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 Did you know that there are about 750 million horses in the world?
Many horses live and are active until they are over 30 years old!
Wow! There are over 300 different breeds of horses and ponies around the world.
The tallest horse breed is the draught horse called the Shire, that comes from England. It can be over 18 hands high (hh)!
The smallest horse breed is only 30 inches high (less than 3 feet high) and is called the Falabellas and they come from Argentina.
Q. What would you call a small young horse that has a sore throat?
A. A little hoarse! 
Speaking of little horses, did you know that most foals (baby horses) are born at night when the herd is least likely to be on the move?
And, a few short hours after they are born, foals can stand up and follow the herd. Wow!
Q. When does a horse become an adult?
A. Four years old!
A female horse over 4 years old is called a mare while a male horse over 4 years old is called a stallion. Annnnnndddd, a father horse is called a sire while a mother horse is called a dam. Did you get all that?
Horses are measured in hands, as in "My horse is 14 hands high".
A hand is four inches, roughly the width of a man's hand!
The horse that is over 14.2 hh (hands high) is called a horse, while any under 14.2 hh is called a pony.
So a pony that is perhaps 14 hands high would be approximately 4 and a half feet tall.
(14 hands x 4 inches = 56 inches. Then this is divided by 12 inches (foot) = 4.5)
 Shetland Ponies are not measured in hands however. The reason for this is that they average only between 28 to 42 inches in height.
The Shetland ponies are little horses that, though small, can actually carry an adult! Funny to see really, but possible.
These strong small horses are often chosen as the ideal pony for teaching children to ride a horse.
There now... do you think you're ready for a quiz on horses now?
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