These horse trivia questions and answers come in five rounds: breeds and where they come from, colors and markings, parts of the horse and how it is measured, gaits, tack and riding words, and horses in history.
Read the full guide
Horse trivia questions with answers for a riding club
Breeds and where they come from runs from the Clydesdale to the Akhal-Teke. Colors and markings sorts bay from chestnut and a blaze from a sock. Parts of the horse and how it is measured covers the withers, the frog and the poll. Gaits, tack and riding words counts the beats of a trot and names the cinch. Horses in history and at work meets Bucephalus, Marengo and the pit pony.
For a pony camp or a horse-mad family
Questions come ten at a time. A tap on a choice shows the right answer, a short reason and the page it was read on. Scored round asks 20 and holds the marks until the end.
Questions and answers
What are some easy horse trivia questions?
At which point is a horse's height measured? What color are the mane and tail of a bay? Bucephalus was the horse of which commander? The answers are the withers, black and Alexander the Great.
How do horses sleep?
Both standing up and lying down. The stay apparatus, an arrangement of muscles, tendons and ligaments, lets a horse enter a light sleep on its feet with almost no muscular effort.
What is the difference between a horse and a pony?
For many kinds of competition a pony is a horse that measures up to 14.2 hands at the withers. Breed matters as well: most registries call the small Icelandic a horse.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the Wikipedia article linked under it, usually the article on the breed, the color or the piece of tack. Racing records and living horses are left out, and nothing here is riding or horse-care advice.
The Akhal-Teke, noted for the metallic coat of some of its horses, is a breed of which country?Answer: Turkmenistan. Source: Wikipedia: Akhal-Teke
All modern Thoroughbreds trace their pedigrees to how many stallions imported into England?Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Thoroughbred
The Appaloosa goes back to horses bred by which people of the Pacific Northwest?Answer: The Nez Perce. Source: Wikipedia: Appaloosa
The Camargue horse is a traditional working breed of the south of which country?Answer: France. Source: Wikipedia: Camargue horse
The Clydesdale, a breed of draft horse, takes its name from a district of which country?Answer: Scotland. Source: Wikipedia: Clydesdale horse
The Connemara pony is a breed of which country?Answer: Ireland. Source: Wikipedia: Connemara pony
The Falabella, a breed of small horse, comes from which country?Answer: Argentina. Source: Wikipedia: Falabella
The Fjord horse, small but very strong, comes from the mountains of which country?Answer: Norway. Source: Wikipedia: Fjord horse
The Friesian horse began in a province of which country?Answer: The Netherlands. Source: Wikipedia: Friesian horse
The Haflinger was developed in northern Italy and which other country during the late 19th century?Answer: Austria. Source: Wikipedia: Haflinger
Horse breeds are loosely sorted by temperament into hot bloods, cold bloods and which third group?Answer: Warmbloods. Source: Wikipedia: Horse breed
Icelandic horses are at times the size of a pony. What do most registries for the breed call the animal?Answer: A horse. Source: Wikipedia: Icelandic horse
The Lipizzan was developed in the sixteenth century in which empire?Answer: The Habsburg Empire. Source: Wikipedia: Lipizzan
The Morgan horse traces back to one foundation sire. What was the horse first called?Answer: Figure. Source: Wikipedia: Morgan horse
Most Arabian horses show a distinctive profile of the face. What is it called?Answer: A dished profile. Source: Wikipedia: Arabian horse
The Paso Fino, a naturally gaited horse, goes back to horses brought from Spain to which region?Answer: The Caribbean. Source: Wikipedia: Paso Fino
The Percheron, a draft horse, takes its name from a former province of which country?Answer: France. Source: Wikipedia: Percheron
The Shetland pony comes from islands that belong to which country?Answer: Scotland. Source: Wikipedia: Shetland pony
The Shire horse of England once towed which craft, when canals were the main way to move goods?Answer: Barges. Source: Wikipedia: Shire horse
