Equine anatomy

Equine anatomy refers to the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses and other equids, including donkeys, and zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria, there are many horse-specific colloquial terms used by equestrians.

Body

The body of the horse is covered in a coat of hair, with the exception of areas around the eyes and nose, where there is bare skin. Horses have a mane on the back of the neck, and a tail composed of long hairs (known as guard hairs) which grow from the base of the tailbone located at the end of the spine.

Head

The horse's head contains the brain, eyes, ears, and nose. The horse's skull is proportionally longer than those of other animals because of the unusually large nose and sinuses. The horse's teeth occupy a large amount of space in the skull, and are surrounded by substantial sinuses that are larger in the horse than in humans or dogs.

Legs

Horses are digitigrade animals, which means that the animal walks on its toes. The bones that would generally be termed the horse's "knee" is actually the carpal bones that correspond to the human wrist. Similarly, the hock contains bones equivalent to those in the human ankle and heel. The lower leg bones of a horse correspond to the bones of the human hand or foot, and the fetlock (incorrectly called the "ankle") is actually the proximal sesamoid bones between the cannon bones (a single equivalent to the human metacarpal or metatarsal bones) and the proximal phalanges, located where one finds the "knuckles" of a human.

Internal organs

The horse's digestive system is unique in that it digests food in small amounts continuously. The horse's stomach is relatively small, and emptying rapidly after eating, passing food into the small intestine, where most of the food absorption takes place. Horses have a large cecum, which is a part of the large intestine. This is used to break down the cellulose in grasses that the horse eats.

See also

• Horse
• Anatomy
• Veterinary medicine

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