11 Feb 2021 Fun facts for Valentine’s Day
My husband claims he is second to my horse in the love department.
Mmm…!? Give me a minute!
Horses don’t distinguish one day from the next, but when owners show up to the barn bearing gifts, some wonder if it is a special day.
My horse, Darcy, loves bananas. Apples and carrots are welcome, too, but bananas rule the treat day.
Before a trip to the grocery store to restock Darcy’s bananas, I compiled some fun horse facts for Valentine’s Day courtesy of Your Horse Magazine published in the UK!
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Heart to heart
A horse’s heart weighs approximately 9 or 10 pounds (it is about the size of a large melon). With each beat, a typical adult horse pumps approximately one liter of blood. -
Candyman
Horses like sweet flavors and will usually reject anything sour or bitter. However, don’t go sharing your Valentine’s chocs with your horse – you may know about not giving it to your dog, but your horse is also sensitive to the toxic chemical found in chocolate called theobromine. -
Wet kisses
Horses produce approximately 10 gallons of saliva a day – now that’s a sloppy smooch! -
Cute couples
A zebroid is a cross between a zebra and any other Equidae family member (which includes donkeys, ponies, and horses). A zonky is a cross between a zebra and a donkey; a zony is a cross between a zebra and a pony, and a zorse is a cross between a zebra and a horse. -
Skips a beat
The average resting heart rate in a well-conditioned horse is typically between 32-40 beats per minute, while the heart rate at full gallop can exceed 240 beats per minute. But horses have a wide range of ‘normal’ resting heart rates and a vast range of different ‘normal’ rhythms – so don’t worry if your horse doesn’t seem to fit the mold; if it’s normal for him, then that’s the main thing.