The Spanish Riding School, which trains Lipizzaner horses, is in which city?Answer: Vienna. Source: Wikipedia: Spanish Riding School
The Tennessee Walking Horse is known for which gait of its own?Answer: The running-walk. Source: Wikipedia: Tennessee Walking Horse
What is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia called?Answer: A brumby. Source: Wikipedia: Brumby
The word "punch" in Suffolk Punch, an English draft horse, is an old word for what?Answer: A short stout person. Source: Wikipedia: Suffolk Punch
Colors and markings 12
A bay horse has a reddish-brown or brown body. What color are its mane, tail and lower legs?Answer: Black. Source: Wikipedia: Bay (horse)
The Appaloosa is best known for which kind of coat?Answer: A colorful spotted coat. Source: Wikipedia: Appaloosa
Buckskin is sometimes taken for a breed. What is it?Answer: A color of horse. Source: Wikipedia: Buckskin (horse)
The cream gene acting on a chestnut coat produces which color?Answer: Palomino. Source: Wikipedia: Cream gene
Gray horses are typically born a darker color. By what age is the coat completely or almost completely white?Answer: 6 to 12 years. Source: Wikipedia: Gray horse
Horses of the same color can be told apart by what?Answer: Their unique markings. Source: Wikipedia: Horse markings
In horse markings, a stocking and a sock are both found where?Answer: On the legs. Source: Wikipedia: Horse markings
In horse markings, blaze, stripe, star and snip are all found where?Answer: On the face. Source: Wikipedia: Horse markings
On a chestnut horse, how do the mane and tail compare with the reddish-to-brown coat?Answer: They are the same color or lighter. Source: Wikipedia: Chestnut (horse color)
What is the coat of a pinto horse like?Answer: Large patches of white and another color. Source: Wikipedia: Pinto horse
Which coat pattern is an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body?Answer: Roan. Source: Wikipedia: Roan (horse)
Which mark does a dun horse always have?Answer: A dark stripe down the middle of its back. Source: Wikipedia: Dun gene
Parts of the horse and how it is measured 16
A horse that curls back its upper lip and bares its front teeth while it breathes in is showing which response?Answer: The flehmen response. Source: Wikipedia: Flehmen response
Among land mammals, what is notable about the eye of a horse?Answer: It is one of the largest. Source: Wikipedia: Equine vision
At which point of the body is the height of a horse measured?Answer: The withers. Source: Wikipedia: Horse
By what age does a horse reach full adult development?Answer: Five. Source: Wikipedia: Horse
For many kinds of competition, a pony is officially a horse that measures up to how many hands at the withers?Answer: 14.2. Source: Wikipedia: Pony
Hippology is the study of what?Answer: Horses. Source: Wikipedia: Hippology
How can the age of a horse be estimated from its mouth?Answer: From the wear and eruption of its teeth. Source: Wikipedia: Horse teeth
How do horses sleep?Answer: Both standing up and lying down. Source: Wikipedia: Horse
How does a hinny usually differ from a mule?Answer: It is smaller, with shorter ears. Source: Wikipedia: Hinny
The mane grows along the top of the neck from the poll to which point?Answer: The withers. Source: Wikipedia: Mane (horse)
On a horse, what is the chestnut, apart from a coat color?Answer: A hard growth on the inner side of the leg. Source: Wikipedia: Chestnut (horse anatomy)
Until what age is an equine called a foal?Answer: One year. Source: Wikipedia: Foal
What is the triangular part on the underside of a hoof called?Answer: The frog. Source: Wikipedia: Frog (horse anatomy)
What lets a horse doze lightly while it stands?Answer: The stay apparatus. Source: Wikipedia: Stay apparatus
Where is the poll of a horse?Answer: Right behind or between the ears. Source: Wikipedia: Poll (livestock)
Who is a farrier?Answer: A specialist in the care of hooves and the fitting of horseshoes. Source: Wikipedia: Farrier
Gaits, tack and riding words 16
A halter is also known by which name?Answer: A headcollar. Source: Wikipedia: Halter
An ambling gait is faster than a walk. How many beats does it have?Answer: Four. Source: Wikipedia: Ambling gait
The canter is a controlled gait of how many beats?Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Canter and gallop
How does a rider sit in a sidesaddle?Answer: Aside, with both legs on one side. Source: Wikipedia: Sidesaddle
