Horses and ponies: how they eat, see, sleep and live in herds
Tests: 6 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 10 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 207 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · right ✓
«my cousin says horses never sleep cos they're always standing lol» What is right?
- 1. They never sleep at all — score 0
- 2. They only sleep in water — score 2
- 3. They doze standing up but lie down for short deep sleeps — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 4. They sleep standing for a whole week, then lie down for one long night — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 185, line 15: «Horses are strong runners over long distances, and they can doze standing up because tendons (strong cords joining muscles to bones) lock their legs, ready to…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «doze» (+5); the same doer «horses» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗
«gave the pony my whole bag of sugar lumps, he loved it» What is the problem?
- 1. Sugar makes horses sleep standing up — no support
- 2. Nothing, sugar is a horse's best food — score 5
- 3. Too much sugar harms horses' teeth and feet — ✓ the right answer · score 0
- 4. Sugar makes ponies grow too tall — ← Mova's choice · score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 207, line 10: «Ponies are horses below a certain height, often sturdy, hardy and clever, and Shetland ponies from cold Scottish islands grow thick winter coats.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «grow» (+4); the same doer «shetland ponies» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · right ✓
«just gonna run up behind the horse and surprise it» What would most likely happen?
- 1. Nothing, horses see straight behind them perfectly well — score 7
- 2. It will turn and lick you — score 3
- 3. It cannot see you there and may kick out in fright — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 4. It will lie down to let you ride — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 207, line 8: «A horse's eyes on the sides of its head let it see almost all round, but it has blind spots right in front of its nose and right behind it, so a horse surprise…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «kick out» (+4); the same doer «horse» (+3); the same place «fright» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗
In a cartoon a horse laughs and shows all its teeth at a joke. What is a real horse doing with a curled lip?
- 1. Getting ready to sing a song to the other horses in the field — no support
- 2. Smelling something with a special organ in its mouth — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Crying because it is sad — no support
- 4. Laughing like a person at a funny joke — ← Mova's choice · score 7
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 108, line 4: «Films show piranhas stripping a cow in seconds, Flash the sloth in Zootopia takes forever to laugh at a joke, and Sid of Ice Age meets dinosaurs; the truth is…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «joke» (+5); the same action «laugh» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
«3 horses n a pony in the field, how many legs»
- 1. 20 — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 12 — no support
- 3. 16 — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. 8 — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗
«horse, donkey and 2 foals, how many ears, no wait 3 foals»
- 1. 12 — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 8 — no support
- 3. 4 — no support
- 4. 10 — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · right ✓
What would happen if a lone horse was kept in a field with no other animal for months?
- 1. It would start eating meat — score -1
- 2. It would forget it is a horse — score 4
- 3. It would be happier than in a herd — no support
- 4. It would likely get stressed and unhappy — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 207, line 11: «Horses are herd animals: running away together kept wild horses safe, and a horse kept alone gets stressed, so it needs a companion.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «stress» (+4); the same thing acted on «horse» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · right ✓
«bloody horse just bolted cos a bird flew up, and the rest followed, stupid lot» Why did they all run?
- 1. Horses hate birds and chase them away from the field whenever they can — score 4
- 2. Horses are prey animals, and running together kept them safe — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 3. They were racing for the gate — no support
- 4. The first horse was the farmer's — no support
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 207, line 11: «Horses are herd animals: running away together kept wild horses safe, and a horse kept alone gets stressed, so it needs a companion.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); the same doer «horses» (+2); the same thing acted on «herd animals» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · right ✓
A newborn foal on a farm is standing up on wobbly long legs after an hour. Is that normal?
- 1. Yes, foals stand and walk within a few hours — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. No, foals cannot stand until they are a year old — score 0
- 3. Yes, but only tiny Shetland foals can do that — no support
- 4. No, it should lie still in the straw for a month — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 10: «A foal can usually stand within about an hour of birth and run within hours, and its legs are nearly as long as an adult's.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «foal» (+2); the same property (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · right ✓
A horse turns its ears forward towards you and watches. What does this tell you?
- 1. It cannot hear anything at all — no support
- 2. It is about to kick you hard — no support
- 3. It is interested in you — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 4. It is angry and warning you — score 9
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 207, line 9: «Ears pricked forward mean a horse is interested; ears pinned flat back are a warning that it is angry or annoyed.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); the same doer «horse» (+3); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗
In My Little Pony the ponies have wings, horns and bright pink manes. What is true of real ponies?
- 1. They are young horses that later grow wings and horns when they are older — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. They are a kind of unicorn — no support
- 3. They live only on rainbows — no support
- 4. They are short, sturdy horses with ordinary coats and manes — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the sleeping habits of the domestic horse?
- 1. The horse abstains from sleep entirely — no support
- 2. The horse sleeps only during the winter months — no support
- 3. The animal may doze erect by means of locking joints, yet requires brief recumbent periods for deep sleep — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 4. The horse sleeps exclusively while lying down for twelve hours — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 191, line 18: «Snakes cannot hypnotise animals; they have no eyelids, so they stare without blinking, and a snake charmer's snake follows the moving pipe, not the music, beca…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «animals» (+3); a different action (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the principal reason for which the horse grazes for the greater part of the day.
- 1. The animal is required to keep pasture short — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Grazing serves solely to sharpen the teeth — no support
- 3. The stomach is of small capacity and requires a near-continuous passage of food — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Grass contains no nourishment whatsoever, so vast quantities must be consumed to survive — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
It is given that a horse has its ears laid flat against its head. Ascertain the correct interpretation.
- 1. The animal is about to fall asleep — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The animal is attending to distant music — no support
- 3. The animal is content and relaxed — no support
- 4. The animal is angered or annoyed and is issuing a warning — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the positioning of the equine eye.
- 1. The positioning of the eyes serves solely to discern colour — no support
- 2. The horse perceives everything clearly directly behind itself and above its head — no support
- 3. Lateral eyes afford near all-round vision, with blind regions before the nose and behind the body — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. The eyes afford no vision to the side — ← Mova's choice · score 2
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 200, line 3: «A rabbit is a prey animal: its eyes are on the sides of its head, its long ears swivel to catch danger, and when it is scared it thumps its back foot to warn o…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/207-horses-and-ponies-how-they-eat-see-sleep-and-live-in-herds/