Can You Pass a True Horse Lover's Quiz?

The American Quarter Horse is one of the most popular horse breeds today because of its even temperament. If you go to the races, you'll see Thoroughbreds. Appaloosas are Native American horses.

The forelock or foretop is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat. The mane naturally grows to roughly cover the neck.

Horse tack is any equipment used to ride a horse, such as saddle, girths, cinches, bridles, or martingales. It can also refer to other items used in handling and caring for horses.

Although at one point that was the general consensus, but actually they see color. However, they are better at seeing yellows and greens than purples and violets.

A girth, sometimes called a cinch (Western riding), is a piece of equipment used to keep the saddle in place on a horse or other animal.

Keratin is the same protein that comprises human hair and fingernails. The keratin is layered in horizontal sheets in order to add strength. It continues to grow even when the horse wears horseshoes.

A horse, barring injury or disease, can live up to 30 years. They can also be ridden well into their senior years as long as they receive regular light exercise, nothing strenuous.

There are additional differences as well as those mentioned above, including seat and knee position. What's more, In English riding, the rider takes a rein in each hand, whereas Western riders take both reins in one hand.

Horses like sweet flavors and will usually reject anything sour or bitter. They will consume a salt lick, as horses require about 1-2 ounces of salt per day for the sodium and chloride minerals.

One hand is equal to four inches. When you measure by hands, you'll measure from the level ground to the horse's withers (ridge between the shoulder blades) which is usually the tallest part of the body.

Arabians are one of the oldest horse breeds. They excel in all sports despite their lack of size, but dominate in endurance riding.

Although horses can see better in low light than we can, they can't see in pitch darkness. Horses have a membrane at the back of their eyes which reflects light better than ours, so we mistakenly think they can see in the dark.

A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap. Stirrups are are used to aid in mounting and as a foot support while riding a horse.

Whinnying and neighing sounds are elicited when horses meet or leave each other. Snorts are most common during calm and relaxing activities. Forward-pointing ears indicate a positive feeling.

A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. It includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit.

The average horse's heart weighs approximately 9 or 10 pounds. It has to keep blood pumping for a majestic animal that weighs from 840 – 2,200 pounds, depending on the breed.

It's amazing, but once foals can stand, which is right after birth, they can move about and even run within hours of standing!

As long as it's not a forced breeding, mares usually give birth to foals in the spring and summer. It's important to have grass in full bloom, so she has plenty to eat in order to produce milk for a healthy foal.

Most of the time, wherever a horse's ear is pointing, is where the horse is looking with the eye (on the same side). He is intently paying attention to it. However, if the ears are pointing in different directions, the horse is looking at two different things at the same time.

On the underside of a horse's hoof is a triangular shaped area called the “frog." It acts as a shock absorber and helps pump blood back up the leg. The frog has sensitivity similar to the nerves at the ends of our fingertips.

In Arizona in the summer, it would be much more, but the usual amount a horse drinks is at least 25 gallons of water a day.

It is often believed that you can tell how a dog feels by checking the temperature and moistness of its nose. But when it comes to horses, just feel behind their ears. If that area is cold, so is the horse.

Although that's a very long time to keep a horse confined, a hoof is actually fast-growing. The average hoof grows 1/4 to 3/8 inch per month. Thus it takes nine to 12 months to re-grow an entire horse hoof.

Horses can see almost 360 degrees because their eyes are on the sides of the head. That's why they notice objects or movements that you can't see without turning around.

One horse will sleep and the other horse will continue standing and be on watch for predators and provide a warning, if necessary.

Because hooves are so important to a horse, checking their feet regularly is a good practice. Due to nutrition, sharp objects and over-riding, a number of hoof problems can affect a horse.

Once a day horses should be groomed, starting with a stiff bristled brush (to remove dead skin and hair) and finishing with a softer brush to remove dust.

A flattened tail may mean fear. A tail lifted over the back might indicate enthusiasm. A swishing tail can be a sign of irritation. But most of all, a tail is used to swat flies!

To maintain a good fitness level, but not trying to increase performance, a horse needs to be exercised by walking, trotting, cantering and a cool down three times a week, for about 20 to 30 minutes.

The average 1,000-pound horse that relies on hay for all its food typically eats 15 to 20 pounds of hay per day.

It's important to feed both hay and concentrates by weight, not by volume, for exact measurements. Also, it may be hard to detect symptoms in the short term, in over and under supplementing, and not providing adequate salt.

When horses curl back their upper lip showing their front teeth and inhaling with nostrils that are usually closed, it's called "flehmen" (roughly translated as "testing") to determine whether a smell is good or bad.

If you've hung around horses long enough, you know this one. YES. Horses use their ears, eyes and nostrils to express their mood and feelings through facial expressions.

The tail is an extension of the spine. There are about 15 small vertebrae that make up the bone structure of the tail. The dock consists of the muscles and skin covering It from which hair grows.

If you're riding English, good form includes posting in order avoid bouncing on the horses back, which hurts both rider and horse. To post, use the hamstring muscles, and abdominal muscles to move up and down from the saddle seat in rhythm with the horse's stride.