CHAPTER IV. 



THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE — (continued). 



TEE LIMBS. 



General characters of the limbs of vertebrated animals — Com- 

 parison of the skeleton of the fore limb of the horse with 

 that of man — Comparison of the skeleton of the hind limb 

 of the horse with that of man — The muscles of the limbs 

 — The warts or callosities on the external surface of the 

 limbs — The ergot or spur — The chestnuts, or mallenders 

 and sallenders — The hoofs. 



General Characters of the Lbibs of Verte- 

 brated Animals. 



The body of all vertebrated animals consists of 

 a main or axial portion, the "trunk/' terminating 

 anteriorly in the head, and posteriorly usually more 

 or less prolonged into a tail. The skeleton of this 

 part consists of the skull, the vertebral column, and 

 the ribs and sternum or breast-bone. All the organs 

 essential to life are contained in the axial part of the 

 body, and in some animals, as serpents and a few 

 fishes, it is the only part present. In the very large 

 majority of animals, however, there are added append- 



