80 THE HORSE 



scended from a live-toed ancestor. They represent 

 the second and fourth digits, the horse walking 

 upon the third. The first and fifth digits, corre- 

 sponding to our thumb and little finger, have long 

 ago disappeared. The heads of the sphnt bones 

 articulate with some of the bones in the lower 

 row of the knee and hock, hence a total loss of 

 the former would involve considerable alteration 

 in both knee and hock, which state of evolution 

 has not yet been reached. Therefore our horses 

 still continue to possess the useless and even det- 

 rimental rudimentary splint bones, as they are 

 called, which sometimes cause him considerable 

 pain, and may in certain circumstances depreciate 

 his value. 



Xormal splint bones usually have small button- 

 like terminations which are the only vestige left of 

 the moribund digits, and may be felt through the 

 skin. These little bulbs are likely to be mistaken by 

 the uninitiated for splints, especially in breeds such 

 as Iceland ponies, in which they are unusually well 

 developed. 



The rudimentary metacarpals and metatarsals 

 are attached to the cannon bone by strong inter- 

 osseous ligaments, which have a tendency to be 

 naturally converted into bone with advancing 



