Top 10 Facts About Horses

THE Hennessy Gold Cup will be run at Newbury tomorrow, so here are some horsey facts

1. The Hennessy Gold Cup has been won more often (nine times) by horses whose names begin with the letter B than any other letter.

2. The Grand National, on the other hand, has been won most often by horses beginning with R.

3. The horse is the sixth most mentioned animal in the Bible, after sheep, lamb, lion, ox and ram.

4. The song Jingle Bells was originally composed by James Pierpont as a Thanksgiving song in 1857 under the title One Horse Open Sleigh.

5. The Diagram Prize for the oddest book title in 2004 was won by Bulletproof Your Horse...

6. …and in 2003, the winner was The Big Book of Lesbian horse Stories.

7. There are more horses in the USA than any other country but Mongolia has most horses per head of population.

8. The horse on which Lady godiva was said to have ridden naked through Coventry was called Aethenoth, which means Noble Audacity.

9. The moons of Mars are named after the horses that drew the chariot of Ares (the Greek name for war god Mars): Phobos (fear) and Deimos (panic).

10. “All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife" (Daniel Boone).