Sulfur is abundant in the hoof. The “rotten egg” odor produced during hot shoeing is the smell of sulfur gas resulting from burning the sulfur-rich connective tissue proteins of the hoof. Do horse hooves stink? Horses’ hooves may never smell good, but a stinky foot is a red flag under Read more…
The skin is the largest organ of your horse’s body. What is the largest gland in a horse? The CAECUM is a vital organ for the horse. It’s very large (up to 35 litres by volume) and is the equivalent of the human appendix, only in horses it has a Read more…
The ribs of mammals, including the horse, serve one primary purpose: to protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, most notably the heart and lungs. Each rib is attached to a thoracic vertebrae, so horses generally have 18 pairs of ribs, corresponding to their 18 thoracic vertebrae. Why do Read more…
Importantly, however, peeling of the frog can also occur along with conditions that favor the development of thrush, such as lack of exercise, lameness, chronically wet environment, and poor hoof care. The organisms that cause thrush dissect under the external layer of frog and cause it to peel off. What Read more…
In most cases, it is not necessary nor desirable to trim away frog and live sole, but it is commonly done. The foot needs the full shape of the frog to help with expansion, contraction, and blood flow. The sole is there for protection from the ground. The only trimming Read more…
Ever hear the figurative term “that horse has a lot of heart?” That’s also quite literal — a horse heart weighs, on average, seven to nine pounds, compared to a human’s measly little half-pounder. How big is the heart of a horse? 8-10 lbs.The size of a horse’s heart will Read more…
The equine heart is comprised of four chambers: right atrium, which takes in blood returning from the body depleted of oxygen; the right ventricle, which pumps that blood into the lungs to refill with oxygen via the pulmonary artery; the left atrium, which receives that oxygenated blood; and the left Read more…
You should always leave at least 5/8-inch of frog skin covering the sensitive structure and it is even more important to understand that the 5/8-inch thick callused frog horses need can take at least a year to build and compact. This fully callused frog can never build if it is Read more…
352 pounds. Talk about being big boned! While an average 400-kg (880-pound) horse’s bones weigh around 160 kg (352 pounds), the bones of draft horses are considerably heavier. How many bones are in a horse skeleton? 205The horse’s body contains just over 200 bones, 205 to be exact. The alignment Read more…
gluteus medius. gluteus medius (GM) is the largest muscle of the horse, its main movement function is the extension of the hip joint. What are the three types of muscles in horses? The three muscle classifications are smooth, cardiac, and skeletal. The first two are involuntary or automatic, which means Read more…