Q 01/05

A horse's height is given in hands. How long is one hand?

A) Two inches

B) Eight inches

C) Four inches

D) Six inches

Answer · why

C) Four inches

The hand is standardised at four inches (101.6 mm) and is still the working unit for horse height across the English-speaking world.

Q 02/05

Under most competition rules, what is an equine measuring no more than 14.2 hands at the withers called?

A) Cob

B) Hack

C) Pony

D) Galloway

Answer · why

C) Pony

14.2 hands — 58 inches — is the usual dividing line. Above it you have a horse; at or below it, a pony.

Q 03/05

Roughly how long does a mare carry a foal before giving birth?

A) Six months

B) Eleven months

C) Fifteen months

D) Eight months

Answer · why

B) Eleven months

Gestation averages about 340 days, so a little over eleven months, with a normal range of 320 to 370 days.

Q 04/05

What is the term for a young female horse, normally one under four years of age?

A) Colt

B) Filly

C) Mare

D) Gelding

Answer · why

B) Filly

A filly is a young female; the male equivalent is a colt. A mare is an adult female and a gelding is a castrated male.

Q 05/05

Which of a horse's four natural gaits is a three-beat gait?

A) Canter

B) Trot

C) Gallop

D) Walk

Answer · why

A) Canter

The walk has four beats, the trot two and the gallop four. The canter, also called the lope, is the three-beat gait at roughly 19–24 km/h.