Questions and Answers for Horse Trivia
Are you planning a trivia night with your group of horse-loving friends? Or are you wanting to test your own horse knowledge? Either way, you have come to the right place. Below you will find 100 of the best horse trivia questions and answers.
Questions About Horse History
Question: The tallest horse on record, Sampson, was how many hands high?
Answer: Sampson was 21.2 hands high.
Question: How tall was Thumbelina, the smallest horse on record?
Answer: Thumbelina was only 17.5 inches tall.
Question: The highest jump on record made by a horse consisted of how many feet?
Answer: The record for the highest jump a horse has made was 8 feet.
Question: How tall was Eohippus, the earliest known ancestor to the modern horse?
Answer: Eohippus only stood around 13 inches tall.
Question: Where did horses originate?
Answer: Horses originated in North America.
To learn more about the origination of horses, visit my article Where Did Horses Originate? What the Evidence Says.
Question: To which location did Christopher Columbus bring horses back to North America in 1493?
Answer: The Virgin Islands
Question: For how much money was Fusaichi Pegasus, a Kentucky Derby winner, sold for at auction in 2001?
Answer: $70 million
Question: What is the fastest recorded sprinting speed of a horse?
Answer: 55 mph.
Question: How many pounds did Sampson, the largest horse on record, weigh?
Answer: 3,360 pounds
Question: To what age did Old Billy, the oldest horse on record, live?
Answer: 62 years old
Questions About Horse Terminology
Question: In the horse world, what does “OTTB” mean?
Answer: off-the-track Thoroughbred
Question: The gait between a trot and a gallop is called a Canter in English. What is it called in Western?
Answer: A Lope
Question: What is the name used for riding equipment?
Answer: Riding equipment is called “tack”.
Question: What term is used for a horse that has just started under-saddle training?
Answer “green-broke”
Question: What is the term used for a horse’s small outdoor enclosure?
Answer: A paddock
Question: What is the term used for an enclosed riding area?
Answer: An arena
Question: What is the term used for a castrated male horse?
Answer: A gelding
Question: What is the term for the offspring of a horse and a donkey?
Answer: A mule
Question: For how long is a young horse referred to as a foal?
Answer: A foal is a horse up to the age of 1.
Question: What is the term for a female horse under the age of 4 years?
Answer: A filly
Question: What is the name used for the person who shoes or trims your horse’s feet?
Answer: A farrier
Question: What is the name of the person who rides a racehorse?
Answer: A jockey
Question: What is the term used for a horseback rider or anyone involved with horses?
Answer: An equestrian
Questions About Horse Health & Anatomy
Question: Where are the horse’s two blind spots?
Answer: Directly in front of his nose, and directly behind his tail.
Question: What is the name of the spongy triangular pad at the bottom of a horse’s hoof?
Answer: The frog
Question: What is the range that a horse can rotate its ears?
Answer: Horses can rotate their ears 180 degrees.
Question: In feet, what was the length of the longest horsetail on record?
Answer: 12 feet
Question: To which body part do you measure a horse?
Answer: The withers
Question: List the four basic horse colors, from which all variations originate.
Answer: Bay, brown, black, and chestnut.
Question: How many muscles are in a horse’s ear?
Answer: 10
Question: What is the maximum force of a horse kick?
Answer: A horse kick can have a force of up to 2,000 psi.
Question: How many eyelids does a horse have?
Answer: 3
Question: How many blood types do horses have?
Answer: 7
Question: What is the name of the response used by a horse when he pulls his lips back to sniff?
Answer: The Flehmen response
Question: Which color can horses not see?
Answer: Red
Question: How many stomachs does a horse have?
Answer: Horses only have one stomach, making them non-ruminants.
Question: What is the leading cause of death in horses of almost all ages?
Answer: Colic
Question: You should pick out your horse’s hooves before and after which activity?
Answer: Riding
Question: At what age is a horse considered fully developed, physically?
Answer: 6 years of age
Question: Which body part is most commonly the cause of lameness?
Answer: The hoof
Question: At what age is a horse considered a senior?
Answer: 15 years of age
Question: In months, what is the average gestation for a pregnant mare?
Answer: 11 months
Question: What is the range of vision of a horse?
Answer: A horse’s range of vision is an impressive 350 degrees.
Question: In terms of horse measurement, how many inches is equivalent to one hand?
Answer: One hand equals four inches.
Question: How many bones does a horse have?
Answer: 205
Question: Of which material is a horse’s hoof made from?
Answer: Keratin – the same material from which our nails are made.
Question: A pony is a horse that is less than how many hands high?
Answer: 14.2
Questions About Horse Breeds
Question: Which is the most popular horse breed in the United States?
Answer: The American Quarter Horse
Question: Of which breed was Sampson, the tallest horse on record?
Answer: Shire
Question: Of which breed was Fusaichi Pegasus, the most expensive horse ever sold?
