Amazing Horses

Hi again :)
After thinking about it for a while I decided the best thing to do would be to start from the very beginning. So today I'm going to be talking about...
*Dramatic Pause*
The one and only Horse!
You're probably thinking, "I know what a horse is! It's that four legged thing with a long face!" 

Picture from http://cheezburger.com/

But there are many things you probably don't know about horses. 
Did you know that horses have the biggest eyes of any land animal? 
Did you know that horses are natural swimmers and don't need to be taught? (I wish the same went for humans- then we wouldn't have to waste money on swimming lessons!) 
Did you know foals (a baby horse) can stand an hour after they're born? No? I didn't think so. Below are some more facts about the amazing animals. 

• Antarctica and Australasia are the only continents with no native horses. 
• For at least fifty million years horses have been around in some form.
• Horses don't have to lie down to go to sleep- they can sleep standing up! 

A horse sleeping standing up: Picture from http://www.rgbstock.com/

• Horses can only breathe through their nose- that's why they don't choke when the bit is in their mouth.
• Horses cannot vomit- this is actually what causes colic, an illness you may find out about later.
• You can find out the age of a horse by looking at the length of its teeth.
• Since horses have eyes on the side of their head, their blind spots are right in front and beneath their nose and right behind them.
• Horses are not measured in centimeters or inches, but in hands. A hand is equal to about 4 inches (10.2 centimeters). When you measure a horse you measure to their withers, which is the tallest part of a horse's spine.

A horse's withers: Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/

• A pony is not the name of a baby horse, it is the name of a small one. A pony measures less than 14.2hh (hands high) and a horse measures more than 14.2hh.
• A horse's heart weighs about 4.5 kilos!
• A horse can drink up to almost 40 litres a day!
• China is well known for having the most people in the world, but did you know they also have the most horses? China has about ten million horses!
• The tallest horse on record was over two meters tall and stood at 21.3hh.

That's all for now :) If you're looking for more horse facts you can have a look in some books or go to  http://www.shannonleighstables.com/HORSE-FACTS- 
or  http://www.kathyhelidoniotis.com/fun/horsemad2.htm

Rachel