The anatomy of the horse comes with a large number of horse specific terms.

• withers: the highest point of the shoulder seen best with horse standing square and head slightly lowered. The tops of the two shoulder blades and the space between them define the withers. Should be even with the croup, otherwise a "sway-back" may be present. The height of the horse is measured at the withers in "hands."
  • mane and forelock: long and relatively coarse hair growing from the dorsal ridge of the neck, lying on either the left or right side of the neck, and the continuation of that hair on the top of the head, where it generally hangs forward. (See illustration.)
  • dock: the point where the tail connects to the rear of the horse.
  • flank: Where the hind legs and the stomach of the horse meet.
  • pastern: The connection between the coronet and the fetlock. Made up of the middle and proximal phalanx.
  • fetlock: Resembles the ankle of the horse. Known to anatomists as the metacarpophalangeal joint.
  • coronet: The part of the hoof that connects the hoof to the pastern.
  • cannon: Resembles the shin of the horse. Consists of metacarpal III.
  • muzzle: the chin, mouth, and nostrils make up the muzzle on the horse's face.
  • crest: the point on the neck where the mane grows out of.
  • poll: the portion of the horse's neck right behind the ears.
  • hock: Hindlimb equivalent to the Heel, the main joint on the hind leg.
  • stifle: corresponds to the elbow of a horse, except on the hind limb.
  • gaskin: also known as the "second thigh," the large muscle on the hind leg, just above the hock, below the stifle.
  • jowl: the cheek bone under the horses ear on both sides
  • chestnut: on the inside of every leg
  • frog: the highly elastic wedge-shaped mass on the bottom of the hoof, which normally makes contact with the ground first

  Horses | Veterinary medicine