Does a horse have a shoulder girdle? Although horses have no clavicle, they have a “girdle” of muscles, linking the scapula/leg to the rib cage (thoracic sling, synsarcosis). Dr. Google is all over the map about this. One top equine expert indicated horses do not have a shoulder girdle. I’m wondering if veterinary experts agree, or if this is an area of dispute.
What’s at stake here? What changes if you call it one thing or another? Is this about massage or rehab or saddle fit? I have no idea what the answer is, but curious to know why the question.
The context was while to better understand biomechanics. A biomechanics expert stated horses lacked a shoulder girdle. Since the term is used frequently with horses, It was incongruous.
Well “biomechanics experts” are a dime a dozen right now. If you otherwise respect this person’s work you could ask why they say this and what it means to them. If they have already given other signs they are an idiot or this is some random internet person feel free to walk away from them if you think there is little of value.
At this point I just scroll by about 75 per cent of what I see about horses online and have a critical eye for the other 25 per cent leading to about maybe 5 to10 per cent new and useful information.
There’s no point arguing with ignorant online self proclaimed experts because they often don’t have enough knowledge base to engage.
On the other hand it’s possible a smart person might say “I don’t call this anatomy a shoulder girdle because that’s misleading. I prefer to call it xxxx as I think that better describes what’s really going on.” you might agree or disagree based on your own understanding of comparitive anatomy.
Not sure how it would be a matter of dispute–all you need is a cadaver and a sharp knife to investigate it.
A synsarcosis is a joint formed by muscle–no bony articulation.
The thoracic limb attachments of most quarupeds are a synsarcosis. It helps cushion the shock of locommotion.
(I’ve been teaching domestic animal/equine anatomy for ~20 years.)
An illustration by Dr. Deb Bennett, PhD.
I think that it is not incorrect to refer to this arrangement as a shoulder girdle , but I also think that arguing about the nomenclature makes little difference in how the horse moves.
Did some poking about in texts.
Frandsen’s book and Dyce, Sack, and Wensing both make references to the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
My impression was OP wanted clarification as a way to evaluate a particular biomechanics guru. No idea which. As I said above I’d need more context on why guru was claiming this.
I guess, but whether you call it “the shoulder girdle” or the “thoracic limb attachment” or a “synsarcosis” doesn’t change how it works.
Yes exactly. It’s just terminology. There might be something at stake theoretically in choosing one definition over another but it’s unclear here what.
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