The Horse Skeleton

Most horses have 205 bones in their skeleton - but not all! The Arabian Horse has less than its counterparts.

The number of bones in a horse's skeleton can vary across the breeds. The Arabian horse is known to have fewer bones in their spinal column and, because of their shorter spine, only 17 ribs compared to most other horse breeds who have 18.

All horses have 'true ribs' and 'floating ribs'. The true ribs, of which horses have eight, are connected at both the spinal column and the sternum. The remaining floating ribs are only attached to the spinal column.