THE WITHERS 
The region of the anatomy called the withers 
has no well defined limits. The word “with- 
ers,” therefore, while academic in hippology, 
is not usually found indexed in text books on 
anatomy. It is described as to shape in the 
study of types, but seldom as regards to its 
component parts, except in surgical anatomy 
—a branch of veterinary science that is as yet 
ill-developed. The horse judge studies the 
profile of the withers very carefully because the 
general appearance of any given horse depends 
a great deal upon its shape, its size and the 
measurements of its dimensions. The surgeon 
studies not only its shape and dimensions, but 
its constituent parts as well and their complex 
and disadvantageous arrangement from the 
surgical point of view. 
It is important to note that the withers may 
be high, low, narrow, broad, steep, sloping, 
long or short, and that any two or three of 
these characteristics combine to determine the 
various types of withers of different individ- 
uals. Graphic writers in describing equine 
types often use such terms as sharp withers, 
low withers, high withers, long withers, thick 
