NAME
|
STUCTURE
|
FUNCTION
|
NOTES
|
SKULL
|
A number of
bones
Fused together.
|
Protection for
brain, inner ear, parts of eye & nasal passages
|
Mandible (
lower jaw)
Maxilla ( upper jaw0 both contain teeth. Nasal
bones. Zygomatic or supraorbital procees protects the eye. Occipital bone forms
back of skull and joins the top of neck.
|
SPINE
|
Collection of
bones, vertebrae, lying one behind the other in a line from the base of skul to
tip of tail
|
Housing &
protection for spinal cord. Attachments for muscles, tendons and ligaments
which support weight of the body. Connects head and limbs.
|
Cervical 7
vertebrea, atlas is the first bone inthe neck followed by axis. Thoracic 18
vertebrae, conection with the ribs. Lumbar 6 vertebrae. Sacral 5 fused
vertebrae, part of hip girdle. Coccygeal average 18 vertebrae forming
tail
|
RIBCAGE
|
18 pairs of
ribs each connecting to a thoracic vertebrae
|
Protection for
heart and lungs.
|
8 true ribs
connected to sternum or breast bone directly, 10 false pairs conected to
sternum by cartilage.
|
FORELIMBS
Scapula
|
Shoulder blade-
one either side of the rib cage.
|
Connected to
spine by muscle and ligaments, only allows freedom of movement and absorbtion
of concussion.
|
Horse has no
collar bone, no fixed connection to the spine to forelimbs.Horses front part of
ribcage and internal organs are held in place by a muscular sling called the
Thoracic Sling
|
Humerus
|
Upper end form
point of shoulder
|
Connection of
shoulder blade to forelimbs
|
Lower end joins
forelimbs at the elbow
|
Radius and
Ulna
|
Upper part of
the foreleg
|
Ulna a short
bone forms point of elbow. Radius a long bone stretches to the knee
joint.
|
|
Knee
|
Carpus bones and pissiform bones
|
Joint allowing movement in the foreleg
|
6
carpus, 3 on top of 3. Plane joint allows movement, pissiform bone at the
back.
|
Cannon
bone
|
Bone of the lower
leg
|
Weight bearing
bone, circumfrence of the cannon just under the knee is a guide to the horse's
abillity to bear weight and do hard work, referred to as 9" bone
etc.
|
Stretches from
the knee joint to the fetlock joint.
|