Fun Facts

Did you know that the triangle shaped soft part of the bottom of the hoof is called a “frog?”

Horses have whiskers?

Yes, horse whiskers, also known as vibrissae, are important sensory hairs that help horses navigate their surroundings and perceive their environment. They are located around the horse’s eyes, muzzle, and chin and are more sensitive to touch than other hairs because they have larger follicles, a richer blood supply, and more nerve connections. 

Whiskers help horses in many ways, including: 

  • Spatial awarenessWhiskers help horses determine safe distances from objects, especially in front of their face and below their nose where they have blind spots. This helps prevent accidents, especially in low-light conditions like at night or in dimly lit barns. 
  • Finding foodWhiskers help horses locate food, especially in dense vegetation or when grazing in the dark. 
  • Protecting themselvesWhiskers help protect horses’ eyes and muzzles from harm. 
  • CommunicatingWhiskers can be used as a form of body language and silent communication. For example, the movement of the whiskers can indicate the horse’s attitude. 

Whiskers are also the first hair to form during embryonic development, and foals are born with longer whiskers than adult horses. Whiskers have a growth cycle where they emerge, mature, and then shed naturally to be replaced by new whiskers. Unlike other hairs, whiskers don’t shed seasonally. 

Some believe that clipping a horse’s whiskers for cosmetic reasons should be banned to improve the horse’s welfare. Germany, Switzerland, and France have already banned the practice. 

The hair on the horse is called the Coat.

Here are some facts about a horse’s coat: 

  • Protection A horse’s coat protects its skin from the sun, wind, cold, and insects. It also traps air to provide warmth, and produces natural oils to repel water and reflect sunlight. 
  • Layers A horse’s coat is made up of millions of hairs, each with three layers: a cuticle, cortex, and medulla. The cuticle is the outermost layer, made up of overlapping cells that give the coat a rough, scaly surface. The cortex contains pigmentation, which determines the horse’s coat color. The medulla is in the middle. 
  • Types of hair Horses have three types of hair: permanent, temporary, and tactile:
    • Permanent: Hair on the mane, tail, forelock, eyelashes, and “feathers” on drafts. This hair doesn’t shed like the temporary hair. 
    • Temporary: The majority of the body hair, which sheds. 
    • Tactile: Hair on the muzzle, around the eyes, and inside the ears, also called vibrissae. This hair helps horses navigate and feel things around them that they can’t see. 
  • Growth A horse’s coat changes in three phases: anagen, catagen, and shedding:
    • Anagen: Cells in the bulb actively produce the hair shaft. 
    • Catagen: A transitional period where growth stops and the follicle shrinks. 
    • Shedding: The pineal gland controls melatonin production at night, which triggers other reactions in the body that cause hair to grow or shed. For example, in the spring, when there are fewer dark hours, the pineal gland secretes less melatonin, causing the horse to shed its winter coat. 

Muzzle. The muzzle is the part of the horse’s head that includes the area of the mouth, nostrils, chin, lips, and front of the nose.

Meet our team

We have three instructors to help teach our students horsemanship skills.

Tasha Smith

Founder, Owner

CTRI

Brianna

Osthed

CTRI

Robert

Sears

Instructor

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