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EAT LIKE A HORSE
Have you heard the saying “eat like a horse”?
It often means eating a large volume of food, devouring food or eating fast, helping yourself to someone else’s food, and other (sometimes) unflattering examples, like “making a pig of yourself”. That’s another crazy idiom meaning, among other things, eat too noisily or eat more that your share.
“Eat like a horse” is a contradiction, because for one thing, horses don’t eat fast. Nature built them to walk and graze all day long, snatching mouthfuls of feed here and there. This results in frequent and small meals, keeping their digestive systems moving and healthy.
Now, about eating noisily—when I feed my horses their supplements and their favorite pelleted food, they do eat like pigs!
Topper slobbers and loudly chomps (this despite receiving regular dental care, the slobbering is just plain poor manners). JJ tries to grab the feed bucket before I can get it into his stall, often spilling the contents into his feeder. Can you imagine grabbing your plate from the server at a restaurant, spilling everything on the table? Cappy closes his eyes and savors every bite, like it’s a scrumptious dessert. But don’t get too close to his feed bucket or he will pin his ears at you, clearly saying “Don’t even think about it!”
Truly an example of the three little pigs.
Each of them receive a portion of hay specific to their weight requirements. Still, they shove their hay around with their muzzles, trying to get to what they think are sweeter or more tender bits, and some good amount of their hay gets pushed under their stalls’ pipe rails into their neighbor’s side. So of course, the other horse, let’s say it’s Topper, thinks, “Oh hey! How nice of you. I’ll stop eating my own hay and eat yours instead.” Or, when Cappy’s hay is right on the border of his stall, Topper will try all kinds of contortions to reach it. This includes getting down on his knees, sticking his head under the lowest rail, and stretching his lips and tongue out to snatch any morsel he can, even when there’s plenty of hay in his own stall.
So, I guess I could say, my horses do eat like pigs. Shocking!
On a more serious note, horses’ digestive systems are very sensitive. Horses can get “colic”, which is a term for any type of digestive blockage, indigestion, gas, abdominal pain, etc. Colic can be deadly. Horses can also develop stomach ulcers.
Sudden changes in feed should be avoided, along with foods such as rhubarb, dairy products, potatoes, avocado, lawn clippings (because clippings ferment too quickly), tomatoes and other vegetables, as examples. However, apples and carrots are always welcome, in moderation.
So, is the idiom “eat like a horse” really correct? Or, do horses “eat like a pig”?
What’s really important here is to understand how and what horses should not eat, and to always provide them with good feed appropriate to their nutritional needs, exercise, fresh water, dental care and more.
Check out the internet for more information.
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Interesting Stories for Curious Kids: A Fascinating Collection of the Most Interesting, Unbelievable, and Craziest Stories on Earth!
Want to impress your buddies at school?
Want to learn a bunch of random facts about history, science, and the paranormal?
If you answered yes to either of those questions then pick up Interesting Stories for Curious Kids: A Fascinating Collection of the Most Interesting, Unbelievable, and Craziest Stories on Earth! This book is the coolest collection of interesting facts about a whole bunch of several different topics.
Here you will find the answers to some of the following:
- How did a dog, a horse, and a cat become TV and movie stars?
- What were the first video game consoles?
- Why can’t you break an egg in the palm of your hand?
- How do parrots talk?
- Did Alexander the Great love his horse more than anything else?
And much, much more!
You’ll be glued to the pages of this book reading about interesting facts, scary stories, and how to do a few neat science experiments. Interesting Stories for Curious Kids brings learning to you in a new, fun way that is sure to keep you reading.
Whether science, history, or just weird facts are your thing, you’re sure to find something in here that will keep you interested and turning the pages. So, open this book and your mind and see other things that you may not know existed.
From author Bill O’Neill for Readers 8-12.
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Little Sisters and Horses
I was a horse-crazy little sister that always got in the way of my older sister when she wanted to do anything that involved horses. I only sort of felt bad when Mom made them drag me along.
