Throughout this series, I have illustrated the concept of systems anatomy. Veterinary education and that of traditional farriers are based on regional anatomy, which studies regions and the anatomical components of each. The perspective of systems anatomy is that bodies are organized hierarchically, i.e. building up from small functional units (for example, cells or single tissues) to subsystems (for example, organs), which work together to make up a major system such as the nervous, circulatory or musculoskeletal system.

Two farriers, Lee Collins and Peter Day, recently co-authored a paper that was published in The Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. The paper, which is titled “The Effect on Tungsten Road Nails on Locomotor Biomechanics in Horses Moving on Tarmac Surface,” examines how road nails impact the horse’s movement symmetry.

Writing this installment in our Equine Reciprocating Limb series, I could not help but hear the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” running through my head — especially the punch line: “The pump don’t work ’cause the vandals took the handles.” That very aptly sums up one of my main points: if anatomical parts aren’t connected, reciprocation does not happen.