A foal (baby horse) can stand up soon after it is born. It drinks only its mother’s milk until it is a week old. Then it starts to eat grass, too. Foals love to play. They like to run and jump fast and hard.
By the time a horse is two years old, it is about half as big as it will grow. By the time it is four years old, a horse is all grown up. A horse usually lives to be about twenty years old.
A horse needs a stall in a barn or shed with a clean bed of straw or sawdust. It needs to eat fresh grain and hay and drink gallons and gallons of water every day.
A horse needs daily brushing and combing to deep its coat and skin shiny and healthy. It also needs regular visits from a vet.
Horses need lots of exercise. The best way for a horse to get exercise is for a rider to ride it! Riders need the right equipment. The most important piece of equipment is a riding helmet. That way, if the rider falls, his or her head is protected.
There are many different kinds of horses. There are fast horses for racing, strong horses for working on farms, horses that are graceful, and those that are clever and athletic. There are big horses and small horses. Horses are measured in "hands" from their shoulders to their feet. A "hand" is four inches long. A pony is shorter than about l4 hands. A horse is taller than about l4 hands.