The Equine Knee is NOT a Knee At All, It’s a…

WRIST! That’s right, it’s actually a wrist, and in no way, shape or form, is it a knee… Referring to this joint as a knee is anatomically, functionally, and mechanically incorrect. What is the anatomy of the equine “knee”, how does it differ from an actual knee, and how can it possibly be a wrist?

What do you mean it’s not a knee? Of course it’s a knee… Well, anatomy means everything when trying to understand the motion of a joint, and what role it plays in overall body movement. Let’s dive into the anatomy of the “knee” and see why it’s wrong to refer to it as a knee, in the first place.

First let’s look at the anatomy of a knee. We will compare the human knee to a horse’s “knee”. If I ask you to tell me what motion occurs at your knee, you would say something like, “bending” or “flexion and extension”, both of which would be correct. Our knee, is considered a modified hinge joint. So you can think of your knee like a hinge on a door, as it only swings in two directions, forwards and backwards. That’s because our knee is primarily made up of two big bones, the femur (that runs from the hip joint to the knee joint, and the tibia, which runs from the knee joint to the ankle joint. Yes, there is a third bone there, called the fibula, which parallels the tibia (actually attaching to it below the knee joint), but it doesn’t play a role in the…