Most track ponies at Churchill Downs are thoroughbreds, ex-racehorses. It’s their second chance at life, horses that didn’t run fast enough or got hurt. But they must be level-headed thoroughbreds because they have the same stride as a racehorse.
Track Pony Leading a Race Horse
Two Riding Together
The slick Thoroughbreds in their colorful saddle cloths at Churchill Downs catch everyone’s eye. That is, until a large, lead pony steps onto the track!
As a track “pony,” such ponies must be calm, confident, and strong to safely lead Thoroughbreds to the starting gate.
Companion Ponies Waiting for Race Horses
Riding Together
Kentucky Derby Museum celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Secretariat’s Triple Crown sweep and recognizes all aspects of the Secretariat’s greatness with a brand new, immersive exhibit.
The display of Fastest Finishes shows the speed of Secretariat and how far he was ahead of the other winners.
In 1999, Secretariat became the first Thoroughbred to be selected to have his own commemorative United States Postal stamp. It honors Secretariat, his iconic 1972 Triple Crown victory, and his record-setting pace during the Kentucky Derby.
Fastest Finishers at Churchill Downs
Secretariat Stamp
We saw a distinctive horse at the barn at Churchill Downs. “Albino” horses are a color type of horse born white and have pink skin, but they are not true biological albinos. They have slim heads, muscular necks, compact bodies, sloping shoulders, muscular croup, and long tails. Their eyes are blue, dark, or light brown rather than pink. Their hooves are often weak, but they have flat, smooth gait.
Albino Horse
Blue Eye of a Horse
Although it seems like the horse is rapidly eating straw, the “Hay Ball” provides mental enrichment and stimulation for the horse at the barn at Churchill Downs. It functions as a slow feeder, which makes it perfect to prevent boredom in the stables.
Playing with a Toy
A horse at the barn at Churchill Downs looking right at the photographer
Another Horse Looking at You
While on the Barn and Backyard Tour at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky, we saw many horses in barns posing for the photographers. Here are portraits of a couple of horses.
Looking at You
A Mixed Colored Horse
Here is an image of a Giant Anteater at Ark Encounter. Giant anteaters are the only terrestrial anteater species. They can run up to 30 miles per hour, but they are still excellent climbers and swimmers. Giant anteaters can flick their two-foot-long spiny tongues 150 times per minute to eat over 30,000 insects at 200 nests daily.
Giant Anteater the Ark
Binturong at Ark Encounter, known as bearcat, is an arboreal animal that is neither bear nor cat—it is a civet. Binturongs are excellent climbers, primarily arboreal, and prefer to live high in the forest canopies. They can rotate their ankles to allow them to climb down trees headfirst. They are also excellent swimmers!
Binturong at the Ark
A zonkey is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. Donkeys are closely related to zebras, and both belong to the horse family. Zonkeys are very rare.
At Ark Encounter, Cletus is a zonkey—a cross between Grant’s zebra and a mammoth donkey.
Zonkey Behind a Fence at the Ark
Zonkey at the Ark
Grant’s zebras, one at Ark Encounter, are the smallest of the six subspecies of plains zebras and the smallest zebra species overall. Are zebras black with white stripes or white with black stripes? It depends on how you look at it! While most zebras appear to have a white base coat with black striping, their skin is solid black.
Grant’s Zebra at the Ark
Named for the striking golden plumage on their heads, these beautiful cranes at Ark Encounter are the national bird of Uganda. African crowned cranes have an impressive six-foot wingspan and are one of only two crane species capable of perching in trees since they possess long hind toes.
African Crowned Crane at the Ark
Here are images of kangaroos at the zoo at Ark Encounter in Kentucky. They seem to be sleeping most of the time.
Kangaroo at the Ark
Red Kangaroo at the Ark
There is a zoo on the grounds of the Ark Encounter with various animals, from camels to kangaroos.
Due to the precautions of people and animals, most images are captured with a fence in the foreground.
Ararat Ridge Zoo at the Ark
Camel Behind a Fence at the Ark
Animal bush sculptures of giraffes and an elephant gazing at the ARK
Giraffes Looking at Noah’s Ark
Elephant Viewing Noah’s Ark
Captured a dog just coming out of the river in North Carolina
Sheep grazing in the foreground add softness to the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire Dales, England.
Red wolves used to be common in North Carolina, but worldwide, only 300 of the species now exist. Red Wolf brothers, Eno and Ellerbe, were born in 2018 at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham and have been raised there ever since.
Located in Explore the Wild at the Museum of Life and Sciences, Durham, NC wolf habitat features two red wolves (Canis rufus), ambassadors for a critically endangered species that was once common in North Carolina.
In addition to the Magic Wings Butterfly House, we saw this black bear resting at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC.
