72 
Hoofed Mammals 
The legs of hoofed mammals are usually disjointed at the hock joints 
and wrist joints during the skinning operations. If the skin is very large 
and heavy the legs may be disjointed at the fetlock (lower end of canncn- 
bone) to make the skin lighter for carrying to camp. After the skin is in 
camp, the feet must be skinned down to the hoof and the bones removed. 
The leg incision is continued down to the posterior edge of the hoof and 
the skin cut, wedged, and pried away from the bone. 
With the Artiodactyla (cloven-hoofed mammals) it is usually necessary 
to run a cut down the back of each of the two large toes. The phalangeal 
bones (toe bones) should be dug out of the hoof, which is left attached to 
the skin. Disjointing of the foot bones is usually a somewhat difficult job 
as the ligaments have to be cut through or gouged loose. A heavy, thick- 
bladed jack-knife, a small chisel, or a sharp-edged screw-driver will be 
found useful for this, and after the terminal bone is partly loosened in the 
socket by encircling it and cutting most of the ligaments from the inside 
it can usually be worked loose by strong twisting and wrenching motions. 
The operation of working the bone loose is often facilitated by fastening a 
stout cord to the bone and to some fixed object to pull against. If the 
bone adheres too firmly to be removed in this way, a hole may be cut in 
the bottom of the hoof and the bone further loosened from below and forced 
out. Care should be taken that sharp-edged instruments do not slip and 
cut through the skin at the edge of the hoof. If the skin is salted, plenty 
of salt should be put into the hoof, but if the skin is being dried without 
preservatives, the skin of the foot should be spread apart with sharpened 
sticks to allow the air to enter and dry it. Skins should not be dried near 
a fire, nor exposed to hot sunshine, as a temperature that is hardly too 
warm for the hand will harden or cook wet rawhide and render it hard and 
brittle. 
Large Mammals with Short Hair 
The collector in Canada will find few short-haired large mammals, 
except horses, antelope, and deer in summer coat. If there is any prob- 
ability of such mammals being mounted, they should not be opened up the 
legs nor under the throat, unless absolutely necessary, as it is practically 
impossible to conceal the seams. With such short-haired mammals, the 
opening cut is made from the brisket to the tip of under side of tail, and 
if the animal has horns the head is skinned by the usual Y-shaped cut at 
the back of head and neck. The legs are skinned by making a cut in the 
back of each foot from the hoof to dew claws, or accessory hoofs, and the 
foot is disjointed between the upper end of the toe bones and the leg bones. 
The legs are disarticulated at hips and shoulders and the skin of the legs 
is turned inside out, as in skinning small mammals. The skin will strip 
down easily until the knees and hocks are passed, but will stick tightly to 
shin or shank-bone. A “ leg-iron,” resembling a long handled screw-driver, 
is needed. This has a Y filed in the end, with the inside of the V sharp 
and the outer edges slightly rounded, so as not to tear the skin. By pushing 
up through the openings in the feet, between the skin and the bone, the 
connecting fibres are cut, the skin separated from the bone all around, and 
the bone slipped out. The feet are skinned as usual. Dry salt is rammed 
