• Aiken, SC

    info@equus-soma.com

     

  • Equus-Soma

    Equine Osteology & Anatomy Learning Center

     

  • Waldoboro, ME

    207-542-6132

  • Osteology : the study (-ology) of the structure and function of bones (-osteo)


    Bottom line folks, the skeleton of the horse was not designed to carry weight.

    Period.

              Several thousands of years of domestication have ignored that fact so in order to survive, the horse's body must adapt and compensate to unnatural stresses imposed upon it. When compensation works against the tide of normal movement, the body tries to stabilize it's structure by growing new bone (Wolff's Law).
             Of course, not every site of bone remodeling will cause clinical issues.  Like humans, horses can function relatively comfortably despite the osteopathic changes that occur from life and aging.  Also, proper exercise and controlled load-bearing will increase and strengthen bone which is the positive aspect of Wolff's Law.

             However, if the stresses and strains imposed on the musculoskeletal system have been a consistent part of the horses daily life Wolff's Law will work overtime and the results can become pathologic.

           Examples would be consistently working the horse in restrictive training gear (drop/side reins) or anything that holds the horse's neck & body in unnatural postures for any length of time (Rolkur), drilling exercises with few breaks to let the muscuskeletal system relax, poorly fitting tack especially saddles, unbalanced hooves.  The list goes on.

  •            When I recovered the skeleton of my event horse Petey, I was quite suprised to find that he had mild kissing spine.  Back when I was riding him (the '70s and 80s) I had no clue.  Every now and then, he would complain of a sore back (proper saddle fit was unheard of) so I would call in his massage therapist and he would be good to go.  Or so I believed.  It was not until 11 years after putting him down that his bones revealed what his body was doing to compensate.
               

  •          Osteology is not just the study of how bones fit together to make a skeleton.  It is a fascinating trip down the rabbit hole of crooks and crannies, foramens, spurs, mishappen joints and of course, numerous examples of Wolff's Law. With bones of every new horse that come into the Learning Center also comes a story.  Many times a CSI case!  We always appreciate having a full history on the horse who bones we've acquired, but in reality we get bits and pieces from fading memories.  So the challenge is learning what is "normal", a non-clinical "variation" or a full blown pathology.

    The more we know about the horse's skeleton and how the bones compensate for aging, injury and (sadly) overuse, the more we can educate horse owners on better ways to handle and train.

  • It's ALL about horse BONES!

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    Learning Center
    Learning Center

    It's ALL about horse BONES!

    Learn More

  •

    Kissing Spine, Open Growth Plates, Transitional vertebrae, and more .... OH MY!

    Tell Me More!

    Learning Center Collections
    Learning Center Collections

    Kissing Spine, Open Growth Plates, Transitional vertebrae, and more .... OH MY!

    Tell Me More!