Horse Colors

Appaloosa :

color pattern with small spots over the hips or the entire body. may be either white spots on a dark body, dark spots on a white body, or a mixture of both.

Bay:

a red, brown, or yellowish horse with black mane and tail, and usually black limbs.

Red Roan:

red with a mixture of white hairs.

Black:

black color throughout the coat, limbs, mane and tail. no pattern present other than white markings

Blue Roan:

black or black-brown with a mixture of white hairs.

Brown

mixture of black and brown in the coat, limbs, mane and tailmixture of black and brown in the coat, limbs, mane and tail

Buckskin:

light tan or brown color.

Chestnut:

varying shades of a yellowish tan color.

Dun:

sandy yellow, redish, or brown usually with darker legs and often a dark stripe down the back, dark mane and tail

Grey : 

black and white hairs with black skin. coat grows lighter with age.

Palomino:

gold-yellow or dark cream color with light colored mane and tail

Pinto:

large patches of black, brown, chestnut, or any other color, and white.

Strawberry or Chestnut Roan:

chestnut with a mixture of white hairs.

White:

white hair with a pink skin

Ref: http://www.aboutyourhorse.com/parts-horse-and-tack

Parts of a Saddle ( & Bridle )

Ref : http://www.aboutyourhorse.com/parts-horse-and-tack

Horse Anatomy

"Know what part is being talked about when you're around experienced horsemen..."

Learn the basic horse anatomy.

An element of good horsemanship is knowning the basic parts of a horse and tack. If you don't want to be a complete "green horn" around seasoned horsemen, then learn the basic anatomy of a horse and know what the different parts of your saddle and bridle are called.

 Knowing basic horse anatomy and the names for the different parts of a horse and tack is also important for communicating effectively with your horse's vet or or boarding stable personnel. The parts of the horse and riding gear will often be used when learning to ride or learning to care for your horse -- knowing these names will make it easier to understand what is being taught.

For everyday, you really only need to know the basics of equine anatomy. If want to learn more, though, there is a great number of in-depth instructional material such as books, posters and models available from just about any book store, feed store, or large animal veterinarian that will do a deeper dive into the subject of horse anatomy.

If you just concentrate and stick to the most common and basic part names, you can quickly learn the parts of a horse from ears to hooves and the parts of your saddle from horn to stirrups.

Basic Horse Anatomy

 

Anatomy Terms

Back	The back starts at the withers and extends to the loins.
Barrel	The main body area of the horse, enclosing the rib cage and the major internal organs.
Belly	Lower portion of the trunk (barrel) opposite the back.
Breast	The front of the horse's body.
Cannon	Bone located between the knee and the fetlock, and the hock and the fetlock.
Check ligaments	System of ligaments that lock in position allowing a horse to sleep standing up.
Chestnut	Horny growth inside and above each knee, and inside and below each hock.
Coronet	Or coronary band. It's where the hoof joins the leg -- where the hoof wall is produced. Source of growth and nutrition for the hoof wall and bars.
Crest	The upper portion of the neck where the mane grows.
Croup	Topline of horse from the top of the tail to the highest point of the hindquarters.
Elbow	The joint of the front leg at the point where the belly of the horse meets the leg.
Fetlock	Joint formed by the cannon, pastern and sesamoid bones.
Forearm	The area of the front leg between the knee and elbow.
Frog	Triangular area located towards the back of the underside of the hoof.
Gaskin	Part of the hind leg between the hock and the stifle.
Girth	The area right behind the elbow of the horse, where the girth of the saddle would go. This area should be where the barrel is at its greatest diameter in a properly-conditioned horse that is not pregnant or obese.
Hand	Unit of measurement of the height of a horse, taken from the bottom of the front hoof to top of withers. Four inches = one hand.
Hock	Large joint in the hind leg joining the cannon bone and the gaskin.
Hoof	The horse's foot.
Knee	The large joint in the front legs, above the cannon bone.
Loins	The loin or coupling is the short area joining the back to the croup ( rump).
Muzzle	The chin, mouth, and nostrils of the horse's face.
Neck	The neck connects the head to the shoulders, starting at the poll and ending at the withers.
Pastern	Part of the leg between the coronet and the fetlock.
Poll	The bony point at the very top of the horse's skull, located slightly behind the ears.
Quarters	The large, muscular area of the hind legs, above the stifle and between the barrel and top of the tail. Also called the hindquarters.
Sesamoid bones	Small bones attached to the cannon and pastern by ligaments. Located behind the fetlock joint.
Shank	The cannon bone on the hind leg.
Shoulder	Area below the withers and above the front leg.
Stifle	The stifle joint is formed between the large hip bone (femur), which is similar to our thigh bone and the tibia, similar to our shin bone. The stifle joint somewhat resembles a human knee.
Tail	Consists of both the living part of the tail (which consists of the coccygeal vertebrae, muscules, and ligaments), as well as the long hairs which grow from the living part.
Withers	The top of the shoulders, between the neck and the back. The highest point of the withers is used in measuring the horse's height.

