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    You are at:Home»Resources»Articles»Them bones
    Equine bones skeleton

    Them bones

    0
    By David Marlin on 11 May 2022 Articles

    Equine bones / skeleton

    1. A horse has 205 bones – one fewer than the rider!
    2. The ribcage is the largest structure of the horse’s skeleton.
    3. Horses do not have a clavicle or collarbone. The front legs are only attached to the rest of the skeleton by muscle, tendon and ligament.
    4. The horse’s “knee” (carpus) is made up of 10 bones and is actually equivalent to our wrist.
    5. The hindlimbs contain 19 bones whilst the forelimbs contain 20 bones.
    6. The horse’s spine contains 54 bones.
    7. The skull consists of 34 bones.
    8. The longest single bone in the horse is the femur which joins the pelvis to the tibia.
    9. Around 12% of the total live weight of a horse is made up of bone – 60kg in a 500kg horse
    10. The largest single bone by area is the pelvis.
    11. The smallest bone in the horse’s body is the stapes – a bone within the ear.
    12. A horse’s bones adapt to loading. When a horse is turned out to pasture from being trained there will be some loss of bone strength over time. Horses only require very short periods of daily limb loading to increase bone strength. The harder the bone is loaded the more it adapts by laying down more bone.
    13. Sore shins or dorsal metacarpal disease occurs when the rate of loading is greater than the rate at which new bone can be laid down.

    We have lots of articles and information about equine bones including:

    • Article – Equine Musculoskeletal Practitioners – Which therapist and why?
    • Article – Roadwork – Some things to consider!
    • Podcast – Stress – is it always a bad thing?

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    Related posts:

    1. Research Paper PrePrint – Heart Rates Of Horses During Competitive Dressage
    2. Roadwork – Some things to consider!
    3. Podcast – Stress in horses and riders, by Dr David Marlin
    4. Research Paper PrePrint – Stirrup forces during approach, take-off and landing in horses jumping 70cm
    anatomy bones bonesribcage carpus collarbone Dr David Marlin equine bones knee pelvis ribcage skeleton skull spine
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    David Marlin

    Dr David Marlin is a physiologist and biochemist who has worked in academia, research and professional sport. He has worked in the equestrian and veterinary world and in human sport, healthcare, medicine and exercise science. In 1989 David obtained his PhD from the UK’s leading sports university, Loughborough University following a four-year study on the responses of Thoroughbred racehorses to exercise and training, undertaken at the renowned Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. You can read David's full biography in the Our Website section.

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    Roadwork – Some things to consider!

    Introduction from David
    https://vimeo.com/478007186?loop=0
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