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Poll evil is a traditional term for a painful condition in a horse or other equid, that starts as an inflamed bursa at the cranial end of the neck between vertebrae and the nuchal ligament, and swells until it presents as an acute swelling at the poll, on the top of the back of the animal's head.
Horses that trot fast with high, erect neck (like Standardbred race horses) do not develop strong, active back muscles. They are often hollow behind and just below withers due to lack of collection. This conformation is commonly rider-induced from a horse allowed to move strung-out behind, and is usually seen in gaited horses and long-distance ...
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 ...
Lameness is an abnormal gait or stance of an animal that is the result of dysfunction of the locomotor system.In the horse, it is most commonly caused by pain, but can be due to neurologic or mechanical dysfunction.
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.
Draw reins in the western riding disciplines are always attached to the rings of the cinch (a western-style girth), usually on each side of a western saddle, run through the bit rings (either inside to outside or vice versa, there is no firm rule, though the rein moves more smoothly if the inside goes to the girth and the outside to the hand), and then to the hands of the rider.
Bedouins looked for whorls between the horse's ears as a sign of swiftness, and if there were any on either side of the neck, they were known as the 'finger of the Prophet'. One legend of whorls is the "Prophet's Thumbprint" a birthmark in the form of an indentation, usually found on the side of a horse’s neck, totally harmless although it ...
In animals such as horses and other working animals, saddle sores often form on either side of the withers, which is the area where the front of a saddle rests, and also in the girth area behind the animal's elbow, where they are known as a girth gall. Saddle sores can occur over the loin, and occasionally in other locations.