A Picture Guide to the Different Parts of a Horse

shallow on others. Horses are measured for height from the top of the withers and those with high withers are hard to ride bareback.
Shoulder
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The shoulder is the large bone that runs from the withers down to the chest. A wellsloped shoulder can indicate a horse that will have smooth gaits. Horses with more vertical shoulders can have choppier gaits.
Forearm
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The underlying bone of the forearm is the radius bone. A long forearm is desirable as it can signify a long smooth stride. The radius bone on humans runs between the elbow and wrist joint. Any bones below the forearm on a horse are essentially equivalent to the bones of the hands and feet on humans. All living horses stand on the equivalent of the third digit of a humans hands and feet. 1
The Knee
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The knee of the horse is made of several small bones. Although it is called the knee and bends forward like a human knee it is different in structure to a human knee. A humans knee joint is a hinge joint. A horses knee is several bones held together by small muscles tendons and ligaments. The bones in the knee are similar to the bones of a humans wrists. The stifle joint in the back leg is actually closer in structure to a human knee.
The Front Cannon Bone
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This bone extends from beneath the structures of the knee to the fetlock joint below. Along the cannon bone runs a smaller bone called the splint bone. In most light horse breeds a cannon bone circumference that is greater than 8 inches is desirable. This means the horse has a sturdy bone mass to carry a load and withstand work. These bones are somewhat equivalent to the metacarpal bones in a humans palm. From the horses knee downwards the foreleg bones are vestiges of former toes.
The Fetlock Joint
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The fetlock is formed by the joint between the cannon bone and the pastern bone. At the back of the fetlock lies two small bones called the proximal sesamoids. Occasionally you may hear the fetlock joint referred to as the pastern joint or ankle. This joint although it may appear so is not actually analogous to the human ankle. The horses leg from the knee down has no muscle and the structures are more like our fingers than our