Your horse's skeleton is held together by tendons and ligaments. Tendons attach muscles to bone, whilst ligaments attach bone to bone. The joints are essentially flexible parts of your horse's skeleton, which allo the individual bones to move independently of each other.
Cartilage is also part of the your horse's skeleton and is located at the end of your horse's bones. Cartilage is nourished by synovial fluid (joint fluid) and because it is pliable, it is often the first place to show wear and tear.
Horses are prone to skeletal injuries which can be very serious due to the weight of the horse's body.
A healthy & resilient joint system is dependent on the permanent supply of specific nutrients. Not adequate supply, especially at high physical strain, during growing or in one's old age, can lead to inflammatory or degenerative processes in the joints, tendons and ligaments.