Answer: A Thoroughbred
Question: Of which breed was the horse that broke the sprinting speed record?
Answer: The American Quarter Horse
Question: Which breed is known as the “people-sized draft horse”?
Answer: Gypsy Vanner
Question: Which breed of horse is known for its “metallic” coat sheen?
Answer: The Akhal-Teke horse
Question: In which country did Thoroughbred originate?
Answer: The Thoroughbred originated in England.
Question: In which country did Clydesdales originate?
Answer: Scotland
Question: Which breed of horse has 1 fewer vertebra in its spine than other breeds?
Answer: The Arabian horse
Question: What is the smallest breed of horse?
Answer: The Falabella
Question: On which breed might you see a mustache?
Answer: The Gypsy Vanner
Question: Which breed of horse has the oldest horse breed registry in the world?
Answer: The Arabian horse
Question: What is the term used for a horse with unknown parentage or pedigree?
Answer: This is called a “grade horse”.
Question: What is the breed that is known to be the smoothest horse to ride?
Answer: The Paso Fino
True or False Horse Questions
Question: True or False – Horses have the largest eyes of any land mammal.
Answer: True
Question: True or False – Horses only sleep standing up.
Answer: False – horses can sleep both standing up and lying down.
Question: True or False – Male horses have more teeth than females.
Answer: True – male horses have 40 teeth, while females have only 36.
Question: True or False – Horses will often burp when they are experiencing digestive upset.
Answer: False – horses cannot burp.
Question: True or False – a horse brain is only half the weight of a human brain.
Answer: True
Question: True or False: Horses are healthiest when living in a barn stall.
Answer: False – in most climates, horses are healthier (and happier) when turned out 24/7, so long as they have a simple shelter from which to escape the extreme elements.
Question: True or False – horses will “pant” and breathe through their mouth when they are overheating.
Answer: False – horses cannot breathe through their mouths; only through their noses.
Question: True or False – pound for pound, ponies are stronger than horses.
Answer: True
Question: True or False – all horses have to wear shoes
Answer: False – many horses are ridden barefoot.
Question: True or False – foals can stand up and walk within hours of birth.
Answer: True
Questions About Feral Horses
Question: What is the name of the largest feral horse population in Australia?
Answer: The Brumby horse
Question: Which US state boasts the largest Mustang population?
Answer: Nevada
Question: Who manages the feral Mustang population in the United States?
Answer: The federal government’s Bureau of Land Management
Question: What is the name of the only surviving species of wild horse?
Answer: Przewalski’s horses
Question: Are mustangs truly wild horses, or feral horses?
Answer: Mustangs are feral because they are descendants of domesticated horses.
Question: What is the name of the largest population of feral horses in North America?
Answer: Mustangs
Questions About Horse Tack
Question: From which material are most saddles made?
Answer: Leather
Question: From which material are most saddle pads made?
Answer: Wool
Question: In which country did the modern stirrup originate?
Answer: The modern stirrup was invented in China.
Questions About Horse Sports
Question: How many horses are on the field at one time in the sport Polo?
Answer: There are 8 horses on the field in Polo.
Question: Which three equestrian sports are included in the Olympics?
Answer: Dressage, show jumping, and 3-day eventing
Question: What are the names of the two main riding styles?
Answer: English and Western
Question: In which sport do horses perform the famous “sliding stop”?
Answer: Reining
Question: What is the birthday used for all racehorses in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: January 1
Question: What are the three categories of physical cues that you use to direct your horse?
Answer: Through your reins, through your legs, and through your seat
Question: Which riding style is known as the “cowboy” riding style?
Answer: Western
Question: In which riding style is discipline dressage practiced?
Answer: English
Question: In which riding style is the discipline roping practiced?
Answer: Western
Question: Of how many beats is the canter, or lope?
Answer: The canter is a 3-beat gait
Question: How long is the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest horse race?
Answer: 1,000 km, or 621 miles
Question: What are the two gaits used in harness racing?
Answer: The trot and the pace
Question: In barrel racing, around how many barrels does the horse need to maneuver?
Answer: 3 barrels
Question: From which side do equestrians traditionally mount their horses?
Answer: The left side.
Bonus Horse Questions
Question: Name the 4 main gaits of a horse.
Answer: Walk, Trot, Canter (or Lope), Gallop
Question: According to a 2013 study, which two genres of music do horses prefer?
Answer: Classical and country
Question: According to this same study, which two genres of music do horses dislike?
Answer: Jazz and rock
Question: How many hours of sleep do horses need per day?
Answer: Between 2 and 3 hours per day
Question: In which position must a horse sleep to achieve REM sleep?
Answer: Laying down – when standing up a horse cannot achieve REM sleep.
Question: Which country has the largest horse population?
Answer: The United States
Want to learn some more facts about horses? Visit my article Horse Facts: 50 Fun Horse Facts You Haven’t Heard.
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