Anatomy is vital to understanding the physiology and the inner workings of the horse.
From a horse owner perspective, knowing the basic anatomy can help you communicate with equine professionals regarding the health of your horse. An understanding of anatomy is critical to understanding how horses eat, breathe, rest, and exercise, both in health and in disease. Knowledge of basic abdominal and thoracic anatomy helps us understand how each of the organ systems function and how medical interventions might work. For example, knowledge of the anatomy of the respiratory and cardiac systems helps us understand how equine athletes do their jobs, and is critical to developing better training methods, injury prevention, and disease prevention and treatment.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this activity, you will be able to:
Identify anatomical features of the horse’s external anatomy (parts of the horse) and hoof
Identify the major bones of the horse
Identify the major muscles of the horse
Identify the digestive organs of the horse
Identify the reproductive organs of the stallion and mare
Identify the structures of the lower limb including key tendons and ligaments
Instructions (step-by-step)
Step 1
To begin with, download and install the Anatomy app. This is available for Mac and Windows.
If you are a Windows user there are a few additional steps you will have to take to run this application. OIT has provided instructions on how to get around the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen that will prevent the app from running otherwise:
https://activedirectory.ncsu.edu/2022/11/smartscreen-dont-disable-it-do-this-instead/
If you have any problems or questions with this process, please reach out to OIT for support.
Step 2
This activity involves exploring the anatomy of a horse (specifically a stallion) and has two modes to it, Study Mode and Quiz Mode. Upon opening the application it will start off in Study Mode.
Study Mode allows you to explore and learn about the anatomy of the horse. In the upper left of the interface there will be a hamburger menu for selecting what system of the body you want to focus on. The default is the Body. To change the system, click/tap on this menu and choose the system you want to study by selecting the box to the left of the system name.
Additionally, you can toggle other systems being visible for reference by activating the eye icon to the right of that system's name. Note that the current system being studied will always have the eye (visibility) icon active.
Step 3
Once you have the system that you want to study selected, there are two ways you can highlight a part in that system to learn about it. The first is to click/tap directly on the horse for the part you wish to learn more about. The second is by using the scrollable list of parts located in the lower left of the interface. Note that using either of these methods will automatically update the selection on both of them.
When a part is selected, its name will appear in the lower right corner of the interface. This field can expand and collapse to reveal information about that part. Click/tap on the triangle to expand and collapse this information.
Step 4
To change over to Quiz Mode simply click/tap the Quiz Mode button in the upper right corner of the interface. Quiz Mode is a self-assessment activity that allows you to choose a system of the horse to be quizzed on and reinforce your knowledge of equine anatomy.
When switching to Quiz Mode you will immediately be prompted to choose a system of the horse to be quizzed on. Make a selection from the available options and click/tap the Start button to begin.
Step 5
Quiz questions appear in the lower right corner of the interface. Your progress through the quiz will be displayed with the current question directly underneath it. Answer questions by selecting the part of the system that answers the question using the list of parts in the lower left of the interface. When you have your answer choice selected, click/tap the Submit button to confirm your answer. You will get feedback and advance to the next question.
At any point during the quiz you can hide or show other systems of the body just like in Study Mode by using the visibility toggle (eye) icons in the parts menu. You can also exit Quiz Mode at any time by returning to Study Mode, but note that all progress on your current quiz will be lost.
Quiz questions are randomized so try the quizzes multiple times for a different experience each time!
Step 6
For more help while using the app, click/tap on the question mark (?) button in the upper right of the interface next to the Study Mode button. Thanks for using the Anatomy app!