Ringbone usually occurs in the front legs but can also be in the hind legs, and is usually worse in one leg than the other. Ringbone is most often found in mature horses, especially those in intensive training.

High ringbone: The horse will have a bony growth around the pastern area, and the pastern will have less mobility. The horse will show pain when the pastern joint is moved or rotated. Early cases will have a lameness score of 1-2 out of 5, with little or no bony swelling seen, although possibly felt when compared to the opposite pastern. Lameness will worsen to a grade 2-3 on a scale of 5 as the ringbone worsens.

Low ringbone: The horse will have moderate lameness (grade 2-3), even in early cases, because of the closeness of the ringbone to the other structures in the hoof. When severe or very advanced, the bony growth will be able to be seen on the coronet.

Ringbone is exostosis (bone growth) in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse. In severe cases, the growth can encircle the bones, giving ringbone its name. It has been suggested by some authors that such a colloquial term, whilst commonly used, might be misleading and that it would be better to refer to this condition as osteoarthritis of the inter-phalangeal joints in ungulates (Rogers and Waldron, 1995: 34-35).

Ringbone can be classified by its location, with "high ringbone" occurring on the lower part of the large pastern bone or the upper part of the small pastern bone. "Low ringbone" occurs on the lower part of the small pastern bone or the upper part of the coffin bone. High ringbone is easier seen than low ringbone, as low ringbone occurs in the hoof of the horse. However, low ringbone may be seen if it becomes serious, as it creates a bony bump on the coronet of the horse.

Lameness is most commonly caused by pain, but may also be the result of neuromuscular disease or mechanical restriction. Lameness itself is a clinical sign, and not a diagnosis.

Various horseman’s terms have evolved over the years to describe common lamenesses or blemishes (defects that do not cause lameness) in horses.

- Bog spavin: excessive synovial fluid in the tarsocrural joint, which leads to a large, soft, cool distention on the dorsal surface of the hock.

- Bone spavin: osteoarthritis of the distal hock joints, which produces lameness and is sometimes seen as a visible, hard swelling on the inside of the hock joint.

- Bowed tendon: tendinitis of the superficial or deep digital flexor tendons, which leads to a "bowed" appearance when the tendon is seen in profile. Considered a lameness when acute, and a blemish once healed, although the tendon is at greater risk for re-injury.

- Bucked shins: pain, heat, and swelling over the dorsal surface of the cannon bone most commonly seen in racehorses. This complex disease process, called "dorsal metacarpal disease," involves inflammation of the periosteum, subperiosteal hematoma, and microfractures to the cortex of the underlying bone.

- Capped joint: Inflammation leading to the development of a "false" or acquired bursa over the point of the elbow (capped elbow, also known as a "shoe boil"), point of the hock (capped hock), or knee (capped knee, or carpal hygroma) which causes an obvious swelling in the area. These are generally considered blemishes.

- Curb: a thickening or bowing on the caudal surface of the calcaneous. Classically associated with damage to the long plantar tarsal ligament of the hock, it is actually most commonly due to injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon, but may also involve the deep digital flexor tendon, or the surrounding soft tissue structures.

- Founder (laminitis): a very painful condition resulting from the inflammation of the laminae within the hoof, leading to rotation of the coffin bone.

- Navicular disease or navicular syndrome: a catch-all phrase used to describe pain in the palmar hoof which was originally attributed to damage to the navicular bone. MRI has since shown that navicular syndrome may be caused by damage to any of the structures within the hoof, including the navicular bone, the navicular bursa, the coffin joint, the deep digital flexor tendon, and various ligamentous supportive structures.

- Osselets: swelling on the front surface of the fetlock joints of the front legs, caused by traumatic arthritis of the fetlock joints.

- Ringbone: boney proliferation around the pastern. May be articular (osteoarthritis) or non-articular. The articular forms can affect the pastern or coffin joints, and can cause lameness.

- Shoe boil: see "capped joint"

- Sidebone: ossification of the collateral cartilages of the hoof secondary to chronic concussion, may be palpated on just above the coronary band on either side of the hoof. Rarely causes lameness, therefore considered a blemish.

- Splints: bony enlargements in the area of the splint bone, most commonly on the inside of the front leg, but sometimes on the outside of the front leg or on a hind leg. They are caused by trauma to the split bone itself or the ligament between the splint bone and cannon bone. Acutely, there may be no visible swelling but the horse will be painful on palpation, and lame. Once healed, the boney swelling is cool to the touch and considered a blemish.

- Stocking up: Edema (fluid) retained in the lower legs due to reduced lymphatic drainage, often because the horse is sedentary for long periods (such as when stalled) but occasionally due to pathology. It is cool to the touch, and usually decreases or resolves with exercise. It is considered a blemish.

- Sweeney (shoulder sweeny): a loss of muscle of the shoulder. It is due to atrophy of the supraspinatous and infraspinatus muscles, secondary to damage to the suprascapular nerve, which innervates these muscles. It is usually caused by trauma, and is relatively rare in present day.

- Thoroughpin: effusion in the deep digital flexor tendon sheath, producing a small fluid swelling in the depression just front of the calcaneous. It is proximal to the tarsocrural joint, which helps distinguish it from bog spavin.

- Windpuffs (wind galls): cool, soft effusions in the area of the fetlock joint. May be "articular windgalls," which are the result of excessive synovial fluid in the fetlock joint capsule and located on the inside and outside of the fetlock, just behind the bones of the joint. Swelling towards the back of the joint are "tendonous windgalls," and are the result of effusion in the deep digital flexor tendon sheath. Windgalls are considered blemishes.