Rump (animal)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The rump is anterior to the animal's tail (here on a draft horse)
Parts of a dog, rump labeled 1L, dock labeled K

The rump or croup, in the external

anterior to the tail. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the sacrum
.

The tailhead or dock is the beginning of the tail, where the tail joins the rump. It is known also as the base or root of the tail, and corresponds to the human sacrococcygeal symphysis. In some mammals the tail may be said to consist of the tailbone (meaning the bony column, muscles, and skin) and the skirt (meaning the long hairs growing from the tailbone). In birds, similarly, the tail consists of tailbone and tailfan (tail fan).

Some animals are subjected to docking, the amputation of the tailbone at or near the dock. These include dogs, cats, sheep, pigs, and horses. Humans have a remnant tail, the coccyx, and the human equivalent of docking is coccygectomy.

Usage varies from animal to animal. Birds and cattle are said to have a rump and tailhead. Dogs are said to have a rump and dock. Horses are said to have a croup[1][2][3] (sometimes rump),[4] thigh or haunch, buttock, and dock.

Dogs

In some breeds it is traditional for tails to be cut off (docked) at the dock.

Birds

Parts of a bird, rump labeled 10

In

ornithologists to distinguish between related species, and sometimes also between males and females of the same species. Similarly, the silhouette
of the tailfan is a characteristic widely used for purposes of identification, particularly in the field.

Some birds have a food reservoir pouch in the esophagus that is known as a croup (or crop), which should not be confused with the croup (rump) of a horse.

Horses

Parts of a horse and rear anatomy

In

buttock
. On horses appearing in parades and other public ceremonies, the croup may be decorated with quarter marks, a grooming pattern made in the horse's hair by applying hair gel or spray, then brushing patches of hair in opposite directions.

Applied to horses, the term "dock" has two additional uses. Its meaning may be extended to either the entire

Przewalski horse, or artificial, the result of pulling, trimming, or shaving part of the skirt (see Horse grooming and Tail (horse)
).

A sponge used to wash the hairless skin on the underside of the dock and other regions under the tail, protected by the dock, is called a dock sponge. Thus, the meaning of "dock" has been used to refer to the orifices beneath the dock, specifically the anus and vagina, creating a misapprehension that "dock" refers to the anus, as in, a horse's fundamental orifice is its dock.[7]

  • Quarter marks in checkerboard pattern on a horse's croup
    Quarter marks in checkerboard pattern on a horse's croup
  • Zebra with "long dock" (short hair portion) with the skirt only near the end of the tail
    Zebra with "long dock" (short hair portion) with the skirt only near the end of the tail

References

  1. ^ a b "How do I...Identify Parts of the Horse" Arabian Horse Association(croup)
  2. ^ "Body parts of the horse" (Croup)
  3. ^ "Identifying Horse parts and markings for Dummies" (Croup)
  4. ^ "Learning the parts of the horse" American Miniature Horse Association (uses rump or croup)
  5. ^ Blocksdorf, Kathering. "Parts of the Horse - The Dock." About.com Accessed September 2, 2008
  6. ^ "Parts of the Horse" 4-H Horse Project Manual Accessed September 2, 2008 (Describing dock as the entire tailbone, but with image pointing to tailhead)
  7. ^ Carew, Tim (1974). Wipers: First Battle of Ypres. Hamilton. p. 230., page 49