What's Inside the Horse

Yes, I have another video for you! Now, this time when I say "what's inside the horse," I'm not referring to anything touchy-feely: I mean guts, bones, ligaments, muscles, etc. - what's literally inside. We are talking extremely scholarly dissection here. I found it absolutely riveting. However, if you are the squeamish type (and were never an An Sci/Pre-Vet major like yours truly) you might want to skip it. I am putting the link down lower on purpose as even the frozen image could be disturbing. Nonetheless, I wanted to share this, in case anyone else will find it just as fascinating and educational as I do.

To give you an outline to help you decide if you want to watch or not, basically, these folks set out to explain just what enables a Thoroughbred race horse to run so fast. They investigate the role of the forearm musculature, the tendon/ligament support in the legs, the role of the hoof and take a look at the lungs - I had NO IDEA they were this big, honestly! The voluminous amount of intestines is briefly shown being removed. We are shown the larynx and trachea and find out exactly why and where some horses need "tie-back" surgery (although the surgery itself is not mentioned for some reason). We briefly see the hind-end musculature and the spleen. Almost last but not least, the heart is removed and compared to a cow heart. Again, I had no freaking idea they were THAT big! Can you name another extremely famous race horse, besides this one, who was found to have a very over-sized heart? I didn't know!

*Gratuitous Photo of Big Red* Isn't this gorgeous??!? I have it as my screen saver. Galloping at Belmont, I believe. Whatta horse.

The reason the video has the long and unwieldy title (which really doesn't do such a hot job of explaining what it's about) is the sequence when the horse's leg is put on a mechanical "stressor" machine and the exact load on the tendons is aptly illustrated, if in rather grisly fashion. Believe me, it will make you appreciate the job your horse's front boots are doing protecting the back of those forelegs - especially if he's prone to overreaching. YIKES.

So here is the video. I'm very glad I stumbled across it (filmed and shown in the UK, originally) as I learned a lot of useful information. Probably nothing new to a certain reader who's getting ready to graduate from vet school - yay, Jess! :-) - but to the layperson, it's a revelation. I hope you find it the same!