Ref: http://www.aboutyourhorse.com/parts-horse-and-tack

Nutritional Management for Healthy Joints

Weight control is an important component of any treatment for osteoarthritis. (Excess weight puts more pressure on the weight-bearing joints, particularly the knees and hips.) Although the prevalence of obesity in equids is poorly defined, it is commonly accepted as becoming an increasingly preoccupying problem.

How to decide if your horse or pony is overweight?

The veterinary surgeon should be the primary source of nutritional information and advice for horse owners.

·         Examination to assess nutritional status;

1.    Body Weight estimation

2.    Body Condition Score (BCS)

3.    Additional laboratory tests A

4.    Assessing diet and ration

Body Weight Estimation

Change in body weight is often an early indicator of health problems. Knowing the horse’s weight is also useful to determine the amount of feed, health status, feeding management and growth rate.

·         Weighing scales (accurate but with 5-20% variance depending on hydration status/post feeding)

·         Mature body weight estimation via measurements

Heart girth: immediately behind elbow. Length : point of shoulder to point of buttocks (tuber ischii)

Calculation for pounds or kilograms

Body weight lbs = [heart-girth (in)] 2 x length (in)/330
Body weight kg = [heart-girth (cm)] 2 x length (cm)/1180

Body Condition Score (BCS) estimation

A subjective method for estimating a horse’s body fat stores and is an important tool for nutritional assessment. The Texas A&M (Henneke scale) developed in the 1980s is the most commonly used system. It measures 6 body areas (neck, withers, behind the shoulders, over the ribs, along the topline and around the tail head).

·         Scales from 1 (emaciated) -9 (extremely fat)

·         4-6 generally considered ideal

Assessing the diet and ration

Physical evaluation of feeds (grains, concentrates, hays, supplements)

·         Storage conditions

·         Physical characteristics of hay

Measuring feed consumption

·         Feeds should be fed by weight (scales are essential)

Nutrient contents of feeds:

·         Read feed labels

·         Use databases for pasture/hay (or even better, have them analysed)

Ration evaluation

Management steps of uncomplicated obesity:

  

• Establish feeding plan with veterinary surgeon or nutritionalist
• If diet is to be changed then gradually over 10 to 14 days
• Monitoring nutritional status on a regular basis

Review exercise management

 Review exercise management

Exercise during rehabilitation:

The appropriate combination of box rest, adapted exercise/training protocols and turnout must be established with the veterinary surgeon as a means to help reduce pain and prevent further joint damage, not to mention help your horse maintain a healthy weight. Specific aims of an exercise programme are:

·         Preserve or restore joint flexibility
(range of movement)

·         Increase muscle strength and endurance

·         Improve aerobic conditioning:

1.  Positive mood/reduce anxiety

2.  Reduce risks associated with sedentary lifestyle

Reasonable exercise is also important to the health of the joint cartilage and its ability to repair itself, because joint cartilage has no direct blood supply and it must receive all the nutrients it needs from the joint fluid. Joint cartilage is like a sponge. It compresses when the leg lands, forcing the trapped fluid in its spaces out, and expands again when weight is lifted, allowing fresh fluid in.

ref: http://www.equistroflexadin-uc2.com/JointHealth/04_nutritionalmanage.html

Why Horse Weight Matters

Applying Human Principles to Horses

As humans, we all get bombarded with facts and information on why it is so important to keep fit, slim and healthy - the health risks are highlighted to us and we are all aware that eating healthily, exercising regularly and avoiding foods that cause weight gain is the best plan of action.

The same theory applies to all other animals and this of course includes our equine friends too!

