THE LEFT OB NEAR FOREFOOT. 315 



Taking the front of the foot first, and beginning from 

 the bone, we find a sort of cord marked G. This is called 

 the " extensor " ligament, and is fastened to the front of 

 the coffin bone so as to straighten the joint. As com- 

 paratively little force has to be exerted by it, the tendon 

 is of no very great size. 



Now let us look at the back of the foot, beginning at 

 the bone as before. At H is seen a very stout tendon 

 which serves to suspend the long and short pastern bones, 

 and is therefore called the " suspensory." Passing down- 

 wards, it comes over a small, loose, rounded bone, shown 

 in section at F, and then divides into two parts. The 

 first, which is marked L, is fastened to the long pastern 

 bone, B, and the other, which lies just below it, to the 

 short pastern bone, c. 



Next to this comes an enormously powerful " flexor " 

 tendon, which is exactly the reverse of the preceding, 

 being single below, and dividing above into two branches, 

 marked IK. At E is the section of a very remarkable 

 accessory bone, which is somewhat analogous to the 

 human knee-cap, or "patella." It is called the shuttle 

 or "navicular" bone, from its shape, which somewhat 

 resembles the outlines of a shuttle or a little boat (na- 

 vicula). Small though it be, it is of extreme importance, 

 inasmuch as bad shoeing causes inflammation, and sets 

 up the terrible navicular disease, from which few horses 

 recover. 



The chief object of this bone, which lies between the 

 "wings" of the coffin bone, is to act as a sort of pulley, 



