December 4, 2006 @ 2:23 pm
Splint Bones
I thought that splint bones were hard bony swellings found on the inside of the cannon bone of the forelegs of horses. They can cause some soreness and lameness for a few weeks but usually have little long term effect.
However, following the recent racing injury of a friend’s horse, I found out that horses actually have splint bones which are remanants of two of the five bones of prehistoric horses which run down each side of the cannon bone. The splint bones are attached to the cannon bone by ligament but have some mobility. Splints can occur etiher between the splint bone and cannon bone or directly on the splint bone.
This led me to do some further research. The splint bones are vestigial second and fourth toes (metacarpal and metatarsal bones) and the hoof is a development of the third toe. The fifth toe appears to have been lost but a remnant of the first toe remains as a chestnut.
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January 16th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Interesting site, I’ve added you to my blogroll.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Thanks for the comment. We’ve added you to our blogroll.
I’ll have a look through your site when I have more time.
I had prepared some information about Arabians at the weekend so it was a coincidence that we received this today. We have also added a link to your website to the newly published article to direct people to an expert in this area.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:47 pm
My friend’s horse is making a good recovery from his racing injury and is already back in light exercise. We are hoping that he continues to make good progress and is able to race again soon.