August 7, 2026, 3:18 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Do you know where the chestnut, the nostrils, or even the fetlocks are on a horse? Guess all nine questions about horse body parts and test your knowledge with our PETBOOK horse quiz.
Ganasche or Gamasche?
It’s no secret that horses and horse care are complex–otherwise, there wouldn’t be a dedicated field of study for it. And because the equine world is so detailed, it comes with a plethora of terms that are hardly intuitive for laypeople. Or do you know offhand what the difference is between a Gamasche and a Ganasche (aside from one letter)?
The Ganasche is indeed a part of the horse’s body–and it’s far from the only term that initially raises questions. The anatomy of a horse is not only extensive but also linguistically quite idiosyncratic. Terms like chestnuts, sheath, or dock sound more like they belong in the kitchen or garden than in the stable–yet they are an integral part of it.
Test Your Knowledge with the Horse Quiz
How well do you know your stuff? Test your knowledge with our nine quiz questions about horse body parts and where they are located.
From Head to Hoof: How Well Do You Know Your Stuff?
Not so easy, right–or maybe it is? Many of the terms you’ve probably heard before, but you can’t always immediately place them correctly. With some terms, you might even have more questions now than before. Especially with body parts like fetlocks or chestnuts, or the dock, it’s understandable if there are big question marks left–not least because of the unusual names and perhaps even a relatively high risk of confusion.
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Chestnuts–What Are They Anyway?
Horse owners know them, and horse novices overlook them: the chestnuts. With such a word, you might think more of the brown nuts that fall from large chestnut trees in autumn. But why do horses have chestnuts, do they serve an important function, and where do they come from?
Chestnuts are calloused skin patches on the inner sides of a horse’s legs. Especially for newcomers to the horse world, they initially raise more questions and are often mistaken for dirt or skin changes. In fact, they are a normal part of a horse’s anatomy.
Their origin lies in the evolutionary history of the horse: The ancestral horses had several toes, which evolved into today’s hooves. The chestnuts are considered remnants of these original structures and no longer have any significant function today.
Also interesting: Did you know? This is how horses really say “Hello”
What’s the Deal with Fetlocks?
Admittedly, the term is often better known as feathering. Especially in horses with little feathering, it hardly comes up in everyday life. It refers to the back area of the pastern directly above the hoof–the fetlocks–and the hair growing there.
The feathering or fetlock hair is particularly pronounced in draft breeds like the Shire horse or Tinkers. There, it is even part of the typical appearance. 1
Whether chestnuts or fetlocks–many of the terms initially seem unfamiliar but are quite common in the stable. How many of them could you correctly identify in the quiz?