How well do you understand your horse...

[Ginn]

.... and Im not talking behaviour/emotions!

I was given a very good piece of advice this week:
"if your horse has an injury think about what you would do if it was you... How would you treat it on yourself? How would you want to be treated?"

And this got me thinking....
How well do we actually understand how our horses are put together? Have you ever stopped to think about what the knee, elbow, fetlock, stifle, etc are in relation to similar features on ourselves.

What obout the splint bones? What would they equate to on our own bodies. I have the fortunate position of studying vet anatomy but suddenly everything is so much clearer when you compare to anatomically very similar species: Humans and horses.......

 

[AmyMay]

No where near as well as I should

I do try though.

 

[wizzi901]

I like to think I understand my boy, we've known each other a long time and I understand he has crappy days and good days, when he isnt in the mood, I dont push it, no point! he is 23 and has earnt his keep in the past before I had him and he knows much more than I will ever learn, he has tolerated me though the years and I have the utmost respect for him!

I know when he needs a massage and he gives me that look that says "thanks mum" needed that, now I might perform for you again lol!!

If he is a bit down, he gets a guiness, usually perks him up!!

If he is scared then he gets reassurance, but he isnt a cuddly sort and doesnt like fuss, so that is respected to, we understand each other!! He knows when NOT to take the piddle and knows when I am in a good mood and he can muck about a bit!!

 

[barkinghorse]

I know what you're saying,
but i can't get my head round the fact they walk on their fingers...

 

[Ginn]

[ QUOTE ]
I know what you're saying,
but i can't get my head round the fact they walk on their fingers...

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol! That took me a while, especially relating the horses knee to our wrist!

I suspect a horse would find it hard to get its head around us walking on our "hocks" (or heals in our case!)

 

[KateStartin]

I think about this quite a lot (far too much time in my hands!!!), it never fails to amaze me!

 

[atlantis]

I'm a human physio, so always try to understand whats going on with my horsie by thinking about how it would be in the human anatomy. Some of it makes sence, but other times I end up sooooo confused. Not sure if it helps or not!!

 

[Lucy_Ally]

Having studied equine anatomy in lots of depth for my degree and then having to do dissection in my PhD I feel I have a good understanding of how my horse is put together and how she functions. I like to read as much up to date horsey literature as possible and I find anatomy and physiology fascinating so (like the sad science geek that I am!

) reads up about horsey research in my spare time!

 

[GTs]

I think you are thinking too much into this - the quote is probably asking would you be scared, do you need comforting, is it something mummy can treat, is it something that needs the doctor, or an emergency trip to the hospital.

 

[Tia]

You can't really compare a horse's anatomy to a humans - their bodies work completely differently to ours.

They don't walk on fingertips LOL!! These are their feet - not like our feet admittedly but they are certainly not comparable to us walking around on our fingertips.

 

[puddicat]

Depends at wht level you do it. All the bones in a horse's legs have equivalents in humans so 'walking on fingertips' is an analogy that frequently used. In an anatomical sense its correct and reasonable, in a functional sense its not really a good comparison. Its not reasonable to say their bodies work completely different from ours. We share something like 80+% of genetic code which means the overwhelming majority of physiological processes are the same. People who only ever see animals from the outside using their eyes are easily and understandably deceived into believing there is a big difference between humans and horses. In fact, just because it has a swishy tail and hooves means nothing: the visible differences are very small compared to similarities if one has a look on the inside and uses various types of microscope to see things that are too smal to see by eye.

 

[burtie]

And if you take a close look at the hock, it really does look quite similar to our ankle joint!

 

[puddicat]

and there's hardly any difference between the shape of my ears and my horse's.

 

[burtie]