38 



JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 



ing in the prominent knee or stifle joint. On the front of 

 this" joint is the knee cap or patella, on which are fastened 

 muscles that operate the joint. At its lower end the thigh 

 proper joins the lower thigh or tibia, back of which is a 

 small bone, the fibula. The tibia extends obliquely back 



and downward, connecting 

 by a groove-like arrange- 

 ment with a small, odd 

 shaped bone, the astragalus. 

 Back of this is a bone, the 

 os calcis, which projects up- 

 ward and backward, the 

 upper part of which forms 

 the point of the hock. Be- 

 low the hock are three 

 small, flattish, irregular 

 shaped bones, two in front 

 and one behind. The bones 

 of the hind leg, below the 

 hock, are much like those 

 below the knee in the front 

 leg. 



Resemblances between 

 the bones of man and the 

 horse are set forth in an interesting manner by Captain M. 

 H. Hayes. 3 "The horse possesses no collar bone, conse- 

 quently there is no bony connection between his fore extrem- 

 ity and trunk. The humerus, elbow, and forearm are the 

 same in both, except that the ulna is complete in the horse 

 only in very rare instances. The knee of the horse corre- 

 sponds to the wrist of man. The five bones between our wrist 

 and the first row of knuckles are represented in the horse by 

 the cannon and splint bones. His fetlock is analogous to 

 the first row of knuckles of our hand. The long pastern 

 bone corresponds to the first bone of our middle finger; 

 the short one, to the second bone ; the pedal one to their 



3 The Points of the Horse, London, 3d ed., 1904, p. 38. 



Fig. 20. Right forehoof, ground 

 surface. 1, 2, the wall ; 3, angle' of 

 wall ; 4, bar ; 5, sole ; G, junction wall 

 and sole ; 7, apex frog ; 8, central 

 sulcus of frog ; 9, 9, sulci between 

 frog and bars ; 10, 10, bulbs of hoofs. 

 (Courtesy Dr. S. Sisson. From Anat- 

 omy of the Domestic Animals.) 



