Horse hoof

“ You will say that these animals have hoofs divided in the centre, while the hoof of a horse is not divided at all. The pig, which does not ruminate, has a hoof centrally divided, like that of a sheep; and the hare, which chews the cud, has several separate toes, and belongs to the rodents. Amid all this diversity there is this constant characteristic, that the cud-chewers of the ungulates have the toes of each foot collected under what is called a cloven hoof, as if a solid hoof had been cleft into two. ”

“ A horse must also move his hoof when he is being rubbed down, or when he is annoyed with flies, as much as when he is walking; and the stones which are thus spread about will strengthen the frogs of his feet. ”

“ In a short time the hoof, unbraced by the sole and bars, begins to contract, the action of the frog upon the ground, which in the natural foot is threefold—acting as a cushion to receive the force of the blow and thus relieve the nerves and joints of the leg from concussion, opening and expanding the hoof by its upward pressure, quickening the circulation and thereby stimulating the natural secretions,—this all important part of the organization, without which there is no foot and no horse, becomes hard, dry, and useless. ”

“ In its present elaborate form, the hoof of a horse is the most perfect instrument of support which has been devised in the animal kingdom to uphold a large and swiftly moving animal in its passage over the ground. The original toe-nail, and the neighboring soft parts connected with it, have been modified into a structure which in an extraordinary manner combines solidity with elasticity, so that it may strike violent blows upon the hard surface of the earth without harm. ”

“ For this reason the strength, firmness and solidity of a horse's hoof was of much greater importance with them than with us, and was esteemed one of the first praises of a fine horse. Xenophon says that a good horse's hoof is hard, hollow, and sounds upon the ground like a cymbal. ”

“ Nevertheless, they do not go so lame if, when they are unyoked from their work, their hoofs be washed with cold water, and their pasterns and coronets, as well as the cleft of the hoof itself, be rubbed with old hog's lard.’ ‘If he has trodden upon a nail, or pierced his hoof with a sharp tile or stone . ”

“ Not infrequently instances occur of domestic horses being produced with a small additional toe with complete hoof, usually on the inside of the principal toe, and, though far more rarely, three or more toes may be present. ”

“ Of course, it is easily possible for the horse to have struck him with a sharp-shod hoof.”
“On top of the head, Doc?”
“Well, barely possible. Come to think of it, the wound did have that appearance; as though a horseshoe might have crushed the skull.” ”

“ The horny hoof is divided into a wall or crust consisting of the front and sides, the flattened or concave sole, and the frog, a triangular median prominence, notched posteriorly, with the apex turned forwards, situated in the hinder part of the sole. It is formed of pavement epithelial cells, mainly grouped in a concentric manner around the vascular papillae of the subcorneous integument, so that a section near the base of the hoof, cut transversely to the long axis of these papillae, shows a number of small circular or oval orifices, with cells arranged concentrically round them. ”

“ The weight falls near the center of the foot and is evenly distributed over the whole bottom of the hoof. The toe forms an angle with the ground of 45° to 50° and is parallel to the direction of the long pastern. The toe points straight ahead, and when the horse is moving forward in a straight line the hoofs are picked up and carried forward in a line parallel to the middle line of the body, and are set down flat. Coming straight toward the observer the hoofs seem to rise and fall perpendicularly. ”

“ The object in cutting off the external fibres at an angle from the quarters to the toe, is to give the edge of the hoof a rounded appearance, while it equalizes its thickness, and prevents it from splitting and breaking. The sole, frog, and bars must on no account, or under any conditions—unless those of a pathological nature—be interfered with in any way by knife or rasp. ”

“ If a person wishes to contract this relationship, he must take a horse's hoof, a piece of skin cut from under the hoof, and two or three hairs from the mane, the tail, and the head of the horse. He must also take a new broom that has never been swept with, and the price of which he has not beaten down in buying, and must provide himself with some horse-dung. ”

“ Far rather with truth may it be said, that but for the horse being endowed with a hoof which covers and protects the most beautiful and delicate of structures, and which being solid and a slow conductor of heat and cold, fits it for travelling in snow and ice during the winter of northern regions, and in the burning sands of tropical climates, he would scarcely have proved himself worth the trouble of domesticating. ”

“ The hoof of the horse corresponds to the nail or claw of other mammals, but is so constructed as to form a complete and solid case to the expanded termination of the toe, giving a firm basis of support formed of a non-sensitive substance, which is continually renewed by the addition of material from within, as its surface wears away by friction. ”

“ In a state of nature the hoof requires no protection. The solidity and toughness of its inferior border; the absence of artificial roads; nothing but the weight of the body to be supported; and the matter of which the horny case is composed never being subjected to any other influences than those which it is naturally adapted to resist, all tend to obviate any injurious amount of attrition in the roaming-at-will life of the feral horse. ”

“ The foot of a horse consists of a variety of living structures, differing in form and texture, and enclosed in a horny covering called the hoof. Although the farrier's work is applied only to the hoof it is necessary that he should know something of the whole foot, because it is but too easy to injure the structures within by alterations of the horny covering without. ”

“ The feet of different horses vary exceedingly in what may be termed the texture or property of the hoof, and this is in general regulated by the colour of the legs and feet. There are few horses with white heels but what have white hoofs also; and these are always more liable to, and susceptible of, defects and weakness, than those of an opposite description. The sound, firm, dark-coloured hoof of the bay, brown, or black horse, is seldom found defective ”

