FEACTURES 



223 



ing from the quarters afford a striking example. They display a special 

 liability to be brought into forcible contact with door-posts while horses are 

 passing into or out of 

 the stable, or through 

 narrow passages, and 

 to receive the first 

 impact of the ground 

 where, as sometimes 

 occurs, their hind-legs 

 slip from under them, 

 and they fall help- 

 lessly on their side. 



The canons or 

 metacarpal bones, un- 

 protected by muscles, 

 are exposed to the full 

 force of any external 

 violence that may 

 be applied to them, 

 besides which 

 movements are 

 and forcible, 

 meet colliding objects 

 with great resistance. 



The large pastern 

 also, by virtue of its 

 position, is specially 

 liable to fracture, and 



their 



sharp 



and 



Fig-. 327. — Piiniip;!] Tendons and Ligaments of the 

 Fore Limb 



m a less degree also 

 the forearm and lower 

 thigh. 



Age imparts a 

 state of brittleness to 

 bones which is not 

 found in the young 

 and the adult; hence 

 old animals are more 

 prone to fracture than 

 younger ones. 



In early life, before the epiphyses or prominences which are connected 

 with the shafts of bones have become firmly united" by ossific union, they 



1. Front View. 



A, Extensor Metacarpi Obliquus. 



B, Extensor Metacarpi Magnus, 

 c, Annular Lig-ament. 



D, Extensor Pedis. 

 K, Extensor Suffraginis. 

 Ci, Outer Braneh of Suspensory 

 Ligament. 



The ligaments of the pastern 

 are more fully shown in tig. 356, 

 page 272. 



2. Outer Side View. 



A, Extensor Metacarpi OViIiquus. 



B, Extensor Metacarpi Magnus, 

 c, Annular Ligament. 



D, Extensor Pedis, 



E, Extensor Suffr.iginis. 



F, Outer Small Metacarjial or Splint Bone. 



G, Outer Branch of the Suspensory Liga- 



ment. 

 H, Flexor Pedis Perforatus. 

 I, Subcarpal or Check Ligament. 

 J, Flexor Pedis Perforans. 

 K, Suspensory Ligament. 