Keeping horses at their optimum weight can be very tricky, especially if you do not have the facility to measure weight fluctuations on a regular basis and unfortunately not everyone has access to a weighbridge. However, keeping a close eye on weight is a very important aspect of taking care of your horse, as weight fluctuations can be a valuable indication of general health and weight gain or loss can be less than obvious if you see your horse on a day to day basis.

Secretive Weight Gain

Weight can very easily creep up on our horses, especially the native breeds. When the horse has access to fast growing, rich grass and if there is no reduction in hard feed calories, those pounds can pile on and may not be noticed until the problem has taken hold. It’s important to remember that the reason a horse gains weight is because less energy is being used (calories being burnt) than are being consumed. The most evident place that extra weight sits on a horse is on the crest of the neck. If you can grab the top of your horse or pony’s neck and there is enough there to wriggle around, the chances are they could do with losing a little weight!

There is a great weight scoring system, called the ‘body condition scoring system’, which typically runs on a scale of 0-5, ranging from emaciated to obese. This very useful tool and includes pictures from the side of the horse and the back, which can help give you an idea of where your horse or pony lies on the scale.

 

The dangers that all horse and pony owners should be aware of with overweight horses are as follows…

• Respiratory problems – with a bigger body mass comes a bigger requirement for oxygen. Transporting enough oxygen around the tissues can cause strain due to the fact that there is extra fat pushing against the horse’s lungs, which reduces the capacity of the lungs to expand.

• Joint strain – with more body mass comes more weight and the joints have no choice but to cope with this extra burden. Knees especially will be put under unnecessary pressure, resulting in accelerated wear on the cartilage – the key element which protects the bones in the joint from rubbing together.

• Circulatory problems – cholesterol and fat will narrow the diameter of the blood vessels, making the flow of blood around the body restricted and in turn influencing the rate at which oxygen can be transported.

• Growth deformities – the foal or yearling goes through vital stages in development and if they are fed an incorrect diet and become overweight, this can cause bone deformities through developmental orthopedic disease.

• Reduced exercise performance – through circulatory and respiratory problems, the horse’s ability to perform at his peak will be rapidly decreased, relative to how overweight he is.

• Inefficient cooling methods – after exercising, an overweight horse will cool down slower than one without a layer of insulation! The coping method for this will be to produce more sweat, which places him in danger of tying up if electrolytes are not administered.

• Liver problems – an obese horse will have fat laid down in its liver, which can lead to permanent liver damage if the weight problem is not tackled.

 

 

Weight Loss – A Valuable Indicator

 

Although being overweight can cause massive problems for horses, we all know the most probable cause – lack of exercise and a high calorie intake. Gradually adjusting the ratio of these 2 factors will help to transform your horse into a lean machine again! However, understanding why your horse is losing weight can be a trickier matter. Some of the causes include…

• Parasites – a horrible array of worms called nematodes could be infesting your horse’s large intestine and disrupting blood flow to the intestines, migrating to the liver and causing damage to the lungs. A healthy working programme should help to keep the problem under control.

• Dentistry – if you find sucked lumps of hay and feed on your horse’s stable floor, the chances are he is quidding. This means that his teeth are not in the best shape and hooks on the backs of his teeth or even missing teeth could be causing considerable discomfort while eating and mean he is losing out on precious nutrients as he is unable to keep food in his mouth.

• Gastric ulcers – the excruciating pain associated with gastric lesions in the stomach can be unbearable. One of the key indications that your horse may be suffering from gastric ulcers is weight loss though a reduced appetite.

• Cushing’s disease – this hormonal disease is still without a cure, and despite the increased appetite that may be exhibited, weight loss can be a fairly dramatic indication.

 

Keeping One Step Ahead

There are many dangers of not being able to spot changes in your horse or pony’s weight, whether he is over or underweight. If you are not one of the lucky ones with access to a weighbridge, a weight tape can be a very useful piece of equipment. This cheap alternative will not give a particularly accurate measurement of your horse’s actual weight, but it can allow you to monitor any loss or gain on an ongoing basis so you can adjust workload and calorie intake accordingly.

Keeping your horse’s weight at an optimum and recording any increases or decreases will also do wonders in helping you to adjust the diet from season to season, so your horse can stay at a constant weight all year round. This will reduce any unnecessary strains on the body, keeping him fit and healthy, which will enable him to perform his job better and live a happier life!

Ref: http://www.thepurefeedcompany.com/nutrition/why-weight-matters