Horses have bones in their legs called splint bones. They are vestigial metacarpals from back when they had 3 toes. As of yet we can't find any role they perform. If damaged or removed it can lead to chronic lameness a condition in horses that will often lead to death.
As of yet we can't find any role they perform. If damaged or removed it can lead to chronic lameness
That seems to imply they perform a structural role, unless I’m oversimplifying it?
I’m a bit of an anthropology geek, and am super interested in vestigial traits. I have one: the ‘elf ear’, or Darwin’s Tubercal. Mine turns down, not out, so I’m not genetically lucky enough to cosplay as an elf. I kinda feel ripped off.
e: ha, I’m a better example than the wiki picture. Anyone can feel free to use my picture, it’s a pretty good example.
As far as we can tell they perform no role at all. They are only about the size of a finger, have no major tendon or ligament attachments and do not connect to another bone. There may have been new research in the last few years that I am unaware of that sheads some new light. They are considered a bit of a mystery.
Trust me you are not the only one who is interested in why this happens. There have been a few papers written on it. But I think the reality is the funding doesn't exist to explore it. There are a lot more important and money making things to research about horses.
Role playing vestigial traits is my new band name.
e: In all seriousness, it does sound like a role, even if we can’t figure it out. Turns out the appendix and tonsils have a role, though we didn’t know what until recently.
It doesn’t seem lameness should result from damage to a purely vestigial trait, but I’m no expert.
The one horse fact I know is that violin bows (and presumably all viol* and string bass bows) use tail hair from male horses, never female, to avoid using pee-drenched hairs.
... damn. Well done op, I'm not sure how I got this old without knowing this. Hella random, sure, but it's ... a horse with a moustache. I mean, c'mon.
It's a horse's nose, with a moustache (the "weird hair"). The other pictures in the link OP provided make it easier to understand for people who aren't familliar with what horse noses look like. Example:
Horse: "bonjour"
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Horses produce roughly 10 gallons of saliva per day!
That, I didn't want to know.
There's a fungus that grows on clover, that if eaten makes horses salivate more.
"Slobbers" normally isn't anything but annoying, but it actually can cause dehydration if the horse doesn't have access to water
Son, I'm disappointed in you
We should use horse saliva as a humane milk replacement.
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Unlike humans, horses aren’t able to vomit!
Keep them coming!
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A horse’s heart typically weighs 4–4.5kg (around 2lbs) and is about the size of a basketball!
Next fact about horse semen!
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Thoroughbred horse semen is the most expensive liquid in the world!
But my friends don’t appreciate it when I order shots of it instead of tequila.
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If you see a horse with a red ribbon tied to its tail, stay back – it’s a kicker!
Who had the balls to tie the ribbon on the tail of a kicker lol
Horses have bones in their legs called splint bones. They are vestigial metacarpals from back when they had 3 toes. As of yet we can't find any role they perform. If damaged or removed it can lead to chronic lameness a condition in horses that will often lead to death.
That seems to imply they perform a structural role, unless I’m oversimplifying it?
I’m a bit of an anthropology geek, and am super interested in vestigial traits. I have one: the ‘elf ear’, or Darwin’s Tubercal. Mine turns down, not out, so I’m not genetically lucky enough to cosplay as an elf. I kinda feel ripped off.
e: ha, I’m a better example than the wiki picture. Anyone can feel free to use my picture, it’s a pretty good example.
As far as we can tell they perform no role at all. They are only about the size of a finger, have no major tendon or ligament attachments and do not connect to another bone. There may have been new research in the last few years that I am unaware of that sheads some new light. They are considered a bit of a mystery.
What about half elf. You know left and right half
I could go half elf. :)
I’m very interested in learning how damage to vestigial anatomy can cause lameness. That’s fascinating and makes a lot of sense.
You’ve sent me down a rabbit hole of horse anatomy, and I appreciate that.
Trust me you are not the only one who is interested in why this happens. There have been a few papers written on it. But I think the reality is the funding doesn't exist to explore it. There are a lot more important and money making things to research about horses.
Sounds like a role to me.
Role playing vestigial traits is my new band name.
e: In all seriousness, it does sound like a role, even if we can’t figure it out. Turns out the appendix and tonsils have a role, though we didn’t know what until recently.
It doesn’t seem lameness should result from damage to a purely vestigial trait, but I’m no expert.
The one horse fact I know is that violin bows (and presumably all viol* and string bass bows) use tail hair from male horses, never female, to avoid using pee-drenched hairs.
TIL a horse can grow a better stache than me.
Today we both learned something.
Is anybody making horsestache wax? Could be an untapped market!
Some Syrian well groomed horses could open a horse barber shop with leather aprons and straight egde blades
... damn. Well done op, I'm not sure how I got this old without knowing this. Hella random, sure, but it's ... a horse with a moustache. I mean, c'mon.
Apparently they're a sensory system, like a cat's whiskers.
This is now automatically a great day.
Classy
Hmm I mustache a question as this intrigues me
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I stared at that image and could not tell wtf it was. Looks like a dogs belly but there is weird hair where the legs should be.
It's a horse's nose, with a moustache (the "weird hair"). The other pictures in the link OP provided make it easier to understand for people who aren't familliar with what horse noses look like. Example:
looks like he’s giving me one more chance to pay him back before his Shetlands come round to rearrange my knees.
::: spoiler similar feeling :::
Nothing is more pleasing to the touch than a horse's nose. Okay, vulva is pretty amazing too.
That escalated quickly.
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Mesdames et messieurs, je vous présente "une merveilles"
I made that grammatical error deliberately.
horse fact, horses are opportunistic carnivores!
This bot is asking for a banning.
But if we ban them... how do I know where to go for all my savy shopping needs 365 hours of the month?
The ethical dilemma's we mods have to face each day.