I especially remember one time when my sister, three years older than me, was getting ready to go somewhere. I think I was about seven. I remember because of what happened.
“Where ya’ goin’?” I asked her.
“I’m going to see a horse get shooed.”
Shooed? Why would someone shoo a horse away? Maybe I could catch it when they shooed it. Then it would be mine.
“I want to go too,” I whined.
“No! This is for my Girl Scout Badge. You’re just a Brownie.”
Mom overheard us. “Gayle, you can’t go unless Teresa goes too.”
Gayle huffed. “I don’t see why Teresa has to go everywhere with me.” She stomped her feet and headed for the door.
I ran after her, out the door and down the street.
To my surprise we ended up at my friend’s house. Holly was the luckiest girl in the world because her family had two horses, right in their own backyard! My family had a pool, and everyone said I was lucky, but I would’ve traded my pool in a minute for a horse.
I traipsed after Gayle all the way back to the horse barn. She walked fast and I could barely keep up.
A man had one of Holly’s horses tied up by his truck. It was Penny Boy, a palomino gelding with big brown eyes and a sweet face. My favorite.
Gayle joined her Girl Scout friends gathered near Penny Boy, said something, then they looked at me and giggled, while I stayed by myself, ready to burst into action whenever someone shooed the horse. Where is that horse anyway? I fidgeted in the hot sun.
Clang, clang, clang. The man banged a hammer on some big old iron thing set up by his truck. He held up something metal up in the air, squinting at it, then nodded his head before walking over to Penny Boy. He picked up one of Penny Boy’s front legs and held the metal thing against the bottom of his hoof.
I trotted over to Gayle and whispered. “When are they going to shoo the horse? What horse are they going to shoo anyway?” There were only Holly’s two horses there and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t shoo either of them.
Gayle looked at me like I was a creature from Mars. “That’s what he’s doing. He’s shooing Penny Boy now.”
“But why are they shooing Penny Boy? Don’t they want him anymore?”
Again, the look from my sister. “No—they are putting shoes ON him. See, that man is the shoer, and that’s a horseshoe he’s putting on Penny Boy.”
Thud, thud, thud. The man hammered the shoe onto Penny Boy’s hoof.
Ouch! I moved closer to see if it hurt Penny Boy.
“Teresa,” Gayle said, “he puts the nails into the hoof wall. That’s the outer part of the hoof. It’s just like our fingernails. It doesn’t hurt when Mom clips your nails, right? So, Penny Boy doesn´t feel any pain when the nails get hammered into the hoof wall.”
“Oh, so that’s what you meant when you said a horse was getting shooed today?” My heart and my hopes were shattered, as only a seven-year-old’s can be.
There were a few titters among the older girls. One of them spoke up. “Well, actually it’s called getting ‘shod’. That’s what we’re learning today. And that man is a farrier.”
“Oh.”
I never did get to catch a shooed horse that day. But I did learn a lot, and I had many wonderful adventures with Penny Boy in the years ahead. But that’s another story.
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Fish for Kids: A Junior Scientist’s Guide to Diverse Habitats, Colorful Species, and Life Underwater
Splash into the incredible world of fish with the Junior Scientists series for kids.
Get up close and personal with the fascinating fish that live all around the world. Fish for Kids is full of colorful photos and illustrations that help you explore 35 different species, from goldfish and neon tetras to eels and great white sharks!
- Unlike other fish books for kids, this one features hands-on activities and tips for going fishing or keeping your own aquarium.
- Learn how fish use camouflage, how they find food, and which fish can swim almost 70 miles per hour!
- Go beyond other fish books for kids with complete profiles on freshwater and saltwater fish, including where they live, how big they get, and more.
From author Kevin Kurtz for readers 8-12.
