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What Are Horse Chestnuts And Ergots?

Horse chestnuts and ergots are normal, healthy growths found on most horse's legs. No one really knows why they exist, and they have been a subject of curiosity among horsemen for quite a long time.

Horse Chestnuts And Ergots

Chestnuts appear on the front legs of a horse above the knee, or on the back legs of a horse below the hock. They can be large or very small. Some people call horse chestnuts "night eyes." Ergots are found on the back of a horse's fetlock on all four legs, but they are usually covered with hair and can't be seen unless the hair is parted.

Some scientists believe that chestnuts and ergots may be remnants of the pads that were under the toes of a very early ancestor of the horse. Scientists believe that about 50 million years ago the first known ancestor of the horse, Eohippus, had four padded toes on the front legs and three padded toes on the back legs.

Chestnuts

Photo 1 A horse chestnut. This chestnut is about the size of a woman's thumb. Chestnuts can range from the size of a small fingernail to a couple of inches long or longer.	1
Photo 1a A close-up of the same chestnut that is in Photo 1. Chestnut patterns are unique to each horse.	1a
Photo 2 A different chestnut. This chestnut is not flat and fairly smooth like the one in the previous photos.	2
Photo 3 A horse chestnut seen from the front. Chestnuts can be trimmed down to minimize their rough appearance. See the bottom of this page for more information.	3

Ergots

Chestnuts And Ergot Grooming

Both chestnuts and ergots can be trimmed without pain. While there's no real reason to trim them, some people just do it as a part of routine grooming. Do NOT try to remove either chestnuts or ergots entirely, and if you trim them don't go any deeper than skin level or above.

Chestnuts can often be peeled off layer by layer with your hands or fingernails. If they are too hard, you can trim them, carefully, with a knife or other sharp tool. Ergots can often be pinched off with fingernails above the skin. Resist the temptation to twist the ergot as you pinch it, as this might be uncomfortable for the horse and you could get kicked or stomped. Ergots can also be clipped off (hoof nippers are handy for this) or cut off with a knife.

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At Cowboyway.com, we have ordered from Jeffers Equine longer than any other
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Fun Stuff To Know

• Eo means "dawn" and hippus means "horse," so Eohippus is "dawn horse."