CHAPTER XII. 
THE HOOF. 
A THOROUGH knowledge of the construction of the 
hoof is very important to enable the student to deal 
properly with lameness of the horse. The hoof cor- 
responds to the finger nail of man. It is divided 
into three distinct parts: the wall, the sole, and the frog. 
1. The Wall. — The wall is that part of the hoof seen when 
the foot is resting flat on the ground. It is divided into the toe, 
the quarters, the heels and the bars. The toe forms the front, 
and is the thickest and strongest part of the wall. The • 
quarters are situated at the side. The walls are not nearly 
so thick here as at the toe, but are almost straight up and 
down. The heels are situated at the back part of the foot. 
From the heel is a process of hoof, which looks like a bar, 
passing forward between the frog and the sole of the foot; 
this can be seen plainly by raising up the foot. There is one 
of these at e'ach side of the frog. They act as braces to the 
heel and the quarters of the wall ; these are called the bars. 
Covering the outside of the wall is a fine membrane called 
" the periople which gives the hoof its polished appearance. 
This can be seen best when the hoof is well washed off, as 
it is after traveling through wet grass. . This membrane 
keeps the moisture in the hoof and protects it from water. 
This is a point of importance in shoeing horses, as it is verv 
injurious to file the wall too much. Around the top part of 
the wall, where it unites with the skin, is a groove which 
contains a white band, called the coronary substance, or 
band. This nourishes the wall of the hoof, or, in other 
words, it is from this that the wall of the hoof grows. The 
under part of the wall, or that which rests on the ground in 
the unshod animal, or the part to which the shoe is nailed 
in the shod animal, is called the spread of the foot. On the 
inside of the wall, attaching it to the bone of the foot called 
the OS pedis, is the part called the quick, or sensitive laminae. 
It is important to note this when driving nails in shoeing. 
The nail should not be driven into this membrane nor should 
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