A horse that could ride you:
Wait — is that a real horse next to that dog? It is, and her name is Thumbelina. She’s the smallest horse in the world, standing less than 40 cm tall. She weighs 40 kg, which might be close to what a kid weighs! In fact, her parents are miniature horses, weighing around 90 kg – about the same as a human grown-up. Normal-sized horses can weigh 600 kg or more, so these furry friends are tiny. To top it off, Thumbelina was born a dwarf: she won’t ever grow to her parents’ full adult size. She’s so small that if you stood a loaf of bread on end, it would reach to her shoulders. Meanwhile, the world’s BIGGEST horse is Big Jake. He stands over two metres tall, and weighs around 1,100 kg. That’s way more than a person, even a grown-up!
Wee ones: Tiny Thumbelina has 2 front feet and 2 back feet, like any horse. How many horseshoes does she need to wear?
Little kids: Horses like oats. If you feed Thumbelina 2 bowls of Cheerios for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner, how many bowls will she eat today? Bonus: The seat of a kid’s chair is around 18 cm high. At 40 cm Thumbelina is barely taller — but by how much?
Big kids: If Thumbelina is 40 cm tall, how much shorter than you is she? Bonus: If a bunch of 100 kg dwarf horses want to play tug-of-war against Big Jake, how many dwarfs need to pile up to weigh as much as Jake?
Answers:
Wee ones: 4 horseshoes.
Little kids: 6 bowls. Bonus: 22 cm.
Big kids: Different for everyone…find out your height, then subtract 40. Bonus: 11 horses.
Wee ones: Tiny Thumbelina has 2 front feet and 2 back feet, like any horse. How many horseshoes does she need to wear?
Little kids: Horses like oats. If you feed Thumbelina 2 bowls of Cheerios for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner, how many bowls will she eat today? Bonus: The seat of a kid’s chair is around 18 cm high. At 40 cm Thumbelina is barely taller — but by how much?
Big kids: If Thumbelina is 40 cm tall, how much shorter than you is she? Bonus: If a bunch of 100 kg dwarf horses want to play tug-of-war against Big Jake, how many dwarfs need to pile up to weigh as much as Jake?
Answers:
Wee ones: 4 horseshoes.
Little kids: 6 bowls. Bonus: 22 cm.
Big kids: Different for everyone…find out your height, then subtract 40. Bonus: 11 horses.