408 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



Anatomy of the Foot^ 



The foot is not a mere block of horn, but is a composite structure 

 made up of particular parts, each with a certain work to perform. 

 There is an old saying, very full of truth, "No foot, no horse." A 

 knowledge of the structure of the foot is very essential in learning to 

 judge horses. 



The exterior of the foot may be divided into five parts, each in- 

 cluding one-fifth of the circumference. These are the toe, laterals, and 

 quarters. 



The bones of the foot and pastern are four in number, three of 

 which — the long pastern, short pastern, and coffin bone — placed end 

 to end form a continuous straight column passing downward and for- 

 ward from the fetlock joint to the ground. A small accessory bone, 

 the navicular bone, lies crosswise in the foot behind the cofRn joint, 

 enlarging the joint surface. (See Fig. 153.) 



Tendons and ligaments. — The extensor tendon of the toe passes 

 down the front of the pastern and attaches to the top and front of the 



Fig. 152.— Exterior of the hoof, showing division into toe, laterals, and quarters. 



coffin bone. The outer "branch of the suspensory ligament attaches to 

 the tendon a short distance above this point. The flexor tendon of 

 the foot passes down between the heels, glides over the under surface 

 of the navicular bone, and attaches to the under surface of the coffin 

 bone. The bones of the foot are held together by powerful short 

 ligaments. 



The elastic tissues of the foot include the lateral cartilages and 

 the plantar cushion. The lateral cartilages are two plates of gristle, 

 one on either side of the foot, extending from the wings of the coffin 

 bone backward to the heels and upward to a distance of an inch or 

 more above the edge of the hair, where they may be felt by the fingers. 

 When sound, these plates are elastic and yield readily to moderate 

 finger pressure, but from various causes they may undergo ossification, 

 in which condition they are hard and unyielding and are called side- 

 bones. The plantar cushion is a wedge-shaped mass of tough, elastic, 



iThe writer is indebted to the revised edition of Diseases of the Horse, (U. S. 

 Dept. Agr.) for many of the statements included in the discussion of this subiect, 

 particularly to the chapter on Shoeing, by Dr. John W. Adams, University of Penn- 

 sylvania. 



