Rump (animal)

Not to be confused with the respiratory condition known as croup or the croup of a bird.
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 morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum – that is, posterior to the loins and 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.

  1. ^ "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)