As mentioned earlier, this lesson is to introduce you to the basics of equine anatomy and physiology. The muscular system, skeletal system, and nervous system have been covered more completely since the muscles, skeleton, and nervous system are very important to understand when applying equine massage therapy and other alternative therapies.

The remaining body systems are going to be covered very briefly. If you wish to know more about these systems, I will recommend books that you may purchase for further study.





The Circulatory System consists of the Cardiovascular System and the Lymphatic System.






The respiratory system includes the nose, mouth, pharnyx, trachea (windpipe), bronchial tubes and lungs.

The diaphragm is a large, flat muscular organ that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The diaphragm aids in breathing and also in defecation.

Breathing enables the body to get oxygen into the system. This oxygen is a necessity for the body to stay alive. It also helps to feed the muscles and remove toxins.

Massage indirectly assists the respiratory system by increasing circulation throughout the body, allowing it to bring in more oxygen to increase the health of the muscle tissues.





The digestive system consists of the mouth, pharnyx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, cecum, large intestine and anus.

The digestive system is obviously the place where your body consumes and breaks down food to feed the rest of your body.

Massage helps to improve digestion because it will put your horse into the parasympathetic state that we talked about during the section on the nervous system. A horse that is relaxed will exhibit many gut sounds that let you know their digestive system is active.





The job of the endocrine system is to produce hormones. These hormones regulate growth, development and many other functions including reproduction and metabolism.

The endocrine system is very complex and is beyond the scope of this website.

If you would like to learn more, you can see my recommendations for books to purchase.





The urinary system consists of a pair of kidneys, the ureters, the bladder and the urethra.

It is responsible for maintaining the balance of fluids in the body and eliminating waste in the form of urine.

The kidneys biggest job is to filter the blood to remove waste products. Which is then sent to the bladder by the two ureters. From there it is removed from the body by way of the urethra.

I think we are all familiar with the function of the urinary system. But one thing to be on the look out for, massage can make your horse need to go (if you know what I mean). It is not that uncommon for a horse to urinate right in the middle of a session.

If your horse starts to act "fidgety" - you might want to give him a break to see if he needs to relieve himself. This happens because massage helps to increase circulation, which will increase the movement of fluid, which the urinary system will get rid of. So, even though it can be embarrassing, it is a good thing.

One time I actually had a horse urinate twice during the session, but then other horses won't need to go at all. Or, the will go as soon as they are set free.





The reproductive system is also very involved and is beyond the scope of this website.

However, I would like to mention that massage can help horses with reproductive problems. It helps them to relax and increase circulation - which improves their immune system - which in turn can make them a healthier horse.

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Well, that about does it for equine anatomy and physiology. As I have said many times, this is only an introduction. If you plan to do more advanced equine therapy techniques, it might be wise to purchase a book or two on equine anatomy and do some further study on your own.

If you just plan to apply equine therapy to your own horse for relaxation and to relieve some minor muscle tension, this short course in equine anatomy and physiology could be enough. You will need to be the judge.