were horses made for running?? and do they eat sugar and do people eat horse??

Question

also can a horse kill you with one kick and why would they attack a person?? can't find these answers on ask.com

Answer 1

First of all, let me debunk a few myths and half-truths that I have seen in the other responses to your question. A horse in the wild ONLY runs when it is trying to escape something, like a predator that wants to kill it for food. Wild horses DO NOT RUN for pleasure- it takes far too much energy out of them. Horses are PREY animals. That means that other animals will attack and eat them in the wild. The 3 main natural enemies of the horse in the wild are the wolf, the bear, and the mountain lion ( also called a cougar in some areas) and horses have evolved specialized defenses against each of these threats.

Consider for a moment how each of these predators might attack a horse. Wolves and bears will attack from the ground, usually from the rear or the flank of the horse. As a defense, horses have long, thick tails, and the roots of the tail hair have no nerve endings in them. A horse's tail serves both as a flyswatter in the summer, and also as a defense against predators, because when the wolf or bear grabs it, the hair comes away easily. That way, all the predator gets is a mouthful of hair, instead of being able to bite into the flesh or meat. Mountain lions are a bit different. Unlike wolves or bears, the mountain lion's favored hunting method is one involving ambush. What the typical lion does is to wait in ambush, and then jump off of something, like a tree or a cliff, onto the horse's back. The lion then kills the horse by biting through the top of the animal's neck and severing the spinal cord. To help prevent this, all horses have long, thick manes- and again, there are no nerves in the base of the mane, so the horse can't feel it when the hair is pulled on or they lose it. When they are attacked by a lion, the hair on their manes serves as barrier, and the lion only gets the hair and can't bite down into the flesh. Horses also have another major defense against this type of attack- they can run, and along with that, they can buck and try to throw the lion off.


Horses in the wild are NOT made for running, as a rule- in fact, as I mentioned earlier, most of them avoid running except in dire emergencies where they have no other choice. Kicking and biting are secondary defenses which horses resort to when cornered, or in situations where they may be fighting with another horse ( such as when wild stallions fight for control of a band of mares and for breeding rights to that band) or if, say, a mare is defending her foal from a predator or a stallion. ( This is one of the reasons why mares will isolate themselves from their herd when they are going to foal, and why they also foal at night. Stallions will sometimes kill a newborn foal, and the mare needs protection from the other natural predators. Since these predators are normally only active during daylight hours, she is safer foaling at night or at dusk. )

Now, where domesticated horses are concerned, things are very different. Humans have learned, over many thousands of years, how to exploit and improve upon the horse's natural defenses, and also how to develop horses which are suited to different purposes and uses, such as racing. As a result of this long association, we now have multiple breeds of horses. Some of these, such as Thoroughbreds, are very suited for racing and other sports where they work at high speeds, such as steeplechasing. Arabians, which carry the distinction of being world's oldest horse breed, have also been used and developed for this purpose, and indeed, all of our modern Thoroughbreds have Arabian ancestry and genes in their makeup. Quarter Horses, which take their name from the short distance races they run in, are another breed which was developed from Arabian and Thoroughbred stock. These animals are natural sprinters, and they have body traits which make them ideal as riding horses and for ranch or stock work out West. There are other breeds which were developed out of this same breed base- the Morgan, the American Saddlebred, the Hackney horse and pony, and even the Appaloosa, to a degree.

Horses can eat sugar, yes, but NO, they should not be fed large amounts of it. Many horses of the breeds I mentioned a moment ago, such as Arabians and Thoroughbreds, have trouble metabolizing the sugar, and it can make them what we call "hot" and hard to ride or train. This is why feeding such animals large amounts of sweet feed, which has molasses in it, is not recommended. There is no harm in giving a horse an occasional sugar cube as treat, provided that one does not make a habit of this. Horses fed lots of treats by hand will become spoiled, and this can lead to nipping and biting- both extremely unpleasant and dangerous habits for any horse to have. As for kicking- yes, a kick from a horse CAN KILL if it hits you in the right place, such as on your head or face. Domestic horses normally only kick when they are startled or if they have been mistreated or abused in some way. No horse is ever born mean- they get that way through mistreatment and abuse by people !! Horses which have endured a lot of abusive treatment will resort to kicking, biting, striking ( a sudden, explosive kick with the front feet) and rearing in self defense. They do this when they are feeling threatened, and as a way of preventing themselves from BEING threatened by anyone or anything that might try to harm them.

