Explore the world of horses

The horse family, known as equidae, is small and only includes horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. Horses are found in almost every country in the world and on every continent except Antarctica.

Before automobiles were invented, horses served as transportation for people. Likewise, they pulled wagons, plows for agricultural use or carried things on their backs. Currently, most horses are domesticated and live with humans, they are still used for riding or doing agricultural work. Some are treated similarly to pets; being pets and entertainment.

Fun facts

Some horses are trained for racing and others for stunts. The famous Paso Fino horse, from Puerto Rico, is known for its ability to walk with a short step and rhythm as if it were dancing.

Horses are very social animals. In the wild, horses live in herds of 3 to 20 animals. They are led by a male called a stallion, the rest of the herd is made up of mares, which are the females of the horse and their offspring known as foals or colts if they are males and fillies or fillies if they are females.

There are about 400 breeds of horses. The size, color and set of abilities such as speed and strength of each horse will depend on its breed.

The foal is able to stand shortly after birth. At 2 years the male foals are expelled from the herd by the stallion.
Horses are grazing animals and therefore their diet consists of hay and grass. Domestic horses are also fed concentrate, a feed that provides them with the nutrition they need. The amount of feed a horse requires depends primarily on its age, weight, health, and level of physical activity.

Horses sleep only about three hours a day and often do so standing up. This trait allows wild horses to escape predators without wasting time getting up.

A pony is a small adult horse. Miniature horses are even smaller than ponies.