# Why don't horses have horns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-horses-have-horns/839006 "2019-08-21T15:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-horses-have-horns/839006/21 "2019-09-09T21:56:00Z")
I’m so far behind that I hadn’t read it yet when this thread started, but the 21 June issue of _Science_ is a special issue on ruminant genomes. From what I’m reading, the ruminants’ boney outgrowths, which range from horns to antlers (including pronghorn’s pronghorns and giraffe’s ossicones) probably evolved once in either a common ancestor to all ruminants or in one that excludes mouse deer (which don’t have antlers.) Musk deer don’t either, but they’re thought to have lost them. The genetics are complicated, involving over 200 common genes, plus another 600+ specific to horns and 700+ specific to antlers. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-horses-have-horns/839006/22 "2019-09-10T00:43:18Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Video of how a moose responds to a bear: > > [https://youtu.be/5Ou0jEp8k5w](https://youtu.be/5Ou0jEp8k5w) > > Video of how horses react to a bear: > > [https://youtu.be/KZU0Co8NbkE](https://youtu.be/KZU0Co8NbkE) > > Moose are fighters. Horses are runners. When you’re running away, horns would just be liable to catch on things. [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ATkq9e3Ik&t=2m14s) of how moose responds to squirrel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-horses-have-horns/839006.md?page=1)