• LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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      1 year ago

      Thank you for subscribing to horse facts! 𐂃

      Horses produce roughly 10 gallons of saliva per day!

    • Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Horses have bones in their legs called splint bones. They are vestigial metacarpals from back when they had 3 toes. As of yet we can’t find any role they perform. If damaged or removed it can lead to chronic lameness a condition in horses that will often lead to death.

      • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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        1 year ago

        As of yet we can’t find any role they perform. If damaged or removed it can lead to chronic lameness

        That seems to imply they perform a structural role, unless I’m oversimplifying it?

        I’m a bit of an anthropology geek, and am super interested in vestigial traits. I have one: the ‘elf ear’, or Darwin’s Tubercal. Mine turns down, not out, so I’m not genetically lucky enough to cosplay as an elf. I kinda feel ripped off.

        e: ha, I’m a better example than the wiki picture. Anyone can feel free to use my picture, it’s a pretty good example.

        • Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          As far as we can tell they perform no role at all. They are only about the size of a finger, have no major tendon or ligament attachments and do not connect to another bone. There may have been new research in the last few years that I am unaware of that sheads some new light. They are considered a bit of a mystery.

          What about half elf. You know left and right half

          • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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            1 year ago

            I could go half elf. :)

            I’m very interested in learning how damage to vestigial anatomy can cause lameness. That’s fascinating and makes a lot of sense.

            You’ve sent me down a rabbit hole of horse anatomy, and I appreciate that.

            • Everythingispenguins@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Trust me you are not the only one who is interested in why this happens. There have been a few papers written on it. But I think the reality is the funding doesn’t exist to explore it. There are a lot more important and money making things to research about horses.

          • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
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            1 year ago

            Role playing vestigial traits is my new band name.

            e: In all seriousness, it does sound like a role, even if we can’t figure it out. Turns out the appendix and tonsils have a role, though we didn’t know what until recently.

            It doesn’t seem lameness should result from damage to a purely vestigial trait, but I’m no expert.

    • radix@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      The one horse fact I know is that violin bows (and presumably all viol* and string bass bows) use tail hair from male horses, never female, to avoid using pee-drenched hairs.