopher Columbus transported them over on ships from Spain during his second voyage to the new world.
“Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls, they give us hope.” -Toni Robinson
“Why did this animal that had prospered so in the Colorado desert leave his amiable homeland for Siberia? There is no answer. We know that when the horse negotiated the land bridge . . . he found on the other end an opportunity for varied development that is one of the bright aspects of animal history. He wandered into France and became the mighty Percheron, and into Arabia, where he developed into a lovely poem of a horse, and into Africa where he became the brilliant zebra, and into Scotland, where he became the massive Clydesdale. He would also journey into Spain, where his very name would become the designation for gentleman, a caballero, a man of the horse. There he would flourish mightily and serve the armies that would conquer much of the known world.” -James Michener
“If you want a stable friendship, get a horse.” -Author Unknown
“He’s of the color of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger . . . he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.” -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “Henry V” (written in about 1599)
And so now we hand the reigns over to you because it is your turn to do the horsing around . . . while we trot on to the next article . . . on MFOL!
