Here in the horse care glossary you will find a list of common terms, and their meanings, used in natural horse care.
Anterior or Dorsal - Located towards the front of the body (eg the front of the hoof).
Anterior/Posterior or A/P - Front to back.
Distal - The bottom of an anatomical structure (eg the distal edge of the coffin bone would be the bottom: furthest away from the joint with the short pastern bone).
Distal Phalanx - Also known as the third phalanx, P-3, or the coffin bone in the equine foot.
Lateral - Situated at, relating to, or on the side (eg the outside of the limb).
Medial - Situated in, relating to, or extending towards the middle (eg the inside of the limb).
Medial/Lateral or M/L - From the inside to the outside or side-to-side.
Posterior or Caudal - Located towards the back of the body (eg the back portion of the limb).
Proximal - The top of an anatomical structure (eg the proximal edge of the coffin bone would be at the top, where it joins with the short pastern bone).
Ventral - The lower surface (eg the bottom of the hoof).
Dead Sole - Flaky, chalky sole material that exfoliates easily on scraping.
Live Tissue - Sole tissue that is seen as waxy in appearance surface.
Quarters - In hoof care terminology, this refers to the sides of the hoof wall. When looking at the sole of a hoof, where the middle of the toe is at 12:00, the quarters would be roughly between the 2:00 and 4:00 and the 8:00 and 10:00 positions.
Toe Callus - Area behind the toe wall which consists of calloused sole and protects and supports the tip of the coffin bone.
ACE - Acepromazine
ACTH - Andrenocorticotropic Hormone
ACV - Apple Cider Vinegar
A/P - Anterior/Posterior
BCS - Body Condition Score
BP - Beet Pulp
CS - Colloidal Silver
DE - Diatomatous Earth
DEX Test - Dexmethasone Suppression Test
DMSO - Dimethyl Sulfoxide
ECD - Equine Cushings Disease
EPSM - Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy
FF - Farriers' Formula
FFS - Foward Foot Syndrome
GTT - Glucose Tolerance Test
HPA - Hoof Pastern Axis
IR - Insulin Resistance
Jherb - Jiaogulan
LIM - Less is More
LTLH - Long toe/low heel
M/L - Medial/Lateral
NSC - Non Structual Carbohydrates (sugar+starch)
NFC - Non Fiber Carbohydrates
NO - Nitric Oxide
RBO - Rice Bran Oil
ROA - Recurrent Airway Obstruction
WLD - White Line Disease
Downloadable eBook now available containing all the information on this site - over 100 pages - in an easy to print and navigate offline version.