Horse vertebra fragment with horizontal fracture

3D Model

This model comes from an ancient horse skeleton found in Lehi, Utah by the Hill family (Bridger, Laura, and kids). It shows a broken piece of the lower thoracic vertebra (the 18th thoracic vertebra). The upper portion of the bone is missing, but the lower portion has been badly fractured along its caudal (rear) articular surface at some point during the animal’s life. This kind of fracture is often found among early riding horses, which were mounted using a simple pad saddle that placed great strain on the horse’s back. The specimen also shows bony growth along the articular edges of the vertebra, an issue also common among ancient riding horses. Archaeologists are now using other techniques such as radiocarbon dating and genomic study to understand how many years ago the animal died, and whether humans may have played a role in its life, death, and burial.