LECTURE IV 

 THE HORSE'S FOOT: SHOEING, ETC. 



167, 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. 



168. The Wall (Plate XI 7, No. 2, F) 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. The wall is said 

 to contain about 25 per cent, 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 and 

 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 influ- 



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