The Anatomy of a Horse
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The horses anatomy consists of the skeletal system, the digestive system, the teeth, the hooves, and the senses.
The skeletal system of a horse is significantly different from that of a human skeleton.
The horse as an average of 205 bones. They do not have a collarbone, but have a front limb system that is attached to the spinal column by a powerful set of muscles, ligaments and tendons that attach the shoulder blade to the torso.
The legs and hooves are very unique as they are proportionately different from those of a human.
The knee of a horse if very much like the carpal bones of a human (the wrist bones).
The hock bones of a horse are like the ankle or heel bones of the human.
The lower leg bones of the horse are very much like the hand and foot bones of the human.
The fetlock is the proximal sesamoid bone between the cannon bones (like the metacarpal or metatarsal bones of the human - fingers and toes) and the proximal phalanges of the horse are located where one might find the “knuckles” on a human.
Interestingly enough the horse has no muscles below the knees and hocks, only skin, hair, bone, tendons, ligaments and cartilage and a very specialized and assorted tissues that make up what is called the hoof.
The digestive system is well suited for an herbivore, which horses are. They mainly grass on grasses and other plant material.
There are basically 3 categories of horse feed; pasture, hay, and concentrates. Pasture food is the greenery found in pastures. Horses doing light work can get along well with just pasture grazing if the area is large.
Hay is the basic food of most domestic horses.
You need to feed horses good quality hay that has been inspected carefully before buying to guarantee that it is not green, that it does not contain dust, or mold.
Hay can be soaked before feeding to be sure there is no dust content. There are three basic types of hay (Timothy, Brome and Alfalfa).
Concentrates are used to feed hard-working horses or pregnant horses or nursing mares, or very young horses.
Concentrates are given to supplement the hay. Concentrates include grains (whole, rolled or cracked) sweet feed (grain mixed with molasses), or manufactured feeds (pellets, cubes, or extruded).
You can feed beet pulp for additional bulk if needed. Beet pellets must be soaked first.
Horses need lots of fresh water. They can drink anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons of water each day.
Horses are known, as ruminants, which mean that they only have one stomach, just like humans.
They have a “hind gut” that is called a cecum, or some people call it a “water gut”, because food goes through this before reaching the large intestine.
A horse surprisingly cannot vomit, so digestion problems can occur that can be serious even fatal, such as colic.
The teeth of a horse are perfectly designed for grazing.
The horse has 12 incisors (six on top and six on bottom) that the horse uses to bite off grass and other vegetation. The horse also has 24 teeth for chewing.
Stallions and geldings have four more teeth behind the incisors that are like canine teeth and are called “tushes”. Some horses may develop small vestigial teeth in front of the molars, known as “wolf” teeth. If they develop these wolf teeth, they are usually pulled because they interfere with the bit.
The hooves are very important to the horse for movement.
The hoof consists of distal phalanges (like a human fingertip or toe), which is surrounded by cartilage and other specialized soft tissue, which is rich in blood (laminae).
There is an exterior hoof wall and a horn of the sole, which is made of the same type of material as the human fingernail is made of.
Horseshoes are made to protect the horse’s hooves. The hooves need to be trimmed and the horseshoes reset approximately every five to eight weeks.
The senses are more developed than those of a human because they are prey animals (other animals prey on them).
This is why the horse has large eyes and excellent vision day and night. They have only a limited range of color vision though.
Horses have difficulty distinguishing between the colors of green, brown and gray. They have a better sense of smell than humans.
They have an outstanding sense of balance and sense of touch, which helps when it comes to warding off flies and mosquitoes.
They need their keen sense of taste to tell the difference between good food and food that is poisonous or spoiled.
Previous Articles By This Author
- Buying Your First Horse
- Equipment for Horses
- Basics of Horse Care
- Grooming your Horse
- The History of Horses
