Horse latitudes are ocean regions between 30° and 35° North latitude that tend to contain calm waters and light winds. The phrase came about because ships loaded with horses bound for America and the West Indies could get delayed so long that horses would die.
18th Century sailors would throw horses overboard when they sailed into these "horse latitudes" in order to lighten the load and conserve food and water.
Jim Morrison wrote the poem that became the lyrics when he was in high school and saw a paperback cover of horses being thrown off a boat.
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