SOME HOOFED ANIMALS 



105 



the horse of to-day (Fig. ^y), in which the middle toe 

 prevails, the others being represented by splints. The 

 animal stands literally on the nail of its middle toe, now- 

 called a hoof (Fig. 82). 



Fig. 87. — The Domestic Horse. 



The mouth of the horse (Fig. ^^) seems especially 

 adapted to hold a bit, there being a vacant space between 

 the front and back teeth, where this appHance for guid- 

 ing the horse rests. 



Of all animals the horse is the most valuable to man. 

 It originated in the Old World and is not known in a wild 

 state, except where mustangs or other horses have been 

 lost, as in some of the western states, and on the eastern 



