There are over 2,000 breeds of horses, and ponies. The Eohippus lived about 50 million years ago. Eohippus means "Dawn Horse" in Greek. When a horse runs its spine is stiff. Also, horses legs are built so that it can stand with hardly any effort because it's joints stay in place and do not use muscle power. Did you know that horses could hear about 20 miles away for a horse call to warn that there is danger. Some times horses walk on roads. This is the reason why the horses need metal shoes held on by nails. But it does not hurt the horse because the nails are put in where the horse has no nerves. We have ten toes in total but a horse has one toe on each foot. Did you know that when a horse runs there is over 2'000 pounds of pressure on each hoof? Think how much that would hurt! The horses' legs are perfect for running over flat land. Races can cover up to ninety-three (93) miles in one or two days. Horses and Ponies eat many different types of food. Pony nuts is a mixture of food formed into pellets or cubes. People feed horses flaked corn for the horse to get energy and to help the horses put on weight. Most of the time horses eat grass, but when grass is not available the horses eat hay which is dried grass. Horses are great animals. They are a lot of fun to ride. They are various sizes and colors. There are over 150 breeds of horses. Falabellas are the smallest breed. It only grows to about thirty inches in height. Shires are the largest breed. They grow to be more than sixty-eight inches in height. It is possible for shires to weigh more than two-thousand pounds. There are three main types of horses. They are light horses, heavy horses, and ponies. Light horses are smaller horses with small bones and thin legs. Most of them weigh less than one thousand three hundred pounds. Heavy horses weigh more than two-thousand pounds. They have large bones and sturdy legs. Ponies are usually thought to be baby horses. Baby horses are called foals. Ponies are small breed of horse. Ponies are less than fifty-eight inches and eight-hundred pounds when they are full grown. The most common type of riding horse are the light horses. The most popular riding horses are the Tennessee walking horse, Morgan, quarter horse, and Arabian. Horses must always be mounted on the left side. Horses move in three main gaits or ways. They walk, trot and canter. Galloping is considered to be a fast form of cantering.
