THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XLIII. 
No. 508. 
APRIL, 1870. 
Fourth Series. 
No. 184. 
Communications and Cases. 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE ANATOMY AND PHY- 
SIOLOGY OE THE HORSE'S FOOT. 
By George Fleming, M.R.C.V.S., Royal Engineers. 
(Continued from p . 188.) 
Articulations . — We have now briefly surveyed the bone3 
which enter into the construction of the horse's foot, and 
seen how well arranged they are to meet what is demanded 
from them, individually as well as collectively. The bones 
would only be partially fitted to perform their duties were 
they not also so conformed as to act harmoniously with, and 
to aid each other in, various combined movements of the 
greatest necessity for the production of locomotion, in addi- 
tion to conferring stability to the limbs as a whole, and 
through them to the entire animal machine. 
To fully ensure this harmony of motion and stability, and 
afford security to the several bones, strong ligamentous 
bands, advantageously placed, pass from one to another, 
and are usually fixed at the sides or behind these bones, in 
double, single, or cross layers, connecting them closely and 
solidly ; and, in addition, particular tendons, or their expan- 
sions, in passing over or in being inserted into them, afford 
support, while at the same time they induce general or special 
changes in their relative position, by acting on one or more 
of their surfaces. 
An enumeration of the ligaments of the horse's foot, with 
their situation and attachments, would, we fear, occupy more 
space than their importance to the general reader might 
xliii. 20 
