122 



ELEMENTS OF HlttOLOGY. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE HORSE'S FOOT. 



The foot of the horse, from a standpoint of comparative 

 anatomy, includes everything below the knee or hock. Prac- 

 tically, horsemen, in speaking of the horse's foot, refer only to the 

 hoof and its contents. The 

 hoof corresponds in its 

 structure to the nail on the 

 toes of other animals. 



The foot is one of the most 

 important parts of the 

 horse to study, because it is 

 the seat of so many dis- 

 abling diseases, practically 

 all of which can be prevented 

 by proper care and use. 



The foot is a very com- 

 plex member. It is built 

 around three bones: the 

 coffin-bone, the navicu- 

 lar bone, and the lower 

 pastern-bone. 



The coffin-bone, the low- 

 est bone of all, lies wholly 

 within the hoof. It is wedge- 

 shaped, concave on its under surface, and cylindrical on the up- 

 per sides of its anterior and lateral faces. In rear it branches 

 into two parts, called the wings of the coffin-bone. 



Immediately above the coffin-bone, and resting on its highest 

 part, rises the lower pastern- or coronary-bone; and in the 



COFFIN BO 



Figure 81. — Nomenclature of 

 the Bones of the Foot. 



