12 CapitalPress.com
December 1, 2017
Test your Equine IQ
is it from?)
15. What famous television
horse was sold at auction in
2010 to RFD-TV for $266,000?
16. What is the collective
term for the offspring of a stal-
lion?
By TERRELL WILLIAMS
For the Capital Press
1. What legendary horse
made national headlines in
1973?
2. What is the highest point
of a horse’s back?
3. In the sport of fox hunt-
ing, what is a dog fox?
4. In horse racing, what are
silks?
5. What measurement is
commonly used to determine
horse height?
6. In driving, what is a
travois?
7. When hauling horses in-
terstate, what two forms of pa-
perwork may be required?
8. What were the two major
occupations of Dick Francis?
9. What horse is named “Al-
ways Dreaming”?
10. What classic novel did
Anna Sewell publish in 1877?
11. In breeding, what is the
purpose of an embryo transfer?
12. In professional rodeo,
what is the most noticeable dif-
ference between a bronc rider’s
17. Within an inch or two,
what is the world record for
the highest horse and rider
jump?
18. What is the origin of the
American Mustang?
19. What is the greatest dan-
ger of a puncture wound?
20. Who built the Trojan
Horse?
BONUS
QUESTION:
What do you call an Amish
guy with his hand in a horse’s
mouth?
Terrell Williams/For the Capital Press
This foal, born last spring, is out of a Haflinger mare owned by Hel-
en and Harold Ruby of Wendell, Idaho, and sired by a Clydesdale
stallion owned by John and Gert Clarkson of Sawtooth Clydes-
dales in Gooding, Idaho. Gert Clarkson says the Haflinger-Clydes-
dale cross is nice because it has the smaller size of the Haflinger,
so it is easier to harness, but still has the strength and gentleness
of the Clydesdales.
saddle and a common Western
saddle?
13. What is a simple test to
determine if a horse is dehy-
drated? (Bonus question: At
least how many gallons of wa-
ter should a healthy horse drink
per day?)
14. What color is a Friesian
horse? (Bonus question: Where
HORSE QUIZ ANSWERS
1. The Trojan Horse. (Just kidding.
You’re right, it was Secretariat.)
2. The withers is the highest part of
a horse’s back, located at the base
of the neck between the shoulder
blades.
3. A dog fox is a male fox.
4. Silks are the colored clothes worn
by jockeys.
5. A hand (four inches) measures
horse height from the withers to the
ground.
6. A travois, used by American
Indians, is two poles dragging on the
ground with a platform for carrying
a load.
7. Horses traveling interstate state
(and occasionally across county
lines) should travel with a current EIA
(coggins test) form showing a nega-
tive blood result. Brand inspections
also are required by most states to
verify ownership. A third requirement
in some states is documentation of
vaccinations.
8. Dick Francis (1920-2010) was a
professional jockey in England who,
after retirement, wrote and co-wrote
more than 100 mystery novels set in
and about the horse racing industry.
9. Always Dreaming is the horse that
won the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
10. “Black Beauty” was Sewell’s one
and only novel.
11. An embryo transfer, whereby a 6-
to 8-day-old embryo is transferred to
a recipient mare, allows, for example,
a competition mare to continue
competing.
12. The rodeo saddle has no saddle
horn.
13. A healthy horse should drink at
least five gallons of water a day. If
not, dehydration can occur. To test for
dehydration, pinch a small amount of
skin on the neck between your thumb
and forefinger then let go. The skin
should immediately flatten back into
place. But if the horse is dehydrated,
the skin will slowly recoil and appear
wrinkled.
14. The Friesian is a breed of
solid black horses originating in the
Netherlands.
15. Rural cable network RFD-TV
bought Trigger from the Roy Rogers
museum, where the Palomino stal-
lion had been stuffed and displayed
for more than 40 years. (Roy’s dog
Bullet, also stuffed, went to the same
buyer for $35,000.)
16. A stud’s offspring is his “get.”
17. Guinness World Records lists the
highest jump ever as 8-feet-1-inch,
cleared by a Thoroughbred stallion
with a Chilean rider in 1949.
18. The Mustang originated, starting
in 1493, from the progeny of horses
brought to the new world by Spanish
conquistadors.
19. Tetanus infections can develop
from punctures by nails, splinters,
bullet wounds and “quicking” during
horseshoeing. The tetanus germ
cannot grow in the presence of air, so
any wound deep enough to exclude
air is a potential site for a tetanus
infection. The best prevention for this
possibly fatal condition is vaccination
and annual boosters.
20. The Trojan Horse (as told about
in Homer’s “Iliad” in Greek literature)
was built and used by the Greeks.
Bonus answer: A mechanic.
(Sources include “The Horse Lover’s
Bible,” “The Everything Horse Book,”
“Encyclopedia of the Horse” and the
internet.)
Score:
16 to 20: Top Hand
11 to 15: Seasoned Buckaroo
6 to 10: Weekend Wrangler
5 or less: Tenderfoot (or maybe a
Rhinestone Cowboy)
L17-2/101