Here are 30 fascinating horse facts.
1. Black Jack, the riderless horse who participated in over 1,000 Full Honors US Military Funerals, including JFK’s is one of the two horses to be buried with Full Military Honors himself, the other being Comanche, General Custer’s horse. – Source
2. An individual horse has a peak power output of 14.9 horsepower. – Source
3. There exists a foundation called “Guide Horse Foundation” that provides miniature horses to blind people for guidance. Guide horses are more preferred for assistance than guide dogs for the one who is allergic or afraid of dogs. – Source
4. In 1894, London and New York were facing “Great Horse Manure Crisis”. It was estimated that within 50 years, London streets would be drowned in horse poop and horse carcasses. But the invention of the automobiles resolved the problem. – Source
5. Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” was originally going to be “Where the Wild Horses Are” until he started working on it and discovered he couldn’t draw horses. – Source
6. When Pablo Escobar’s daughter wanted a unicorn, he bought her a horse and stapled a cone to its head and wings on its back, due to which the horse died from an infection. – Source
7. In 1201, during the battle of the thirteen sides, Genghis Khan was injured by an arrow in the neck. After the winning battle, he asked the defeated army who had shot his horse. The archer Zurgadai voluntarily confessed, Genghis Khan valued his honesty and turned him into a general. – Source
8. While exploring the newly discovered Yellowstone, Truman Everts got separated from the group. His horse then ran away with the supplies, he fell on his campfire, fell hip-deep into a geyser, and was finally found crawling months later with frostbite weighing a mere 55 lbs. – Source
9. Mackinac Island, MI has banned motorized vehicles for over a hundred years. Most travel by horse-drawn carriages or bikes. – Source
10. In 1923, jockey Frank Hayes won a race at Belmont Park in New York despite being dead. He suffered a heart attack mid-race, but his body stayed in the saddle until his horse crossed the line for a 20–1 outsider victory. – Source
11. Two Los Lunas high school students rode their horses to school on ‘no vehicles to school day’, and got suspended. – Source
12. A real horse head was used in the movie “Godfather”, not a prop. John Marley was not informed beforehand, so his scream was authentic, not scripted. – Source
13. The origins of driving on the left side go back to Medieval England where Knights would ride their horses on the left side of the road so if they encountered an enemy their sword hand would be on the correct side – nearly all countries that drive on left now were once English colonies. – Source
14. Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles premiered at a drive-in movie theater and people riding horses got free admission to watch the movie. – Source
15. The US Election Day is always held on a Tuesday because, in 1845, farmers required a full day to travel by horse-drawn vehicles to the county seat to vote. So, farmers would leave on Monday, vote on Tuesday and be back in time for the market day, which was on wednesday. – Source
16. Sir Archy, one of the first great American racehorses, retired because “there were no opponents willing to race against him.” His family was also so successful that they were effectively banned. – Source
17. Dalmatians used to run alongside horse-drawn fire trucks acting as a barking siren to clear crowds, thus they have positive reputations with firefighters. – Source
18. When going to the battle, Rajputs would fashion false trunks for their horses, making them appear to be baby elephants which the enemy’s elephants instinctively would not attack. – Source
19. Traffic in central London moves at the same speed as horse-drawn carriages a century ago. – Source
20. Mary Fields, also known as “Stagecoach Mary,” a 6ft, 200 lb. former slave who, at age 60, was hired by the U.S. Postal Service because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of 6 horses. She never missed a day of work, and if the snow was too deep for her horses, she delivered the mails by carrying the sacks on her back. – Source
21. Charlie (Peter Ostrum) from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was offered a three-picture deal after filming, he rejected the offer and bought a horse with his earnings from CATCF which spawned a love of animals, and he decided not to pursue acting and he became a vet. – Source
22. Thrasyllus of Mendes commented on Caligula saying he had “no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Bay of Baiae.” After he became emperor, Caligula constructed a temporary bridge across the Baiae using ships as pontoons and rode his horse across. – Source
23. In 1938, the Dominican Republic, led by Dictator Rafael Trujillo, offered to accept Jewish refugees between 50,000 and 100,000. Only 645 made it and upon arrival, every new Jewish settler was given 80 acres of land, 10 cows, a mule and a horse. – Source
24. Paul McCartney decided not to tell his first wife Linda, that she was dying due to her breast cancer, thinking that doing so wouldn’t do any good, she continued riding her horse until the day before her death. – Source
25. The makers of the “Airplane!” and “Naked Guns” movies bought a horse just to make a joke. They named the horse All Pink and instructed the jockey not to win the race but to stay on the inside rail the whole race just to hear the play-by-play announcer say “It’s All Pink on the inside”. – Source
26. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States in 1976, a 3500-mile horse race was set up.It was won by a mule. – Source
27. Kublai Khan’s niece Khutulun insisted that any man who wished to marry her must defeat her in wrestling and forfeit horses to her if they lost. She gained 10,000 horses defeating prospective suitors. – Source
28. The knights in Monty Python And The Holy Grail were originally supposed to ride real horses, but the film’s budget was too small, hence the addition of the coconut joke. – Source
29. The Samurai wore a cloak that inflated when the wearer was riding a horse, which protected him from incoming arrows from behind. – Source
30. 2 nights before he broke the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager fell off a horse and broke his ribs. He didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want to be taken off the mission. He had a local veterinarian tape him up. – Source
I wish I would have known this list was being made! I’m a life long horse professional and have tons of horse facts! I share interesting horse facts with my students every day!