CHAPTER XII. 

 THE HOOF. 



A THOROUGH knowledge of the construction of the 

 hoof is very important to enable the student to deal 

 properly with lameness of the horse. The hoof cor- 

 responds to the finger nail of man. It is divided 

 into three distinct parts: the wall, the sole, and the frog. 



1. The Wall. — The wall is that part of the hoof seen when 

 the foot is resting flat on the ground. It is divided into the toe, 

 the quarters, the heels and the bars. The toe forms the front, 

 and is the thickest and strongest part of the wall. The 

 quarters are situated at the side. The walls are not nearly 

 so thick here as at the toe, but are almost straight up and 

 down. The heels are situated at the back part of the foot. 

 From the heel is a process of hoof, which looks like a bar, 

 passing forward between the frog and the sole of the foot; 

 this can be seen plainly by raising up the foot. There is one 

 of these at each side of the frog. They act as braces to the 

 heel and the quarters of the wall ; these are called the bars. 

 Covering the outside of the wall is a fine membrane called 

 the periople which gives the hoof its polished appearance. 

 This can be seen best when the hoof is well washed off, as 

 it is after traveling through wet grass. This membrane 

 keeps the moisture in the hoof and protects it from water. 

 This is a point of importance in shoeing horses, as it is very 

 injurious to file the wall too much. Around the top part of 

 the wall, where it unites with the skin, is a groove which 

 contains a white band, called the coronary substance, or 

 band. This nourishes the wall of the hoof, or, in other 

 words, it is from this that the wall of the hoof grows. The 

 under part of the wall, or that which rests on the ground in 

 the unshod animal, or the part to which the shoe is nailed 

 in the shod animal, is called the spread of the foot. On the 

 inside of the wall, attaching it to the bone of the foot called 

 the os pedis, is the part called the quick, or sensitive laminae. 

 It is important to note this when driving nails in shoeing. 

 The nail should not be driven into this membrane nor should 



