186 THE STKUCTUKE OF THE HORSE. 



man observation, and of whose habits and methods 

 of existence we know absolutely nothing ? 



THE HOOFS. 



Any one who has read this book so far must be 

 fully aware by this time that when we speak in or- 

 dinary language of a horse's " foot/ 7 the part we in- 

 tend to designate is in reality the last joint of its toe. 



As the value of the horse to man depends almost 

 entirely upon its possessing this part in a sound and 

 healthy state, it is one to which an immense amount 

 of attention has been paid, and probably no other 

 structure in the anatomy of any animal has been the 

 subject of such minute investigation and elaborate 

 description. It must be confessed that many of the 

 current accounts of it are almost unintelligible, be- 

 cause the broad and interesting facts connected with 

 it are completely obscured by a mass of minute, 

 tedious, and unnecessary details, which seem to in- 

 volve a comparatively simple organ in a cloud of 

 mysterious technicalities. The fact is, that in all its 

 main component parts, and in their relations to one 

 another, the last joint of the toe of the horse precisely 

 resembles that of any other animal, although some 

 very remarkable and interesting modifications have 

 taken place, adapting it for the special purpose it has 

 to play in the economy of the horse. 



