Wednesday, November 16, 2005

For my Last Lesson








Description:
Chestnut Morgan Gelding

Morgan Horse
breed of American light horse descended from a single progenitor—the famous Justin Morgan. Morgans are used as all-purpose light horses and are very popular on cattle ranches. Their average height is just under 15 hands (60 in./150 cm), and their average weight is about 1,000 lb (450 kg). Bay, chestnut, and black are common colors.

What is a horse? (ahhh my Latin classes)

A large hoofed mammal (Equus caballus) having a short-haired coat, a long mane, and a long tail, domesticated since ancient times and used for riding and for drawing or carrying loads.

What exactly is meant by chestnut?

A reddish/yellowish brown with no black points.

What is a gelding?

Oops! Sorry, there boy.

Words relating to horse anatomy

Horse parts:

withers: the highest point of the shoulder seen best with horse standing square and head slightly lowered. The tops of the two shoulder blades and the space between them define the withers.

mane and forelock: (mane is what I am always grabbing on to!)
long and relatively coarse hair growing from the dorsal ridge of the neck, lying on either the left or right side of the neck, and the continuation of that hair on the top of the head, where it generally hangs forward.

Dock: the point where the tail connects to the rear of the horse.

Flank: Where the hind legs and the stomach of the horse meet.

Pastern: The connection between the coronet and the fetlock.

Fetlock: Resembles the ankle of the horse.

Coronet: The part of the hoof that connects the hoof to the pastern.

Cannon: Resembles the shin of the horse.

Muzzle: the chin, mouth, and nostrils make up the muzzle on the horse's face.

Crest: the point on the neck where the mane grows out of.

Poll: the portion of the horse's neck right behind the ears.

Hock: Hindlimb equivalent to the Heel, the main joint on the hind leg

Stifle: corresponds to the elbow of a horse, except on the hind limb

Gaskin: also known as the "second thigh," the large muscle on the hind leg, just above the hock, below the stifle







This is how it looked when I was on the trail ride - riding Skippy I think:

Photo from the Hoofers Riding Website.

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