Bone Up on Your Horse's Framework
Take a look at this drawing of a horse skeleton. You arelooking at about 205 bones that make up the equine skeletal anatomy. The moreyou study this picture the better understanding you will have of how a horse isbuilt and how he moves.
Proper nutrition during pregnancy and the early formativeyears of a horse will ensure a healthy bone structure. Inadequate nutritionduring these times will stunt the bone growth in a foal, while an overabundanceof certain nutrients will cause the bone to grow too rapidly, causing jointdamage.
A poorly put togetherequine skeleton = horse with poor conformation
Good conformation in a horse starts with the bones. A horsewith poor conformation will not have the endurance or hardiness of an animalborn with a well formed horse skeleton. They will be more prone to injury ofthe joints and ligaments, and when used hard, usually do not have the longevityof usefulness over their lifetime.
The neck is the most flexible portion of the horse’s spine.A quick glance at this skeleton horse will show you where the vertebrae of theneck are placed. When giving vaccines you will avoid this area of the neck.Horses with longer necks have a slight speed advantage over horses with shorternecks.
In viewing the skull, you can clearly see the bars of thehorse’s mouth. This is the section of the jaw that has no teeth, where the bitlies on the horse’s gums. When you are fitting a bridle to a horse, you’ll wantto ensure the bit does not interfere or bump the teeth, causing pain.
You can see by looking at the horse skeleton that weight isbest carried directly behind the withers. This area has the support of the ribcage and the sturdy shock absorbing structure of the knee bones in the frontlegs.
Did you know that the front legs are not attached to the rest of the skeleton? The shoulders of the horse are held close to the body by layers of muscle. Kind of like a giant sling.
A Balanced Horse Skeleton is the Key to Soundness
Horses have limited flexibility of the lower spine. Poorconformation of the back legs forces the lower back to absorb more shock thanit is designed for. Over time this can cause the vertebra to fuse together. Placing weight over the loin area puts undue stress on thelower back causing bone damage and stress to the kidneys.
An unhindered lower back allows the horse to reach furtherforward with his back legs when running, thus gaining more speed. Thisflexibility also allows a horse to place more weight on their back legs when maneuveringfast turns.
The bones of the horse skeleton are held together with ligaments,tendons and muscles. When the skeletal structure is properly proportioned the jointswork smoothly. One bone works in relation to another. If the angle at witchthese bones are working is compromised, the joint becomes unevenly stressed andinjury to the tendons and ligaments become more likely.
Stressful angles to the joints can come from poorconformation, poor hoof trimming practices or repetitive strenuous hard work.In combination, these three factors add up to an increased likelihood of leginjury in the horse.
The better proportioned the skeleton, thebetter athlete the horse will be. Understanding how a particular horse is puttogether lets you know if that horse is capable of living up to yourexpectations.
In fact, not every horse has perfect conformation. Manyhorses with conformation faults make wonderful pleasure horses. Not every horseis expected to perform in high physically demanding athletic competitions andworking conditions. With proper nutrition and exercise, horses with animperfect equine skeletal structure can lead a very long and productive life,so long as they are not exposed to overly demanding stresses on the skeleton.
More Equine topics You May Enjoy
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Equine Chiropractic
The horse skeleton is a beautiful mapshowing the perfect weight bearing running machine!Learn the benefits ofequine chiropractics with Dr. Sue Thompson DVM.
Bone Spavin
Learn to recognize Bone Spavin before you purchase a horse or how to manage it in a horse you already own.
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