Fuel for thought...
Basic horse facts: Keeping a horse isn't like keep a dog or cat. Dogs and cats are designed more like humans than horses are, in some very important ways.Did you know that a horse's digestive system is designed to only move in one direction (from front to back)? Horses can't throw up. If they do, they're stomachs rupture. So you feeding a dog or cat the wrong thing is a little less dangerous if they throw it up in time. Feeding a horse the wrong thing can be disastrous because this isn't an option.
Horse's larynxes (voice boxes) are higher in their throats than humans. This gives them an advantage over us. When we choke on something, it shuts off our air supply. We are at risk of suffocating very quickly unless the object is dislodged. But when a horse chokes, they can still breathe. They just can't swallow until the object is dislodged.
Horses are also obligatory nose breathers. That means they can breathe ONLY through their noses. We can breathe through our mouths and our noses. So if we get a stuffy nose, no big deal. We just breathe through our mouths. If a horse nasal passages swell due to a snake bite or allergy, he will suffocate. He can't breathe through his nose. For this reason, it's always a good idea to keep clean flexible garden hose in your barn. If something like this happens to your horse, you can put some vaseline on the hose and guide it up through a nostril so he can breathe until the vet arrives.
Did you also know that horse's don't use vision to recognize things as well as humans do. They depend more on their sense of smell. So that piece of paper fluttering on the other side of the arena is a piece of paper to you. To your horse--who can't identify it well with her eyes and can't smell it from so far away--sees a monster. And since horses are prey animals, nature designed them to flee really fast first and think about what that thing was later.
Did you also know that horse teeth continue to descend through the gums throughout the horse's lifetime? Horse grind down their teeth as they chew their hay. This isn't normally a problem because there is plenty of tooth embedded above the gumline, and the teeth descend as needed. But they can form sharp hooks or unevenness as the horse chews. These problems can interfere with the bit when you're riding, or can cause a horse pain as he eats.
That is why they must have their teeth filed or "floated" (as it's called) by a veterinarian or equine dentist at least annually.
Horses also are huge. This often comes as a surprise to people who are used to being around dogs or cats, and then consider getting a horse. Horses weigh on average about 1,000 lbs or more. A 5'5" tall woman will have difficulty seeing over the back of an average horse.
These are just some of the more useful horse facts every horse owner or horse business owner should know.
