Learn About Horses!

Did you know?

● Horses have the largest eyes of any mammal. Their eyes are roughly
8x bigger than our eyes. Because a horse’s eyes are on the side of
their head, they are capable of seeing about 330 degrees at a time.
Their only blind spot is behind their tail and in front of their nose. For
reference, humans can only see about 130 degrees at a time.

● On average, horses weigh 1,000 pounds! It depends on the breed, but
that is the average.

● Horses need enrichment plans as they can get bored like we can.
Interaction with other horses and humans are very enjoyable for them. They like having views of other animals, too. They find rolling around in sand or dirt stimulating. They also have fun tossing balls around like we do! A few other enrichment ideas that we do here at TH are having brushes they can rub against, brushing them and playing a radio by their stalls which is soothing.

Here at Tiny Hooves we currently have 3 standard horses, 5 mini horses, 7
mini donkeys and 1 mini mule. When Tiny Hooves moved to its current
location in Union Grove in 2018, we inherited three beautiful Paso Fino
horses who were around 30 years old named Jake, Ramona and Roxanne.
Roxanne loves visits with volunteers and even rubs and leans against them.

It’s great in the winter as you’ll warm up by leaning against her from her
body heat. We recently had another horse join us who needed a home
named Dakota. She is around 30 years old as well. She will enjoy retirement
here as well at the sanctuary with the other animals.

Here are some fun facts about horses:

● Horses find a lot of comfort in daily routines
● Horses have great long-term memories
● A horse’s teeth take up a larger amount of space in their head than
their brain.
● Horses can both sleep lying down and standing up.
● Horses are social animals and will mourn the loss of a companion. If
one of our horses was having an issue with their hooves and needed to
stay inside in their stall, all 3 had to be inside together, as they would
cry for each other.
● They can also understand and take in our emotions as humans.
● Hoof care is very important and necessary to prevent hoof problems. If
not taken care of on a regular schedule, horses will be more prone to
injuries such as laminitis flare ups and fungal infections. Our equines
are serviced by Sebastiani Farrier Services, our specialty farrier (for
laminitis and issues) and Sarah Rules Farrier Services, for our normal
hoof trims.
● Horse riding is not something that Tiny Hooves endorses in any way.
Studies prove that horses experience increased pain and discomfort
purely from the act of being ridden. It is not only physically and
emotionally harmful to horses but it is a form of exploitation. So yes,
horse riding is cruel, but the physical harm of riding is far from the only
ethical concern. The foundational ethical issue with horseback riding
isn’t whether it hurts horses—it’s the presumption that they are ours to
use in the first place. That horses are meant to be ridden.

We hope you enjoyed learning some interesting facts about horses!

Coming soon!

We will share the differences between horses, mini horses, mules and
ponies.

Learn more about Ramona, Roxanne and Dakota: HERE
Want to meet our horses Ramona, Roxanne and Dakota in person? Schedule a tour HERE
Want to help us care for our horses? You can donate HERE
Other ways to help HERE

Additional sources:
https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/horse-vision/
https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/homepage/dont-horse-around-when-it-comes-
to-hoof-care/
https://opensanctuaryproject.org