Veterian Key

Preferred rolling places Horses usually choose one or two preferred rolling spots and this may help to establish herd bonding by coating them in the ‘herd smell’. Wild horses and…

Walking on the right rein Hind triple stance In the series of illustrations shown here, the horse starts the walk on the right rein, with the horse placing the right…

Scapula Humerus Radius Ulna Knee or carpus (consisting of seven or eight carpal bones) Cannon (large metacarpal) bone Two splint bones (medial and small metacarpals) Long pastern (first phalanx) Short…

Tibia and fibula Tarsal bones of the hock Three metacarpals (cannon and splint bones) Long pastern (first phalanx) Short pastern (second phalanx) Pedal bone (third phalanx) Two sesamoid bones Navicular…

Non-lead (left) fore lift-off (Figs 11.2–11.4) Figure 11.2 shows the left fore lift-off from the ground. As the horse is on the right lead this is called the non-lead fore…

Fig. 6.2 The back is relatively inflexible from withers to tail The skeleton (Figs 6.3, 6.4) The vertebral column is the skeleton of the neck, withers, back and tail. Besides…

The eyes are situated deep within the orbits, offering them some degree of protection. They each sit in a pad of fat which provides a cushioning effect. When horses are…

Each thoracic vertebra articulates with a rib on either side. Therefore there are 18 pairs of ribs; these may be classified as sternal (true), asternal (false) or floating. The ribs…

Training the performance horse Observation of the following points when exercising and training the performance horse will help to protect bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles from injury: Feeding a balanced…