Withers

The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged mammal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height (in contrast, cattle are normally measured to the top of the hips).

Horses

The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the 3rd through 11th thoracic vertebrae (most horses have 18 thoracic vertebrae), which are unusually long in this area. The processes at the withers can be more than 12 inches (30 cm) long.

Since they do not move relative to the ground (as the horse's head does), the withers are used as the measuring point for the height of a horse. Horses are commonly measured in hands – one hand is 4 inches (10.16 cm). Horse heights are extremely variable, from small pony breeds to large draft breeds. The height at the withers of an average Thoroughbred is 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm), and ponies are up to 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm).

Conformational issues

Withers (surname)

Withers — earlier Wither, Wyther — is an English surname of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is today a not uncommon family name throughout the Anglosphere.

History

The family name appears on various early documents such as in a charter of Æthelred II, dated 1005 A.D. where one of the witnesses signs his name as "Ego Wiþer minister" (a thorn used in the stead of the digraph "th"). In the Domesday Book of 1089 the name is shown as a tenant prior to that date. In the 11th century, the name showed no prefix, suggesting that it was not derived from a place, as were many names at that time. Rather, the name seems to be patronymic (Withar is a Saxon name taken from the Germanic god, known in Old Norse as Víðarr). The name means "son of Withar", though the name Withar itself is shared by a Saxon god.

Records of the 11th century indicate the holding of land in many counties of England by persons named Wyther. A continuous record of a Wyther family does not appear until the time of Henry II (reigned 1154-89). This was a Wyther family of County Lancaster (now Lancashire) including Sir Robert Wyther, Knight, of Pendleton Hall, Lancashire, and of Halton, Cheshire, Seneschal to Roger de Lucy, Constable of Chester (1179–89). He married Joan, daughter of Sir Adam de Bostock, Knight, of Davenham, County Chester (now Cheshire).

Withers (disambiguation)

The withers is a part of the back of a horse, dog or other quadruped.

Withers or Wither may also refer to:

People

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