Horses
The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the 3rd through 11th thoracic vertebrae (most horses have 18 thoracic vertebrae), which are unusually long in this area. The processes at the withers can be more than 12 inches (30 cm) long.
Since they do not move relative to the ground (as the horse's head does), the withers are used as the measuring point for the height of a horse. Horses are commonly measured in hands – one hand is 4 inches (10.16 cm). Horse heights are extremely variable, from small pony breeds to large draft breeds. The height at the withers of an average Thoroughbred is 16 hands (1.6 m), and ponies are up to 14.2 hands (1.44 m).
Read more about this topic: Withers
Famous quotes containing the word horses:
“Barely a twelvemonth after
The seven days war that put the world to sleep,
Late in the evening the strange horses came.”
—Edwin Muir (1887–1959)
“When I was young, beautiful ancient statues were castrated, so that the eye might not be corrupted.... Nothing was gained, unless horses and asses had also been castrated.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“General statements omit what we really want to know. Example: “Some horses run faster than others.””
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)