THE HORSE'S FOOT; SHOEING AND CARE. 



103 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE HORSE'S FOOT; SHOEING AND CARE. 



The foot is one of the most highly organized parts of the horse's 

 anatomy. It is a combination of bone©, cartilages, tendons, nerves, 

 and blood vessels, enclosed in skin, hair and tough, elastic en- 

 velope. The hoof is a homy crust, very dense on the outer surface, 

 while the interior is 

 made up of thin plates 

 or laminae, by which it 

 is attached to the cofl&n- 

 bone. The ground sur- 

 face of the foot is shown 

 in figure 64. It consists 

 of the sole, the bars and 

 the frog. These protect 

 the sensitive portions of 

 the foot from external 

 injuries. The frog oc- 

 cupies the posterior part 

 of the foot, the insensi- 

 tive or homy frog con- 

 taining a deep cleft. On 

 either side of the frog, 

 between it and the sole, 

 are similar clefts, called 

 commissures, the outer 

 sides of which are called 

 the bars, the entire sub- 

 stance being continuous 

 with the horny sole and 

 hoof. This corrugated 

 structure enables the 



P 

 Fig. 64, 



GEOUKD SURFACE OF HORSE'S FORE FOOT. 



a, a, outer wall or crust ; «, h, c, quarters ; d, d, angle 



of bars ; e, m, commissures ; /, /, /, sole ; g, white 



line ; k, frog ; i, i, points of frog ; k, k, bulbs of frog , 



I, cleft of frog. 



posterior portion of the foot to expand at every step. At the same 

 time the elastic laminae and homy sole allow the coffin-bone, bearing 

 the weight of the horse, to spring downward, breaking the force 

 of the concussion which would ensue if the foot were a solid, non- 

 elastic mass. The force of the impact is also modified by the plantar 

 cushion, which is interposed between the homy frog and bars and 

 the navicular joint. 



