312 THE HOESE AND HIS STRUCTURE. 



complicated structure which we call the hoof. This is 

 identical with the nail on the human finger. 



The bones of the thumb and the other fingers are not 

 developed in the horses of the present epoch, being 

 modified into little bones, known as " splint " bones, and 

 invisible until the skin and soft parts are removed. In 

 the earlier days of the world, horses with five toes in- 



BONES OF PASTERy. 



habited the earth, but in successive ages the outer fingers 

 became absorbed, until, at last, the horse walked on two 

 fingers of the fore limbs, and two toes of the hind legs. 



In Fig. 1, B represents the first joint of the middle 

 finger, popularly called the long pastern bone ; C is 

 the second joint, or short pastern ; and D is the 

 coffin, pedal, or distal bone. 



These bones do not rest perpendicularly upon each 



