Abstract
A study was conducted to determine the integumentary arrangement of hair follicles in racehorses. Seven Thoroughbred horses 4 to 6 years old were surveyed between December, 1991 and March, 1992. The 6-millimeter surgical punch biopsies from 46 sites on the head, neck, trunk and limbs were used to determine the density of hair follicles of each site on the integumentary systems. As a result, the mean number of hair follicles was 810 per square centimeter, and its range was between 525 and 1128. The number of hair follicles digits was larger, and the number of its follicles on pubic, brachial region, and medial region of the knee was smaller, respectively. The density of hair follicles on the ventral sites appeared to be less than that of its follicles in the dorsal sites on the trunk. The hair follicle density of the distal region of the limbs was increased as compared with that of the proximal region.
