About: Basic Equine Anatomy

   Sometimes horse anatomy lines up with other animals and some parts have unique names. Below is an image pointing out some of the most common horse specific parts. In the future we will dive deeper into some of these areas! For now, here are the parts that are talked about on possibly a daily basis.

Poll - right behind the ears. Where the bridle and halter sit.
Mane - the long hair on the top of a horse's neck
Withers - the pointy top of the shoulder
Back - where the saddle goes
Loins - the horse's weak lower back. Don't put the saddle here!
Croup - basically the top of their bum
Dock of the Tail - the muscle and bone of the tail
Point of Hip - the pointy part that sticks out of their hip (I know, great explanation lol)
Stifle - a joint about where the leg meets the body
Hock - the pointy joint in the middle of a horse's back legs
Fetlock - the ankle of all four legs
Hoof - the horse's foot. The hoof is made up of the same material as our fingernails
Coronet - the part right about a horse's hoof
Gaskin - the muscly part between the hock and stifle
Flank - the sensitive part of the horse that meets the belly to the back legs
Elbow - the joint on the front legs that meet the leg to the body
Knee - the middle joint of the front legs
Pastern - the part between the hoof and the ankle
Cannon - the part between the ankle and knee
Shoulder - yup, that's their big ol' shoulder