| The horse is one of the most beloved of all animals | | | | with each eye. It just means the horse is upset. |
| and has a long history of partnership with humans. | | | | You measure the height of a horse with a special unit |
| Here are some little known horse tidbits of | | | | of measurement known as a "hand." A hand is about |
| information. | | | | four inches. So, if you were told a horse stood 10 |
| Any discussion of interesting horse tidbits needs to | | | | hands tall, it would be about 40 inches in height. The |
| start about 50 million years ago with a tiny ancestor | | | | tallest horse on record stood 21.2 hands high which |
| of the modern horse called eohippus. This tiny | | | | would be about 7 feet 2 inches. This giant, aptly |
| precursor to the horse was about the size of a fox | | | | named Samson, was a Shire horse born in |
| and had 4 padded toes on its front feet and three | | | | Toddington Mills, England in 1846. |
| padded toes on its back feet. The word "eo" means | | | | Another interesting horse fact concerns birthdays. All |
| dawn and "hippus" means horse. So, the eohippus | | | | horses share a common birthday. This is January 31st. |
| was the dawn horse. | | | | This is a big day in a stable as every horse |
| A horse has monocular vision. This means that it sees | | | | celebrates the passing of another year on this date. |
| separately out of each eye. In other words, it can | | | | This would apply even to a foal born on December |
| look two ways at once. Human eyes are binocular | | | | 31. Such a lucky horse would turn one year old on |
| which means that the vision in both eyes combines | | | | the very next day. |
| to form a single image. The horse is actually binocular | | | | The horse has served mankind for many centuries as |
| when it is looked directly over its nose. Once its eyes | | | | a workhorse and a warhorse. For much of human |
| move away from dead center, however, the image | | | | history, the horse was one of the main modes of |
| will split into two distinct images. Also, the horse is | | | | transportation either ridden directly or pulling wagons. |
| usually looking in the direction its ears are pointing. | | | | Although the horse has been replaced by other |
| The exception to this is when it is angry. In this case, | | | | modes of transportation and motorized equipment, it |
| the ears are usually pointed straight back. This does | | | | still is enjoyed for its beauty and speed. It is ridden |
| not mean the horse is looking backwards separately | | | | today, mostly for enjoyment and recreation. |