Mysterious horse skeleton with tack found in California

Amazing that the saddle lasted so well, you'd have think it would've been chewed up by passing carnivores long after the horse had decomposed.

Very sad though..... I wonder how long the horse was loose, wearing all its tack before it died
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Intriguing yes, I feel sorry for the poor horse, dying in such circumstances. Makes you wonder if an owner will be traced? Imagine if it was your horse found like that, how devastated would you feel! xx
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Being a forensic archaeologist I can say that quite a lot of information could be gleaned from those bones depending on what remains. Certainly age from teeth and degree of workload the horse perhaps endured during its lifetime from lesions left on the distal phalanges(fetlocks and pedal bones)by the ligaments in the lower leg. Could certainly tell if the animal had any arthritis or bony ailments. Perhaps even cause of death. It would be nice if an animal bone specialist gets to take a look over it.
 
It said that it looked like it may have been tacked up in haste, with no saddle blanket and bridle on backwards?!?!? How does that work?!

Poor Horsey, at least it has been found and hopefully will put someone at ease as to what happened to their horse, albeit a sad ending.
 
I wonder if the poor horse had been stolen? Tack on wrongly, etc. Stolen, went down on the trail and the thief/rider scarpered leaving the poor horse to die in the wild. Sad, whatever happened.
 
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