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Adventure to Mars: Rocket Kids
Blast off on a journey to Mars that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow two young kid astronauts, Neil and Kate, through an adventure full of mystery and excitement.
Making history as the first kids to enter space, and the first humans to ever walk on Mars, Neil and Kate knew they were in for something big with their mission to find water on the Red Planet. It didn’t take long, however, before they found themselves on an adventure of a lifetime that went beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.
From author Lizzie Lipman for Readers 8-12.
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Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares
Six months after Paola Santiago confronted the legendary La Llorona, life is nothing like she’d expected it to be. She is barely speaking to her best friends, Dante and Emma, and what’s worse, her mom has a totally annoying boyfriend. Even with her chupacabra puppy, Bruto, around, Pao can’t escape the feeling that she’s all alone in the world.
Pao has no one to tell that she’s having nightmares again, this time set in a terrifying forest. Even more troubling? At their center is her estranged father, an enigma of a man she barely remembers. And when Dante’s abuela falls mysteriously ill, it seems that the dad Pao never knew just might be the key to healing the eccentric old woman.
Pao’s search for her father will send her far from home, where she will encounter new monsters and ghosts, a devastating betrayal, and finally, the forest of her nightmares. Will the truths her father has been hiding save the people Pao loves, or destroy them?
From author Tehlor Mejia for Readers 8-12.
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Tiberius, Arapaima, and the Monster Eel
All seems idyllic in the small village of Winiperu, nestled in the Amazon rainforest among glittering lakes and waterfalls. But one day the fishermen come back empty-handed and afraid. A gigantic eel has swallowed up all the fish!
Adventurous 10-year-old Tiberius, and his best friend Sun-Raya, volunteer to set out on a quest to find the prehistoric Arapaima. This fish, that is “bigger than a chicken, bigger than a rabbit, bigger than a sheep, bigger than a cow, bigger than an elephant, and bigger than the Monster Eel” is the only thing that can save the village.
On their quest Tiberius, Sun-Raya, and the rest of the volunteers encounter wild animals and other dangers. Will they succeed in bringing the Arapaima safely back home? Can they learn from their experiences? And will Tiberius truly become, as the fortune-teller foretold, the youngest Grand Chief ever?
From author Patrick V. London for Readers 8-12.
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The Code Book: 140 Cryptograms
Welcome to Snoopers (formerly SpyCo)! Home of the world’s best spies.
As a good spy you need to encode and decode lots of messages. Your first assignment is to decode a spy book left behind by one of our former agents.
- 12 humorous short stories comprised of multiple cryptograms
- Suitable for kids or adults
- Hints are provided in the back of the book in case you get stuck
From author Andrew de Jong for Readers 8-12.
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President of the Whole Fifth Grade
Start counting your votes . . . and your friends.
When Brianna Justice’s hero, the famous celebrity chef Miss Delicious, speaks at her school and traces her own success back to being president of her fifth-grade class, Brianna determines she must do the same. She just knows that becoming president of her class is the first step toward her own cupcake-baking empire!
But when new student Jasmine Moon announces she is also running for president, Brianna learns that she may have more competition than she expected. Will Brianna be able to stick to her plan of working with her friends to win the election fairly? Or will she jump at the opportunity to steal votes from Jasmine by revealing an embarrassing secret?
This hilarious, heartfelt novel will appeal to any reader with big dreams, and the determination to achieve them.
From author Sherri Winston for Readers 8-12.
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Hannah Saves the World: Book 1
Hannah’s got a funny feeling that it’s up to her to save the entire world, but before she can do so, she and her skeptical best friend Mia have to figure out what they’re saving the world from!
As the girls’ detective work proceeds, they uncover a chain of clues that might unravel the children’s mystery of the vandalized town playground, but what about the massive space cruiser parked high in the stratosphere, and the aliens inside who are laying plans to invade Earth?
Can a pair of middle-school detectives really save the world?
From author A.M. Luzzader for Readers 8-12.
