HORSE ANATOMY EXPLAINED

Discover the bodies and behaviours of horses that make them masters of the open plain

- AILSA HARVEY

2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac, with the last one occurring in 2014. Horses have been celebrated and have accompanied humans for thousands of years. We learned how to ride on their backs and tame them for transportation to new lands. Yet horses are not just vehicles to be marvelled at for their racing power. Those who own horses build up strong relationships with their equine companions. A healthy and happy horse is a curious, confident and powerful creature that lives in herds yet holds a distinct personality.

A horse’s anatomy provides it with great power, though the animal is naturally gentle. Horses can carry 15 to 20 per cent of their body weight on their backs, and their mighty kicks can deliver a force of 2,000 pounds per square inch (PSI). This is enough force to kill predators, such as wolves, in defence. These animals are fast, too.

Their lean, athletic bodies have evolved for speed and stamina, with flexible spines where the lower back meets the pelvis, called the lumbosacral joint, enabling their hind legs to extend far under the body as they run and push off the ground. Horses are visibly muscular, with a low fat composition, with a type of muscle that helps them sprint at high speeds of over 40 miles per hour. They have a high percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibres – those that contract rapidly to produce short bursts of intense power.