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THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



Hoof of Horse, i, Horn. 2, Sole, showing Frog 



nails, or the claws of a cat. We are obliged to cut our nails every 

 now and then; and yet very soon they are as long as before. 

 The cat's claws, too, grow so fast that she is frequently obliged 

 to rub them down, as you may often see, by scratching the bark 

 of a tree, or the leg of a table. 



So it is with the horse's hoofs. They are constantly being 

 worn away, but they are constantly growing. Thus, a wild horse's 



hoofs are always in sound 

 condition. In Canada the 

 horses are shod for the 

 summer months, but as 

 soon as the snow appears 

 the shoes are taken off 

 again, because there will 

 then be so little wear for 

 the horses' hoofs that they 

 will not require the protection of the iron. 



Being made of a kind of horn like our finger-nails, the horse's 

 hoof is not hurt by contact with rough stones or by nails being 

 driven through it to hold the " horse-shoes " on. This absence of 

 feeling in the hoof is of course a great advantage to the horse, 

 since it can work and trot upon hard roads without being 

 pained. 



But though it is only horn, the hoof of the horse is wonderfully 

 constructed so as to protect such a heavy animal from shaking 

 and jolting itself when it gallops. The under-part of the hoof 

 is formed of layers of horn that are folded and wrinkled, so that, 

 when the foot comes down heavily on the ground, the folds and 

 wrinkles act as springs, in the same way as springs in a carriage; 

 namely, by preventing jarring and jolting. 



The horny foldings are easily seen on the under-side of a 

 horse's hoof when it is being shod. The most wrinkled portion 

 IS something like a frog in shape, and is therefore called "the 

 frog". To horses in a wild state this springy structure is a 

 wonderful provision for their protection. 



A wild horse, indeed, can climb the side of a steep mountain, 

 or even gallop over ice, without slipping. And the " frog ", like 



