143 



CHAPTER IV 



THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE — (continued) 

 THE LIMBS 



General characters of the limbs of vertebrated animals — Comparison 

 of the skeleton of the fore limb of the horse with that of man — 

 Comparison of the skeleton of the hind limb of the horse with 

 that of man — The muscles of the limbs — The warts or callosities 

 on the external surface of the limbs — The ergot or spur — The 

 chestnuts, or mallenders and sallenders. — The hoofs. 



General Characters of the Limbs of 

 Vertebrated Animals 



The body of all vertebrated animals consists of a main 

 or axial portion, the c trunk,' terminating anteriorly in 

 the head, and posteriorly usually more or less prolonged 

 into a tail. The skeleton of this part consists of the 

 skull, the vertebral column, and the ribs and sternum or 

 breastbone. All the organs essential to life are contained 

 in the axial part of the body, and in some animals, as 

 serpents and a few fishes, it is the only part present. 

 In the very large majority of animals, however, there 

 are added appendages, called ' limbs,' mainly adapted 