How many beats does the trot have?Answer: Two. Source: Wikipedia: Trot
Icelandic horses have two gaits of their own beyond the usual ones. One is the flying pace. What is the other called?Answer: The tölt. Source: Wikipedia: Icelandic horse
In barrel racing, a rodeo event, what must horse and rider do?Answer: Run around preset barrels in the fastest time. Source: Wikipedia: Barrel racing
In longeing, how does the horse move?Answer: In a circle around the handler. Source: Wikipedia: Longeing
In Western riding, what is a girth called?Answer: A cinch. Source: Wikipedia: Girth (tack)
Polo is played on horseback with what?Answer: A stick and a ball. Source: Wikipedia: Polo
The Pony Club was founded in Britain in which year?Answer: 1929. Source: Wikipedia: Pony Club
What does a martingale control?Answer: How the horse carries its head. Source: Wikipedia: Martingale (tack)
What does a stirrup hold?Answer: The foot of the rider. Source: Wikipedia: Stirrup
What is a gymkhana, in the horse world?Answer: An event of speed pattern racing and timed games on horseback. Source: Wikipedia: Gymkhana (equestrian)
What is the equipment worn by a horse at work, such as a saddle and a bridle, called as a group?Answer: Tack. Source: Wikipedia: Horse tack
Which piece of equipment is used to direct a horse?Answer: The bridle. Source: Wikipedia: Bridle
Horses in history and at work 15
The Botai settlements, long thought to show the earliest taming of horses, are in which modern country?Answer: Kazakhstan. Source: Wikipedia: Domestication of the horse
Bucephalus was the horse of which ancient commander?Answer: Alexander the Great. Source: Wikipedia: Bucephalus
Copenhagen was the war horse of which commander at Waterloo?Answer: The Duke of Wellington. Source: Wikipedia: Copenhagen (horse)
Eohippus, an early ancestor of the horse, was about the size of what?Answer: A dog. Source: Wikipedia: Evolution of the horse
The genus Equus includes horses, asses and which other animals?Answer: Zebras. Source: Wikipedia: Equus (genus)
How many wheels does a chariot have?Answer: Two. Source: Wikipedia: Chariot
Marengo was the war horse of which ruler?Answer: Napoleon. Source: Wikipedia: Marengo (horse)
Morgan horses served in the American Civil War as what?Answer: Cavalry horses, on both sides. Source: Wikipedia: Morgan horse
The tarpan, a free-ranging horse of the Eurasian steppe, died out in which period?Answer: The early 20th century. Source: Wikipedia: Tarpan
What does a horse collar do for a horse in harness?Answer: Spreads the load across its shoulders and chest. Source: Wikipedia: Horse collar
What is a zebroid?Answer: The offspring of a zebra and another equine. Source: Wikipedia: Zebroid
What kind of horse is a draft horse?Answer: A large, heavy horse suited to farm labor. Source: Wikipedia: Draft horse
What was the destrier?Answer: The best-known war horse of the Middle Ages. Source: Wikipedia: Destrier
Where did a pit pony work?Answer: Underground in mines. Source: Wikipedia: Pit pony
Why did a stagecoach journey need more than one team?Answer: The journey was long enough to need a change of horses. Source: Wikipedia: Stagecoach
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Questions and wrong choices are our own. Each explanation restates, in our own sentences, facts from the page named and linked beside it. Each answer was checked on 2026-10-03 against the English Wikipedia article linked beside it (https://en.wikipedia.org, text under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license), fetched that day: usually the article on the breed, the coat color, the part of the horse or the piece of tack. Left out on purpose: racing records and winners, prices, living horses, and anything about feeding, health or training. Nothing here is advice on riding or on keeping a horse. Not repeated here, because other quizzes on this site already ask them: how many inches make a hand, how many toes a horse has, what a mare, a filly and a mule are, what a horseshoe is for, the color of a palomino, the name of the Quarter Horse, the hackamore, why mustangs are feral, and the four H's of the youth clubs. Levels are our estimate: easy is fair for any table, medium suits people who ride, hard will stump most of them. Each round is stored easiest first, and each question carries the date its page was read. Licence: own work