FOURTH LECTURE. 



THE HORSE'S FOOT.— SHOEING, &c. 



i68. THE horse's foot is made up of soft and hard structures of a 

 sensitive and non-sensitive nature. The external horny covering 

 or Hoof is non-sensitive, and is made up of the Wall or Crust and 

 Bars, Sole, Frog, and Frog Band. The Wall is that portion seen 

 when the foot is placed flat on the ground, and is divided into Toe, 

 Quarters, and Heels, at the latter it turns inwards, and forms the 

 Bars, which run on each side of the frog, on the ground surface, 

 towards the toe. The wall is thickest at the toe, becoming thinner as 

 it reaches the quarters ; while the outside quarter, or spread of the 

 foot is more rounded than the inside, which is nearly straight up. 

 The fore foot is more of an oval shape at the toe than the hind one, 

 which IS oblong, pointed, and straighter up [Plates XI. and XII). 



169. The Wall (Plate XI I. , No. 2 F) is said to contain about 2Sio 

 of moisture, and, externally, has a smooth, fibrous-like appearance. 

 These so-called fibres are, in reality, small horny tubes, filled with, 

 and matted together by, a gelatinous matter ; they run from the top of 

 the hoof to the bottom, in an oblique manner, and are secreted from 

 the blood by the action of the Coronary Band, or cushion, [Plate 

 XII., No. 3 K K) which lies in the hollow groove running round the top 

 arid inside of the hoof. The Perioplic Ring or Frog Band [Plate XII., 

 No. 2 G) is a light-coloured, soft, horny-like structure, which runs 

 round the top and outside of the foot, at the junction of the hoof and skin, 

 and becomes blended with the bulbs of the frog. It is best seen when 

 the foot is wet, and is thought to have a protective influence on the 

 newly-secerted horn, and should never be destroyed by the rasp. The 



