Understanding Horse anatomy has always been an important part of my job. For many different reasons. Sometimes it is just to understand what the Vet is recommending. Sometimes it is to do a better job in treating an injury. Often I find that stretching a horse is very different if I really understand the muscles, nerves and bones involved. Many times, understanding anatomy makes communicating and validating my knowledge and experience with a new Vet much easier.
My primary tool for the last 20 years has been a book:
Color Atlas of Veterinary Anatomy, The Horse by Ashdown, Done and Evans. Very complete, very clear, very expensive.
One problem, my brain just cannot hold on to this knowledge. I remember 3 dimensional things and these flat photographs of necropsied horses just don't stick. I can cram just before a Vet visit but don't remember a thing long term
Enter 2014 and two 3D software solutions.
The first is a
3D model of the hoof, by a German company Effigos. Almost photographic, Very detailed. You need a very fast connection and a large fast computer (I use a 27" I7 iMac). Really useful but because it is Web based it can be slow and jerky. Free!
The second is much more ambitious, a full
3D model of the whole horse by a Brazilian company Biosphera. Skeleton, muscles, nerves, arteries, veins, lymphatic system, everything. This one is not free ($64 USD) but because it is a full download it can be much faster, much more responsive. The main problem is that this is a V1.1 application and has some teething problems. The interface is intuitive but a little twitchy which is good since there is no help or documentation.
As a first gen product the Biosphera application is amazing. I keep it running and refer to it all through the day. I went ahead and bought it because I was reading the Nezvorov Equine Anthology magazines and he explains everything through anatomy.