Learn with Fun Horse Quizzes! Mysterious Facts about Horses Elementary School Kids Want to Know

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

There are many things about horses that we think we know but actually don’t.

The movements of their manes and ears, and even their whinnies, each have meaning.

When you learn about how horses feel and how their bodies work, you’ll grow to love them even more.

So here, we’ve gathered lots of fun quizzes that elementary school students can enjoy while learning—about things like what hooves really are, the order of the twelve zodiac animals, and why horses swish their tails.

Try them before you visit a zoo or a ranch, and your observations will become even more interesting.

Give it a try with everyone!

Learn with fun through a horse quiz! Mysteries about horses that elementary school students want to know (1–10)

Before you get on a horse’s back, what should you be careful about?

Call the horse’s name out loud
approach from behind
Approach slowly from the front

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Approach slowly from the front

Horses can get startled if you approach them from behind. If you approach slowly from the front, they will feel more at ease. Make sure the horse is calm before you mount. Gently stroking them will help reassure them.

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When a horse drinks water, what does it use to scoop it up?

hand
tongue
hoof

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tongue

When horses drink water, they use their tongues to scoop it up. They don’t use their hands or hooves. Rather than lapping with their long tongues, they drink by gulping it down. They can drink more than 20 liters in a day, and they get especially thirsty after exercise.

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Why are horses’ noses so well developed?

to make it look cool
To smell a nice fragrance
to take in a lot of air

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to take in a lot of air

Because horses need a lot of oxygen when they run, their noses are well developed and allow them to take in large amounts of air. When they snort, it’s also a gesture for sensing smells. They even communicate feelings with their herd through scent. Their nostrils are wide, so they can inhale plenty of air.

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Learn with fun horse quizzes! Fascinating horse facts elementary school kids want to know (11–20)

Why does a horse look like it’s “spitting” saliva?

Because I'm angry.
To breathe
Because foam is coming out of (my) mouth.

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Because foam is coming out of (my) mouth.

When horses run or exercise, they produce a lot of drool and foam. Because the saliva turns into foam and spills out of their mouths, it can look like they’re “spitting.” That’s why you may see them moving their mouths as if they’re working out sand.

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What does it mean when a horse’s ears twitch?

I'm yawning because I'm sleepy.
scared
being attentive to surrounding sounds and presences

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being attentive to surrounding sounds and presences

Horses move their ears to understand what’s going on around them. When their ears twitch, it’s because they’re picking up various sounds and signs and staying alert. Ears are like a mirror of their feelings.

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What can a horse’s hoof be compared to?

fingernail
heel
knee

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fingernail

A horse’s hoof is actually an evolved form of a “finger nail.” Horses have legs suited for running, and the hoof at the end serves a role similar to a human fingernail. Because it protects the feet when they kick off the ground to run, caring for the hooves is very important for a horse’s health.

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What kind of leg movement does a horse’s “gallop” involve?

Run by quickly moving the front and back legs alternately.
Move while keeping all legs on the ground
Run by rhythmically placing the legs on the ground in sequence, with moments during which all the legs are off the ground.

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Run by rhythmically placing the legs on the ground in sequence, with moments during which all the legs are off the ground.

A gallop is the way a horse runs when it moves very fast, placing its legs on the ground in sequence. One distinctive feature is that, for a brief moment, all four legs are off the ground at the same time.

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