50 Random Horse Facts Every Fiction Writer Should Know

If you are a writer, then this is a familiar conundrum– you sit down to smash out that scene, you’re all in the groove… and then you hit a rut where you desperately need to know a certain fact for the sake of the story. You could just bracket it and move on, but then your brain won’t shut up about it until you figure it out. You could just google it, but you don’t want to get sucked down a rabbit hole.

Writer, never fear! Today I am sharing a list of fifty random horse facts every fiction writer should know, all in an easy to reference place so you can have it on hand without needing to google too much.

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1. The average speeds for every horse gait: walk (4-6 mph), trot/jog (8-12 mph), canter/lope (12-18mph), gallop (25-45 {varies from breed to breed}).
2. A horse eats two percent of its body weight every day and drinks 5-10 gallons of water.
3. Historically, the top three most common horse breeds used for battle in the medieval ages were the Percheron, the Friesian, and the Arabian
4. The most well known equine fiction writers are Marguerite Henry (Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, etc), Walter Farley (The Black Stallion series), Anna Sewell (Black Beauty), Bonnie Bryant (The Saddle Club series), and Joanna Campbell (Thoroughbred series)
5. Horses only spend about 3 hours a day fully sleeping, and only in 30 minute increments as sleeping longer than that on the ground causes organ compression issues due to their sheer size. Most of the time they sleep on their feet.
6. Despite how vocal they can be, the majority of horse communication comes from minute body language indications, mostly in their ears, facial features, feet, and tail.
7. Horses are mostly colorblind although they can see some yellow and blue. The full spectrum of color is unknown.
8. Horses cannot see directly in front of their nose or directly behind them.
9. When getting up from a laying down position, horses will get up front-feet first, unlike many other animals who will get up backend first.
10. Horses cannot eat beets unsoaked, as they do not have the right enzymes in their stomach to break down the food.
11. Wilted red maple leaves can cause anemia in horses
12. Horses have various “reflex” zones that when touched, cause innate reactions. This is strong at birth and can be heightened or muted with training and experience. For instance, touching the horse’s poll (between the ears) causes the horse to raise their head, while pressure to the crest will lower it.
13. The frog is the v-shaped part of the hoof that makes contact with the ground (think of it as the shock absorber). Bruising and/or injury of the frog is one of the most common causes of lameness in horses.
14. Colic is one of the highest killers of horses, and it can be caused by any stomach ailments from gas to a twisted intestine. Even changing hay type increases risk for colic since it upsets the microbe balance.
15. The average length of an adult horse’s tongue is 18 inches
16. A male horse over four years old is called a stallion, while a female horse over four years is a mare.
17. A castrated male horse of any age (usually over a year, when the procedure is done) is a gelding.
18. A male horse under four years old is a colt and a female horse under four years is a filly.
19. A male mule is called a john, and a female mule is called a molly.
20. A male donkey is called a jack, and a female donkey is called a jenny.
21. A horse is pregnant for eleven months, but a donkey can be in foal for up to fourteen months.
22. Horses have 40 teeth, with a naturally-occurring gap in their tooth structure called the “bars”. The bit of the bridle usually rests here.
23. Historically, horses were mostly grazed or fed hay. If they were fed grain, they were fed oats, since horses didn’t care about the hard-to-thresh husks and easy to grow. Wheat or corn was too valuable to use to equids, and corn was only given if the horse desperately needed the extra energy.
24. In bands of wild horses, there is one mature stallion, a lead mare (usually the most experienced mare of the group), and foals. Colts get kicked out at age three to live in bachelor bands.
25. There is actually no such thing as an albino horse. Cremellos (white horses with ivory manes and tails and blue eyes) will often get called “albino”, but as their eyes are not pink and void of melanin, they are not true albino. Even pure white horses will have dark eyes.
26. Eating too much young, tender grass (high in sugars) can actually cause foot problems for horses.
27. Fescue, a common weed, can cause horses to fail to lactate.
28. A horse’s hoof grows 0.25-0.4 inches per month.
29. Horses can gallop for about two miles without stopping. Any longer and the heart is at risk of explosion, without careful conditioning.
30. A general horse can travel 35-50 miles in a day at a walk without stopping. However some breeds (like the Arabian) have more endurance and can go 100 miles.
31. Without wheels, horses can pull 10% of their body weight. Adding wheels, the horse may be able to pull 2-3 times that much.
32. Horses can carry 20% of their body weight on their back, but more of that can cause extreme soreness.
33. One of the ways horses bond is by grooming each other and scratching each other’s backs with their teeth. This can be replicated by humans through brushing.
34. You cannot tie a horse by the reins. If a horse pulls back it can hurt its mouth and break its teeth.
35. The Latin name for the horse is Equus Caballus
36. Horses can hear a range of 55 Hz (similar to the low note of E on a bass guitar, or distant thunder) to 33,500 hz, (far beyond the range of human hearing, somewhere around a dog whistle).
37. You can drink horse milk. According to my research, most people report that it has a hazelnut-like flavor. As I’ve never tried horse milk, I cannot confirm or deny this research.
38. I have never eaten horse (nor do I recommend it, but if your characters are starving… food is food), but according to my research it is reported to be like a lean cross between beef and venison.
39. An easy way to keep a horse contained without any fence is to tie a rope loosely around its front legs, just above the hoof (that segment of the leg before the first joint is called a pastern, by the way). This is called hobbling and it is loose enough to not trip the horse, but it keeps them from going any further than a few tiny steps at a time.
40. The top ten most poisonous foods to horses are: chocolate, avocados, potatoes, onions, bread products, tomatoes, bracken fern, dairy products, rhubarb, and ragwort.
41. General terms for horse noises: whinny/neigh— the characteristic horse noise, usually used to call out to horses that can’t be seen. Kind of like saying “HEY WHERE ARE YOU?” Blow— a soft noise made through the lips. Kind of like a sigh. Usually done when the horse is relaxed (or has something in their nose). Snort— Hard, harsh noise made through the nose, used when spooked or challenging another horse. Nicker— rumbling, soft and friendly noise. Mares nicker to their foals, and horses nicker to their favorite humans (especially around feeding time). Squeal— sounds like what it says. Used to protest annoyance that another horse is in their personal space, or to express dominance. Screams/roars: An intensified version of the squeal, can be high pitched (scream) or guttural (roar). Usually heard in fighting or when the horse is extremely panicked.
42. Some horses learn to hold in air when being saddled, and let it out when someone mounts so the cinch is loose and the saddle slides to the side.
43. Hybrids between species such as mules and zorses will also have hybrid voices. Zorses tend to sound like a horse laughing and mules will sometimes whinny with a hee-haw ending.
44. If nothing else, make sure your traveling character has a hoof pick for their horse. A hoof pick is a small, blunt metal tool designed for digging out debris, and if they’re traveling a long way… the horse’s hooves are gonna get PACKED with dirt and gravel.
45. The most common breed of horse globally is the American Quarter Horse
46. Basic horse anatomy

47. The parts of a carriage

48. How to create a halter from a piece of rope.

49. The difference between a Western saddle and an English saddle

50. How to tie a quick release knot.

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I hope this reference is helpful for you! If you have any other random horse questions, ask me in the comments below!