Buzz
Horses are no longer seen merely as working animals. Today, they are athletes, cherished pets, and the subjects of intriguing research. Studies have revealed that horses can communicate using symbols and even hold grudges against people they've never met.
These magnificent creatures have also worn zebra-patterned blankets for scientific purposes and have inspired the creation of movies. To top it off, their clones are now eligible to compete in the Olympics.
10. The Free-Roaming Mare of Frankfurt
Frankfurt’s police are quite accustomed to receiving unusual calls about an animal roaming the streets. To clarify, the creature in question is a large Arabian horse, and concerned pedestrians often worry that she might be lost or dash into traffic. However, the police never intervene, and for good reason—they know Jenny very well. In fact, the Arabian mare has been taking her morning walks through the Fechenheim district of Frankfurt for the past 14 years, all without any issues.
Many find it concerning that she is out and about alone. Yet, for those who get close enough, there is a card attached to her halter that reads: “I’m called Jenny, not a runaway, just out for a walk. Thanks.”
Despite the police reassuring callers that the horse is a regular part of the neighborhood, Jenny’s owner, Werner Weischedel, often faces harsh criticism. Strangers on social media accuse him of neglect. However, an entire union of veterinarians supports both Weischedel and the police. They dismiss the criticisms, asserting that Jenny knows her route, strolls calmly, and seems completely content.
9. Reilly and Trooper
While they may not be considered the most unusual, this pair certainly deserves special recognition. Detective John Reilly and his horse, Trooper, made up Central Park's only mounted unit. In 2019, Reilly reached the mandatory retirement age of 63.
If it had been up to Reilly, he would have continued patrolling Central Park for a few more years. He and Trooper were beloved by tourists seeking selfies and visitors in need of directions. Reilly had served with New York’s mounted unit for 24 years, but he had ridden Trooper solo through Central Park during the last decade.
Trooper, a mix of quarter horse and Belgian, was about 15 years old and had spent 10 years on duty. The horse wore his own department-issued blanket and sported a larger-than-usual police shield.
Coincidentally, Trooper also reached retirement age. The gentle horse was sent to a special farm dedicated to providing lifetime care for retired police horses, where officers are welcome to visit. Instead of assigning the Central Park route to another individual officer, Reilly’s position will likely be filled by a group of mounted officers.
8. The Ice Age Foal
In late 2018, a mummified foal was discovered in Siberia. It perished roughly 40,000 years ago, during the final days of the ice age.
A group of scientists in Siberia plans to use the foal’s remains to bring back the species. While success might be a long shot, or never happen, the foal’s discovery could lead to advancements in technology that could allow the resurrection of other extinct species, including the woolly mammoth.
The idea is that a living mare could carry a cloned foal to full term without any genetic modifications. For now, however, a mammoth embryo must be a hybrid between an elephant and a mammoth to be carried by an elephant cow.
Unlike horses, mammoths and elephants are not closely related. The team of international scientists in Siberia believes they only need a single living cell from the foal, which can be replicated to produce countless embryos.
The broader scientific community remains largely unsupportive. Ice age DNA is typically fragmented into millions of pieces beyond repair. Additionally, finding a single cell with a complete genetic sequence is nearly impossible.
7. They Wear Zebra Stripes
There are several theories regarding why zebras have stripes. Camouflage is a common suggestion, as the pattern makes it harder for predators to single out individual zebras from the herd. Other theories propose that the stripes aid in social bonding or help regulate body temperature. One hypothesis even connects the stripes to fly repellency. It’s long been known that flies tend to bother horses more than zebras for some unknown reason.
In 2019, three groups of horses were given new blankets—one group in white, another in black, and a third in striped designs. Researchers observed horse flies and gathered extensive data. The study found that the flies showed no preference, swarming both horses and zebras alike.
Although the flies approached both species with roughly the same frequency, they landed on horses about three times more often. Around zebras and striped horses, the flies seemed disoriented, bumping into the animals or simply flying away. This suggests that the stripes may serve the purpose of confusing the bloodsucking pests.
6. The Blanket Board
In Norway, some horses don't wait for humans to decide when they should wear blankets. In 2016, a small herd of 23 horses showed when they wanted a blanket put on, taken off, or kept on.
This wasn't always the case. Researchers created a board with three signs and used carrots to reward the horses for understanding their meanings. A horizontal line meant 'I want my blanket,' a vertical line meant 'take it off,' and an empty symbol indicated 'I want to keep wearing it.'
The horses were trained to touch the board with their muzzles. Remarkably, after just two weeks of daily 15-minute training sessions, all 23 horses were able to make their decisions when asked. They didn’t just nudge the board for carrots; their responses always made sense in relation to the weather. (When it was cold or wet, they asked for their blankets.)
