50 THE HORSE. 



riant in growth and so indestructible as to defy, to 

 the end, the utmost efforts of the farrier. But with 

 feet in general, it is far otherwise. Finally, it must 

 not be forgotten, especially with horses destined to 

 speedy action, that infinitely greater numbers are in- 

 jured by ligamentary affections, strains of the joints, 

 and hurts in the bones of the foot, than by bad shoe- 

 ing and improper management of the feet. " 'Tis 

 the pace that kills the horse." 



The internal structure of the foot is a most operose 

 and complex process of nature, and since the foot is 

 the foundation of all labour, no wonder that its inter- 

 nal structure is so often deranged, and so seldom re- 

 mediable by art. The insensible hoof is secreted or 

 separated and formed from the living or sensible foot, 

 namely, from its coronet or coronary ring above, and 

 from its internal elastic processes or membranes, 

 designated by Professor Coleman, as the laminated 

 (scaled or covered) substance. A large quantity of 

 blood is supplied to the foot by two capacious arteries, 

 which descend on each side the pastern, branching 

 to the coronary ring, cartilages, and frog, and supply- 

 ing the foot by innumerable channels. The supply 

 to. the frog; is considerable and curious. The frog 

 and sensible sole form one entire secreting surface of 

 skin, possessing great sensibility as well as vascularity, 

 though inferior in those respects to the exquisite sen- 

 sibility of the laminated substance, which is more 

 profusely supplied in its organization with blood ves- 

 sels and nerves, than any other part of the body. 

 Those two elastic bodies, the lateral cartilages at- 

 tached to the upper part of the coffin bone, and re- 



