the.com/horse
a thousand-pound prey animal we somehow convinced to carry us into war
means A large four-legged hoofed mammal, domesticated for riding, pulling, and carrying, known for its speed and strength.
from From Old English 'hors,' tracing back to Proto-Germanic 'hrussa' — cousins survive in Dutch 'ros' and German 'Ross.' The deeper Indo-European root is uncertain, possibly tied to a word meaning 'to run' or 'leap.' Curiously, English later borrowed the unrelated Latin-derived 'equine' and 'cavalry' for the same animal, leaving 'horse' as the homely native term beside its fancier foreign relatives.
- vision
- Sees nearly 360 degrees, but not its own nose
- sleep
- Can doze standing up via leg-locking tendons
- no vomit
- Physically cannot throw up, ever
- speed
- Sprints near 55 mph at full gallop
- horsepower
- Actually outputs around 15 horsepower briefly
secretariat — racehorse who won the triple crown in 1973 with a record 31-length victory in the belmont stakes
man o' war — undefeated thoroughbred who won 20 of 21 races between 1919-1920
bucephalus — alexander the great's warhorse, reportedly tamed by alexander in macedon around 343 bc