Horses that attack people are almost always horses which have been abused or hurt in some way by them. Horses have long memories, and they NEVER forget anyone who was cruel to them, no matter how much time goes by. They also never forget kindness and kind treatment, which means that they will often respond far better to a kind person than they will to someone who is rough or harsh.

I'm going to end by addressing the issue of horse consumption by people. The answer to your question is YES. People DO eat horsemeat in many parts of the world. In places like the Pacific Rim, including Japan, Korea, and the Southeast Asian countries, horsemeat, particularly young horsemeat, is considered to be a delicacy. This is also true throughout much of Europe, with France being the place where the most horsemeat is consumed there. The French, in fact, are rather hypocritical when it comes to this issue, because on the one hand they say they are anti- slautghter and anti-cruelty, and on the other, they love their horsemeat steaks and burgers. You can't climb both sides of a ladder at the same time, if you get my meaning. Either you consume horsemeat, or you don't. Here in the US, WE do not consume horsemeat, nor do we use it for pet food, contrary to popular belief. Most commercially prepared dog and cat food is made with poultry and beef by products, and some of the cat food actually has fish and tuna in it. None of the major pet food companies that I am aware of use horsemeat in any of their products. If you doubt the truth of this, READ THE LABELS on the cans the next time you buy food for your dog or cat. Federal law REQUIRES manufacturers to list ALL ingredients in every can of pet food- and the first item on that list in most cases, other than water, is usually poultry by products. Failure to disclose all ingredients, or using ingredients other than those listed, can get these companies into a LOT of legal trouble, which is why they don't do this. People here want to know what they are buying and feeding to their pets- we have all seen the headlines from the recent recalls of tainted food from China and other places. Part of the reason why the US has such laws, in fact, is to prevent such tragedies.

I hope this answers all of your questions, and gives you some food for thought.

Answer 2

Horses were definately made to run. Some brrrds are fast-- like the Thoroughbreds-- and some are a lot slower, like the drafts.

They like sugar just like most animals-- but moderation is key. It's not very good for them.

Some countries eat horse meat, but it's illegal in the US.

Yes a horse can kill you with one well-placed kick, but 99% of the time the person is at fault in the rare cases they do kick. Most of the ones that hurt people either do it accidentally, are wild, get frightened, are protecting their foal, or were abused previously and don't trust humans. Sane horses just don't "attack" people for no reason.

Answer 3

Some horses were more bred for racing, like thoroughbreds, Arabians and some quarter horses...all in different racing conditions though...yes they will eat sugar but it's not good for them, no nutritional value and some may not eat it. In some countries they do eat horse, horses do go to slaughter in canada and the usa quite regularly. Sad but true, and it is shipping to other countries. If it kicked you in the right spot it could kill you, so if you got kicked in the head yes depending on how close you were ect...you could be killed. Horses don't attack people but some are wild, being trained, get spooked and can react like any animal that is scared by bolting, bucking or lashing out....I have been kicked before in the gut when I was young, the horse was getting annoyed with us following it around his pen and gave us warning he was getting ticked off (ears back, tail swishing) we kept pestering and I got booted for it, learned my lesson. There are so many different breeds of horse some bred for running, some for packing, some are better for herding ect.

Answer 4

A horse CAN kill you with one kick, depending on what part of your body they hit.

They would attack a person if they're spooked/terrified.

Horses enjoy to run. They weren't ''made'' for anything in particular, but even in the wild, they tend to run for enjoyment.

They shouldn't be fed sugar, except maybe the occasional sugar cube treat.

In some parts of the world, yes, people do eat horses.

Answer 5

yes horses were made for running...just that some horses are build differently, like the quarter horse...its names like that because it can run a quarter of a mile pretty fast, and after that it will slow down...the thorough bred is the one used to racing and so on...yes they eat sugar cubes, and yes people do eat horse meat

Answer 6

horses are flight animals.meaning in the wild they run from the hunters!they made great beasts of burden plus food for chinese or japanese etc, cant rember which;) they still eat them today!they can kill with a kick to the head or chest but otherwise they would rather take flight then attack a person! for them to attack they would have to be cornered and in dire circumstances with no way out! but they make such great friends and pets who in their right mind who would want to eat them?!!!

Answer 7

Yes,and walking,trotting,galloping,etc.
Yes,as a treat.
Yes,in Europe,it's quite common for people to eat horse,and in some other countries as well.
Yes,they have very strong,sharp,hooves.
Because they are frightened ,angry,or in pain.