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Can you spot the funny bone?
Can you spot the funny bone?
A human has 206 bones that make up their body, how many do you think a horse has? A typical horse has 205 bones! The bones of a horse and the bones of a human have the same names! Check out the phalanges on the lower limbs of the horse, what do you think those are comparable to on your body? That's right, your fingers and toes! Humans have 56 phalange bones and horses have 12!
Big, Strong Muscles!
Big, Strong Muscles!
Horses have 700 muscles that control the movement in their body. The muscle and bone structure combined are what gives horses the ability to move as they do. Cartilage and tendons are also very important components in the horses body that allow them to move. We have to take extra care of our horses to make sure they don't hurt their bones, muscles, cartilage, or tendons because they can be really difficult to repair!
Gaits: A Visual
Gaits: A Visual
Horses have 5 natural horse gaits: walk, trot, canter, gallop, and back. However, there are 'artificial' gates that can be hereditary (passed from parents to babies) or taught but not all horses are capable of them. Some artificial gates are the pace; during a pace gait horses move both legs on the same side (front right & back right) at the same time, the next step switches to the opposite sides legs. Ambling gaits are also an 'artificial' gate that not all horses are capable of. Ambling gaits are often found in horses like the Tennessee Walking Horse, Saddlebred's, Paso Fino's, among others.
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