5. Psychologists Show Them Photos
In 2018, the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth presented photos to horses. These weren’t Rorschach tests, but images of people displaying either happiness or anger. As many horse enthusiasts know, these animals can easily read human body language. The photos confirmed this ability, and even demonstrated that horses can hold a grudge against a person’s angry expression—even if that person did nothing wrong.
The study involved 24 horses and tracked their reactions to the photos. Notably, the horses' heart rates spiked when they saw the angry faces, and their responses were largely negative. Most of the horses also viewed the threatening photos with their left eye.
A few hours later, the same models appeared with neutral expressions. When interacting with the “angry” humans, the horses’ heartbeats quickened, and they turned their heads to focus on the individuals with their left eye.
For the first time, it was recorded that horses could recognize a person’s emotional state hours after seeing their photo. Even more remarkable was the fact that they prejudged strangers based on photos, which in turn influenced how they behaved upon meeting them in person for the first time.
4. The First GIF
In the 1800s, the horse was the primary mode of transportation. This led to a heated debate: Did a galloping horse ever manage to lift all four hooves off the ground at once?
Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University, was a proud owner of racehorses. Eager to settle the debate and gain a deeper understanding of horse locomotion (he also hoped to make his horses faster), he enlisted the help of a brilliant photographer. Eadweard Muybridge was given the challenging task of capturing a horse mid-gallop.
The challenge? Photography technology at the time had such a long exposure time that a person had to remain perfectly still to avoid being captured as a blur. Remarkably, Muybridge overcame this by inventing a shutter that could close in just one-thousandth of a second.
In 1878, he set up a racetrack equipped with cameras. As a horse galloped over trip wires, it triggered a sequence of photographs. One of the images confirmed that horses were indeed airborne at one point. Muybridge took it a step further by inventing a device that allowed the images to be shown in motion—essentially creating the world’s first GIF, which would go on to inspire movies as we know them today.
3. Clones At The Olympics
Horses have been successfully cloned since 2003. However, about four years later, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) prohibited cloned horses and their descendants from competing in the Olympic Games. Since these clones were typically created from high-performing champions, the FEI believed that they would possess an unfair edge in competition.
In 2012, the governing body reassessed the situation. They discovered that clones were 98 percent identical to the original horse. While this was a minor difference, it led to the reversal of the ban. Other factors contributed to this decision, including the realization that just because a donor horse held records did not guarantee the clone would inherit its extraordinary abilities.
The rider, training, environment, and nutrition all contribute to an athlete's competitive abilities. In other words, even if 10 clones are created from the same horse and raised in identical conditions, they will not all perform the same. Clones must undergo the same development process as naturally born horses to make it to the Games. Since only about 300 animals qualify for each Olympic Games, a clone has to prove its worth just as much as any other contender.
2. Britain’s First Guide Horse
Mohammed Salim Patel draws attention wherever he goes. As a visually impaired individual, Patel cannot see the reactions of those around him. However, the commotion he and his guide horse cause in Blackburn's marketplace is unmistakable.
While walking through the market one day, Patel could hear the sound of cell phones snapping photos of Digby, his American miniature horse. The choice to have a horse instead of a dog as a guide was not about standing out, but about overcoming Patel's fear of dogs. Without a guide dog, the 23-year-old had to rely on people for help. Digby, raised at a pony therapy farm in North Yorkshire, is Britain’s first guide horse for the blind.
In 2018, the duo began their training together with plans to complete the program by 2020. After graduation, the little horse will head to its own miniature stable at Patel’s residence. While having a horse as a guide might seem like an odd choice, there are advantages. In addition to guiding, miniature horses typically live for about 45 years, much longer than dogs, and are perfectly capable of doubling as a shopping carrier.
1. Illegal Frog Juice
In the high-stakes world of horse racing, an injured racehorse can be a major inconvenience. While the use of illegal painkillers is not a new practice, regulators continue to crack down on it. These substances are often used to keep injured horses running, but such treatments ultimately lead to the horses breaking down.
In 2012, an unusual rumor began to spread: trainers were using a painkiller that was 40 times stronger than morphine, and it came from a frog. It took months for samples to be seized and analyzed.
This substance, known as dermorphin, was derived from the secretions of the waxy monkey tree frog. Its easy availability indicated that most of it was likely produced synthetically. The drug caused horses to become euphoric, hyperactive, and pain-free.
Dermorphin was also known to enhance performance. Several horses that tested positive for it had secured substantial winnings in their recent races. Its extreme potency led to dermorphin being labeled as one of the most egregious and bizarre drug violations in the industry.
