358 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
in which it is shod, of the roads on which it is used or abused, and the 
general lack of care in its management, lead us to wonder, not that 
lameness is so frequently met with, but rather that it is not more fre- 
quent—that any horse escapes it. 
Lameness may exist in any part of either extremity, from the shoulder 
or hip to the foot. But, practically, its frequency increases as you go 
from the body toward the feet. For one case of shoulder lameness, ex- 
cept as the result of direct violence, you will see many of the foot. In 
nine cases in ten the seat of the lameness will be found within the ter- 
minal twelve inches of the limb, and within this limit the parts that 
most frequently suffer are those inclosed by the hoof. <A brief glance at 
the anatomy of the foot will show the probability of this statement. 
The horse stands and goes upon the end of one finger in each limb, 
and bears his entire weight on four such finger-ends. These ends are 
covered or surrounded by hard, horny cases, the hoofs. The hoof being 
nearly unyielding in the artificial condition of those animals that are 
kept shod with iron shoes and stabled upon hard and dry floors, even 
the most moderate degree of inflammation of the soft parts inclosed 
must be productive of great pain. Every one who has suffered from a 
felon knows the agony it causes; but the fefon is only an inflammation, 
with suppuration, under a tissue less dense, less unyielding, than the 
hoof of the horse. In addition to this, the inflamed tissue, at every step, 
is compressed between the bone, the actual point of support, and the 
investing hoof, by a portion of the weight of the body. 
ANATOMY OF THE FOOT. 
The foot of the horse is made up of a variety of tissues. Commenc- 
ing at the outside, we find a dense horny envelope, the hoof, and within 
this, fascia, cartilage, cellular and fibro-cellular tissue, vessels, and nerves, 
and still within these a center of bone. The bones of the foot are por- 
tions of the general frame-work or skeleton, and correspond in their 
general plan of siructure with the terminal bones of the fingers in man. 
Before proceeding to a description of these, we will give a moment’s 
attention to the comparative anatomy of the part. 
The bones, muscles, blood-vessels, nerves, and other tissues of the 
fore legs of the quadrupeds of the mammalia are constructed upon the 
same plan as the arm of man, having essentially the same parts, and 
these with the same mutual relations. Whatever difference appears may 
be traced directly to that economy in nature which adapts the simplicity or 
complexity of structure to the extent, variety, and degree of use. So the 
greater simplicity of structure observed in the fore leg of the horse, 
compared with that of the arm of man, is due to the fact that its use is 
limited to the support of the body and its progression. By reference to 
Figs. 1* and 2}, the various bones of the legs may be compared to cor- 
responding portions of the human body. By reference to Fig. 1, the 
plan on which the simplification of the bony tissue of the animal foot, 
as compared with the hand and foot of man, is accomplished, may be seen. 
As will be noticed, the relations between the parts of a foot are con- 
*Fic. 1.—View of the digits present in the feet of different animals, from the ele- 
phant, having an equal number with man, to the horse, having but one; showing also 
the order in which they are dropped: I, iirst digit, corresponding to the great toe of 
man; II, second digit; III, third digit; IV, fourth digit; V, fifth digit. 
t Pic. 2.—Plan of construction of horse’s foot from Allen: I, II, in each figure represent 
corresponding portions of the foot in the human and horse’s foot; a, cl, s, cb, en’, on’, 
cn’, bones of the tarsus; m', m2, m3, m*, m5, metacarpal bones; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, digits; 
P',p’, p’, phalanges; x - - - - , indicating an axis of bones constantly present 
in the foot of every mammal. 
