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Most horses have 18 thoracic vertebrae. The processes at the withers can be more than 30 centimetres (12 in) long. Since they do not move relative to the ground as the horse's head does, the withers are used as the measuring point for the height of a horse. Horses are sometimes measured in hands – one hand is 4 inches (10.2 cm). Horse heights ...
The path this horse takes through the air is an arc. Bascule / ˈ b æ s k juː l / is the natural round arc a horse's body takes as it goes over a jump. The horse should rise up through its back, stretching its neck forward and down, when it reaches the peak of his jump. Ideally, the withers are the highest point over the fence.
The horse's thorax is also deeper from the breastbone to the spine. This gives the horse a greater lung capacity, and thus greater endurance. [4] Conformation. A horse's chest is measured from the bottom end of the neck to the tops of the front legs. Ribs play an important role in the shape of the chest, whether they are narrow or wide.
Ideally, the length of a horse's back from the peak of the withers to the point of the hip should be 1/3 of the horse's overall body length (from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock, excluding head and neck). A horse's back is called "long" if the length exceeds 1/3 and "short" if less than 1/3.
The term may also refer to the horse's center of gravity. For the best performance by the horse, as well as for better balance of the rider, the rider must be positioned over the center of balance of the horse. The location of the horse's center of balance depends on a combination of speed and degree of collection.
The table below describes the different scores used to assess a horse's body condition. The system is based on both visual and tactile assessment of the fat present on six points of the body, as shown in the illustration below. The areas where fat is deposited in horses, enabling body condition to be assessed by palpation: 1. Behind the ...
Two types are recognised within the breed, an old and a new; the old type is more heavily built, the new type somewhat lighter and taller. At 3 years old, stallions of the old type stand some 160–170 cm at the withers, mares about 2 cm less; the girth is 190–210 cm, and the cannon-bone circumference some 23–24 cm.
On horses, the mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. [1] [2]: 247 [3]: 311 It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck.