When describing the exterior of horses, names of body parts, such as grandmothers, witches or groats, are often unknown to many people. What are the horse's body parts and where are they located - the topic of our article
Holck
Holck is located at the junction of the neck and back.
In the horse breeds, which are characterized by a long neck, the stalks are well pronounced, highly located and of different lengths. In heavy-duty animals, it is low and wide, and fatty tissue deposits often hide it, making it almost fused with the neck. For lightweight horses, this body part is also tall, but shorter than for horses.
The base of the horses is a spicy process, located on the thoracic vertebrae from the second to twelfth.
The processes following the sixth to seventh are gradually shortened, which creates a smooth line of hulks. In the region of the tenth to twelfth vertebrae, it completely merges with the back.
In young foals, the stalks do not stick out and are flush with the dorsal line. This part of the body rises with age. If the horse walks a lot under the saddle, the height of its horses increases from training (especially with frequent galloping).
Back
A wide and muscular back is a desirable sign of any breed of these animals. Its length depends on the type of horse - it's shorter for the horses and longer for the harnessed horses. In addition, the length of this part of the horse also depends on the size of the breast and, in some ways, the length of the stalks.
For example, the ancient Arabs believed that the back of their horses should be as short as possible, as long as the saddle was placed. This is due to the fact that the shorter the length of the back, the stronger it is. For high-speed animals who prefer fast gaiters, such a structure is the most preferable, because it is better to bear the force from the hind legs when moving forward.
However, too short a dorsal line increases the stiffness, which leads to shaking during a jump.
In addition, the torso is rigid and poorly bent in the lateral plane. This defect can be partially compensated by the elongated lumbar region.
Lumbar lumbar region
The back of the horse is between the back and the groats
This part of the body, regardless of breed, should be flat, wide and muscular. Its length depends on the length of the iliac region. The longer the horse breathes, the weaker and less fat it is. The movements of the iliac are used to determine the breathing frequency of the animal.
At rest, a healthy horse breathes at a frequency of 12-14 cycles of breath/exhalation per minute. As the load increases, this figure increases.
The state of the horse's lumbar region indicates its health, as well as certain diseases.
On the lower back of these animals, a person places various kinds of devices that help him to control the animals or to harness them for work.
Croup
Krupa is a part of the body, the base of which is the bones of the sacral part of the skeleton, as well as pelvic bones (bottom, iliac and sciatica).
It is to these bones of the skeleton that the most powerful and, at the same time, the most important muscles responsible for the strength and speed of the horse's movements are attached.
Croups are evaluated by the following criteria:
- length;
- Width;
- Tilt.
For horses of riding breeds, it is desirable that the croup was straight and long. For heavy trucks - wide and bifurcated, with strongly developed muscles and a large angle of inclination, which is formed due to the difference between the height of the animal in the mackerel and its growth in the sciatic hills.
Chest
The main criteria for this body part are length, width, and depth.
Heavy trucks are characterized by a wide, short and rounded chest, in which the ribs are connected to the spine at a blunt angle.
The chest of horse and trotter horses is long and deep. This is due to the higher position of their ribs.
Stomach
Tightened stomach is characteristic of trotting and riding horses, and its shape is achieved by persistent training and a special diet with a large proportion of concentrated feed, however, it should be remembered that the sunken stomach also happens in undernourished and sick horses.
A sagging abdomen is characteristic of individuals with weakened or stretched lower abdominal wall muscles.
Limbs
The physical development and current condition of the legs directly affect the performance of these pets.
Front limbs
This part of the horse's body consists of (top-down) parts:
- The shoulder blade;
- Shoulder bone;
- elbow;
- forearm;
- wrist;
- Five;
- The track joint;
- grandmother;
- Crown joint;
- hoof.
Rear extremities
The bones of the hind legs of these animals are longer and stronger than the bones of the front pair. In addition, their muscles are much better developed. Horses that are accustomed to fast gaiters (galloping or lynching) have the most developed long femoral and shin muscles. Animals, who are more accustomed to the step, are characterized by increased development of gluteal muscles.