How do horses sleep standing up? Horses can doze while standing up. Horses are big animals. An adult can weigh from 227 to 900 kilograms. It can stand 0.9 to 1.7 meters tall. Let's look at how horses live and how a herd keeps watch.

A horse stands on a single toe on each foot, and the toe is covered by a hoof. Horses have a mane of coarse hair along the neck. Horses are grazers, and they mostly eat grass. These are some of the first things to look for on a horse.

A horse uses its ears to hear. Ears pointed stiffly forward mean the horse is alert. A horse sees mostly with each eye separately. This gives it a panoramic view. It has blind spots directly in front of it and directly behind it. Horses see color, but fewer colors than people do.

A mare gives birth to a baby horse called a foal. A mare carries her foal for about 11 months, which is usually 335 to 342 days. A foal can stand up within about an hour of being born. Let's meet the youngest horses in the herd.

Wild horses live in herds. A herd has one or two stallions, a group of mares, and their foals. Horses are prey animals. They depend on running away to stay safe. In a herd, some horses lie down while at least one stays standing to watch for danger. People ride horses, and a rider should wear a helmet every time and have a grown-up instructor nearby.

Words to know

• foal: baby horse
• mare: mother horse
• hoof: toe cover
• herd: horse group
• panoramic: very wide