Riding and Veterinary Latin

You will come across many Latin terms in this book, because Latin has always been the language of medicine. But don’t worry; it is not as difficult as it sounds! Some of these Latin names have already found their way into our language. For example, many riders will be familiar with the longissimus, the long back muscle that transfers the power of the hindquarters to the forehand, like an elastic band. Many of these terms are very flowery, such as os sacrale, the sacrum, whose name is derived from its cross shape. Others have arisen from comparative anatomy between the species. A musculus extensor (literally translated: extensor muscle) may also have a bending function, depending on how the joints are positioned in relation to one another in the animal concerned. Not all animals are unguligrades like horses, which walk on the tips of their toes like ballerinas. Many are digitigrades, such as cats or dogs, for example and some animals are plantigrades, such as human beings or badgers. Nevertheless, the same muscle always has the same name in all animals.

The Latin terms in this book will also enable you to understand your vet or equine osteopath better when they are discussing your horse’s health problems with you. We will also use non-Latin words in this book that have made their way into our language, such as knee joint or fetlock. Terms have been adopted into the language of riding that are not anatomically correct, such as “knee” for the carpal joint, which can lead to misunderstandings.

Terms that come both from the language of riding and the language of medicine are used to describe anatomy. In anatomy, the obvious English terms such as “above” or “below” are not used to describe directions, because these terms can change, for example, if the horse has to be turned onto its back for an operation. That is why we use Latin terms such as dorsal or ventral. In equitation we also use words to describe direction of movement. Adduction describes pulling the leg towards the midline and abduction describes the lateral stretching of the leg away from the midline. The adduction/abduction movement is particularly important for the half-pass.

The adduction/abduction movement can easily be recognised in the half-pass. (Photo: Slawik)

Flexion, i.e. upwards curving, of the back is the aim of all riding. In order for the back to flex, the sacrum, i.e. the end of the spinal column, and the pelvis, must tilt into a “sitting” position. This movement is also described as flexion. The opposite movement, i.e when the back is pushed down, is called extension, as is the movement of the pelvis and sacrum when stretching out the hindquarters. 

We can clearly see how horses arch their backs when they buck. (Photo: Slawik)

This horse’s back is clearly extended. (Photo: Slawik)

An Overview of Anatomical Terms

Regions:
 

Forehand: All of the parts of the horse from the nose to the shoulder, including both front legs.

Midsection: The area between the forehand and the hindquarters, i.e. the back, chest and abdominal cavity with their respective organs.

Hindquarters: Everything behind the flank, i.e. croup and back legs.

Parts of the body:

Equine body parts have names very similar to human body parts: head, neck, shoulder, upper arm, forearm, back, abdomen, chest, hip and thigh. The only difference is that horses walk on four legs, i.e. on their hands and feet or, more precisely, on the tips of their toes. Everything below the knee joint or hock is called the “distal limb”.

Terms of location:

Cranial: Forwards or in the direction of the head. With regard to the head, we also say rostral for the direction of the nose or caudal for the direction of the ears.

Caudal: Backwards or towards the tail.

Dorsal: Upwards or towards the back.

Ventral: Downwards or towards the abdomen.

Medial: Towards the midline of the body. In the leg, this means the adduction movement.

Lateral: Sideways away from the midline of the body. In the leg, this means the abduction movement.
 

Anatomical Terms of Location. (Photo: Slawik)

The following terms also apply to the leg:

Proximal: In the direction of the body.

Distal: In the direction of the foot.

Palmar: The back of the foreleg, i.e. the “palm” side.

Plantar: The back of the hind leg, i.e. the “sole” side. The fronts of the legs, i.e. the back of the hand or the back of the foot, are described as “dorsal”.