Resources Required
1. live horse
2. tape + labels large enough to be read from a distance
3. at least 10 volunteers with proper footwear? boots to share? etc.
4. give aways for contributors and participants
5. face masks for all participants?
Intro
Let's get started in our game to learn the parts of the horse, which does involve a few people getting the chance to get a first hand chance to touch the pony. Who believes a horse has a frog and a chesnut?
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the vocal cords of the horse are limited, compared to ours, however they have a very expressive way of moving and using different parts of the body, to tell people and other horses exactly how they feel or what they want.
Each horse is an individual with a unique character molded by genetics, environment, schooling, conditioning and circumstances and that it is a combination of movements AS A WHOLE that must be interpreted!
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We will show you how to play the game.
Dock: Below the skin of this horse body part are muscles, and the extension of the vertebrae from the spine. It is very mobile for both expressing mood, balancing, and swishing away insects. The dock is the area at the top of the tail. Heather will affix label.
Hock: It's kind of the backwards knee. Again Heather demonstrates.
Eyes: The horses eyes are set at sides of the heads rather than at the front like predator animals like cats, dogs and humans. Remember in a natural state, they grass eaters. Therefore a small turn of the head is all that is required see behind them, as a defense against their predators…. Meanwhile, to see clearly in front a horse must arch his neck in a way that changes the way light hits the pupil -- If Nikky shows her something close up to Dakota from the front?
In a curious or alarmed state the eyes will widen, and when he is tired or resting, his eyelids will be drooping. Squinting usually means pain but can mean readiness to attack or set in stubborn, so watch the ears too…
Ears:
What do you think it means when a horse has her ears back?
Nostrils, Lips like us... describe muzzle.
Heather can choose the first volunteer.
1. Hoof: The hard horny covering of the horse's foot.Kim to demonstrate frog to looky onlookers?Frog: This wedge-shaped pad on the bottom, or sole of the hoof acts as a shock absorber. for 1100 pounds of horse landing on such tiny feet, the frog contacts the ground first at each step. It also aides in pumping blood back up the leg like an extra heart. It is more sensitive than other areas of the hoof
2. Chesnut: This is a left over mark of a pre-historic toe sits. On the inside of the cannon bone, on all four legs, i.e. a few inches above the knee. It is made up of very soft hoof-like material and grows slowly. On some horses the growth flakes off naturally. If it looks like it is getting long it is perfectly safe to pull off the dead growth. It will likely peel away to almost skin level. I've seen some horses whose people just let it grow on and on.
3. Elbow: This is the boney protrusion right in front of the girth area. It is formed by the top of the forearm bone (radius bone). The radius bone is equivalent to the large forearm bone in our arm
4. Ergot: This is like the hidden chestnut. Another left over of a toe. It grows from the rear underside of the fetlock joint. A little nub of somewhat like soft hoof wall like material. A little tougher maybe.
5. Cannon: This bone extends from beneath the structures of the knee to the fetlock joint below. A cannon bone circumference 8 inches or greater to show sustantial bone mass to carry a load and withstand work. Another left over of the 5 toes horses had before they evolved to the hoof we see today.
6. Splint bone: Along the cannon bone runs a smaller bone, called the splint bone.
All these bones are somewhat equivalent to the bones in a human’s palm. From the horse’s knee downwards the foreleg bones are vestiges of former toes. That is why it’s sometimes said a horse runs on its fingers and toes.
7. Mane: This body part is a growth of coarse hair sprouting from the horse’s crest. Some breeds like the Appaloosa have very sparse manes, while others like Morgans and some draft breeds have very thick manes. Horses toss their manes to flick away biting insects. If you plan to pull your horse’s mane for banding or braiding you’ll need to provide a little extra protection from the bugs.
8. Forelock: This body part is the tuft of hair that falls between the ears onto the forehead.
9. Withers: This body part is at the top of the shoulder where the neck joins the body. The ‘lump’ seen on many horses is the top of the spiny process of the vertebrae, quite high on some horses and shallow on others. We measure a horse in hands to their withers. Dakota is 14.3, wich means we are actually playing pin the tail on the horse!
10. Knee: This horse’s body part 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 human’s knee joint is a ball and socket joint. A horse’s knee is several bones held together by small muscles, tendons and ligaments. The bones in the knee are similar to the bones of a human’s wrists.
11. Poll: This area is a very sensitive part and is where the vertebrae joins with the skull (The poll is located between a horse's ears);