Parts of a Horse's Leg – Knee, Cannon, Fetlock and Hock

All 14 parts on the diagram

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Front leg 10

Elbow The point of the elbow is a bony bump. It sits at the top and back of the forearm.
Forearm The forearm is the muscular part of the front leg. The knee is at its lower end.
Chestnut Every leg has one on its inner side. It is above the knee on a front leg, just below the hock on a hind leg.
Knee A horse's knee matches a person's wrist. It sits above the cannon.
Cannon The cannon is sometimes called the shin. On a hind leg it runs from the hock to the fetlock.
Fetlock The fetlock is sometimes called the horse's ankle. The word also means the tuft of hair behind the joint.
Ergot Sits in the middle of the tuft of hair behind the fetlock.
Pastern The pastern joins the fetlock to the coronet.
Coronet The ring of soft tissue where the leg's skin meets the hoof. Also called the coronary band.
Hoof The horny box around the lowest part of the leg. Its tough outer covering is the hoof wall.

Hind leg 4

Thigh The thigh lies above the stifle and the gaskin.
Stifle The stifle matches a person's knee.
Gaskin The gaskin is the large muscle just above the hock. It matches the calf of a person's leg.
Hock The hock matches a person's ankle and heel. The point of the hock is the bony bump at its back.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) a Kansas vocational agriculture curriculum, transparency master Parts of a Horse, scanned page read at https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41153527_0220 (elbow, forearm, knee, cannon, fetlock, pastern, coronet, hoof, thigh, stifle, gaskin, hock); (2) a North Dakota animal science unit, Parts of the Horse, courtesy of Vocational Instructional Services, Texas A&M University, scanned page read at https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41153606_0743 (forearm, knee, cannon, fetlock, pastern, hoof, thigh, stifle, gaskin, hock); (3) Wikipedia, Equine anatomy, the list of external parts, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_anatomy (elbow, forearm, chestnut, knee, cannon, fetlock, ergot, pastern, coronet, hoof, stifle, gaskin, hock); (4) M. H. Hayes, The Points of the Horse, 1893, chapter 3, Names of external parts and definitions, https://archive.org/details/pointsofhorsefam00haye (elbow, fore-arm, chestnuts, knee, cannon, fetlock, ergot, pastern, coronet, hoof, thigh, stifle, gaskin, hock). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05. The outlines, the stance and the muscle lines were measured on a plate of George Stubbs, The Anatomy of the Horse, 1766 (a standing horse from the side), in the copy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, on Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Anatomy_of_the_Horse,_including_a_particular_description_of_the_bones,_cartilages,_muscles,_fascias,_ligaments,_nerves,_arteries,_veins,_and_glands_MET_DP353984.jpg), mirrored to face left; the skin, tail hair, chestnuts and ergots were added. Licence: own work

How it works

A horse's front and hind legs share their names below the knee and the hock. Above those joints the names differ, so this horse leg anatomy quiz shows each leg in its own view.

Read the full guide

Front leg, then hind leg

Numbers 1 to 10 are on the front legs. Down the near leg run the elbow, the forearm, the knee, the cannon, the fetlock, the pastern, the coronet and the hoof. The ergot is the small horny point behind the fetlock, and the chestnut is the patch on the inside of the other front leg, above its knee. Numbers 11 to 14 are on the hind leg: the thigh, the stifle at the front, the gaskin below it and the hock, the large joint that points backward. Below the hock the names repeat: cannon, fetlock, pastern, coronet, hoof.

A horse's knee is on the front leg only. The large joint of the hind leg is the hock.
The stifle matches a person's knee. The horse's knee matches a person's wrist.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a horse's leg?

From the top of a front leg: elbow, forearm, knee, cannon, fetlock, pastern, coronet and hoof. A hind leg has the thigh, stifle, gaskin and hock, and below the hock the same names as the front leg.

What is the fetlock on a horse?

The joint between the cannon and the pastern, sometimes called the horse's ankle. The word also means the tuft of hair that grows behind the joint, where the ergot is.

What is the cannon on a horse's leg?

The part of the leg between the knee or the hock and the fetlock. It is sometimes called the shin. The cannon bone inside it has two small splint bones at its back.

Where is the gaskin on a horse?

On the hind leg, between the stifle and the hock. It is the large muscle just above the hock, and it matches the calf of a person's leg.

What are chestnuts and ergots on a horse?

Small horny growths on the legs. A chestnut is on the inside of each leg, above the knee on a front leg and just below the hock on a hind leg. An ergot is at the back of each fetlock.