The Foot — Its Description. 99 



near the top, at the coronetj or where the horn 

 of the hoof unites with the skin of the pasterns ; 

 here it becomes abruptly thin, and appears as if 

 scooped out ; its colour and consistency also are 

 changed, and it appears like a continuance of the 

 skin ; this thin portion is called the coronary 

 ring, which covers a thickened prolongation of 

 the skin called the coronary ligament. This ex- 

 tension of the skin is supplied with numerous 

 densely-set blood-vessels, connected together by 

 a fibrous texture, many of which have the pro- 

 perty of secreting the horny substance which 

 forms the crust. The crust is composed of 

 numerous fibres which proceed direct from the 

 coronary to the ground, but which follow an 

 oblique course from the heel forward ; the fibres 

 are held together by a glutinous substance, which, 

 as before mentioned, is secreted in the numerous 

 blood-vessels. The internal parts of the foot are 

 composed of the laminae, the sensitive frog, the 

 navicular bone, and the coffin bone. The lamince 

 consist of numerous small horny plates, which 

 line the crust, resembling the beautiful gills or 

 underpp.rt of a mushroom ; these are arranged 

 with the nicest order and mathematical precision 

 upon the internal surface of the wall ; they 

 extend in uniform parallels, in a perpendicular 

 direction, from the top of the hoof at the coronary 

 to the line of junction of the wall with the sole, 

 and are so thickly set that no part of the super- 

 ficies remains unoccupied by them. They are 

 also continued upon the surface of the bars, and 

 are soft, yielding, and elastic ; but from exposure 



