Q: What’s an ergot?
A: Some horses have a small callous on the underside of their fetlock known as an ergot. These ergots might be on all four legs, a couple of legs or none at all. They vary in size and are often more prominent on horses with lots of feathers. It is thought that ergots are remnants of the horse’s multi-toed past, although we are unsure why they don’t occur in all horses or always on all four legs.
Did you know?
The word ergot comes from the French word for a rooster’s spur.