“ The best farriers—those most proud of their work—have a great temptation to use a rasp too freely to the outer surface of the wall. The hoof gets rough, or it may be ridged, its appearance is improved by being made smooth, and it is only human to turn out work which is clean and neat. ”

“ Where the horse is left in a state of nature, free to choose the ground over which he will run, the hoof grows just in proportion as it is worn away, and maintains itself without artificial means, in perfect condition. ”

“ In our treatment of the hoof, we would seek to know the cause of the horse's troubles, firmly believing that he is endowed by nature [Pg 45] with strength to perform the service man demands of him, and that he is not necessarily a helpless prey to torturing diseases of the minor organs ”

“ Hear Bracy Clark on the difference of the rate of growth of horn in the shod and unshod horse:—‘To consider all the beauty and purposes of the singular construction of the foot, we must dismiss from our views the miserable, coerced, shod foot entirely, and consider the animal in a pure state of nature, using his foot without any defence... The wall, or crust, of the hoof, where there is a demand for its wear, grows rapidly, as when in a state of nature and exposed to the ground ”

“ A horse set upon heavy shoes, and those armed with calks at toe and heel, such as are usually inflicted upon large draft-horses, has his whole weight placed upon the unsupported sole. The frog never comes in contact with the earth in any way, inflammation of the sensitive frog and sole takes place, and the arch of the sole bends down under the pressure until the ground surface of the hoof becomes flat or convex, bulging down even lower than the cruel iron that clamps its edge. ”

“ The outside crust is thicker and stronger than the inside crust of the heel and affords more nailhold. No matter what the blacksmith or the coachman—who is often only his echo—says, insist that the bars of the horse's feet shall on no account be cut away. The wall of the hoof is not only much weakened by this operation, but the hoof must, in consequence of it, contract toward the heel. ”

“ As there are well-formed and badly formed bodies, so there are well-formed and badly formed limbs and hoofs. The form of the hoof depends upon the position of the limb. A straight limb of normal direction possesses, as a rule, a regular hoof, while an oblique or crooked limb is accompanied by an irregular or oblique hoof. Hence, it is necessary, before discussing the various forms of the hoof, to consider briefly the various positions that may be assumed by the limbs. In this discussion we shall deal with the living horse. ”

“ In the last part of the phase of contact of hoof with ground the pasterns are upright, or may even incline downward and backward (foot-axis broken strongly backward) , the short pastern presses the coronary band firmly against the upper thin edge of the toe, when if brittle through dryness it is unable to stretch and tears asunder. Thus, under the effort of starting a heavy load, when a horse with all four legs flexed has risen upon the points of his toes, a short quick slip followed by a catch, will frequently start a crack at the coronet. ”

“ Place a strap or cord between the hoof and fetlock joint; then stand in front of the horse and commence to pull the foot forward; if he shows resistance punish him in the mouth; continue to pull and punish until he will allow you to thus handle the leg, and, so soon as he remains quiet, step up and caress him; then stand behind him and pull his leg backwards several [300] times until you have removed all stubbornness or fear; when you have accomplished this let him get up, after which repeat the same thing, not forgetting to caress immediately when he submits to your treatment. ”

“ The shoe still hot is held to the foot for which it is intended, and the air is filled with the fumes of burning hoof. Yet the horse does not flinch, for the thick hoof is a perfect protection for the sensitive parts of the foot. If the careful blacksmith is not quite satisfied with the fit, there must be more hammering on the anvil, and another trying on. When the shoe is satisfactory, it is thrust hissing into a barrel of cold water, and, cooled and hardened, is ready to be nailed on. ”

“ Experimentalists in Germany and in this country have recently used an apparatus by which the slightest variations are detected by electrical contact, and the results are very interesting. These experiments show that in a well-formed, healthy foot the hoof throughout its posterior two-thirds does expand to pressure, and perhaps that the arch of the sole is slightly flattened. ”

“ She has a short neck, and a long tail, with a bunch of coarse hair on the end [82] of it. Her head is larger than that of a horse, and her nose is wider. Her ears stand out on each side of her head, and above them she has a pair of horns that spread out.
4. Her hoof is not round, like that of a horse, but is split into two parts, and is called a cloven hoof. She has a thick coat of coarse hair, which keeps her warm in all but the very coldest weather.
5. In front, the cow has six teeth on her under jaw, but none on her upper jaw. In place of teeth is a ridge hard as a bone. ”

“ Therefore a disproportionate foot must injuriously affect both the action and position of the whole limb.
The rate at which the wall grows varies greatly in different horses, and is affected by external conditions. The good average wall grows nearly one inch in three months, and the whole hoof is replaced in from ten to fifteen months. The hoof grows more rapidly when a horse is actively exercised than when he is confined in a box. ”

“ Hind hoofs are influenced in shape by different directions of their pasterns much as front feet are. A hind hoof is not round at the toe as a front hoof is, but is more pointed. Its greatest width is two-thirds of the way back from toe to heel, the sole is more concave, the heels relatively wider, and the toe about 10° steeper than in front hoofs. ”

“ Yet such a journey is well worth taking, for it will show us many things we ought to know.
The horse family, as very likely you know, differs from all other animals in having only one toe. It comes from animals that had a number of toes, but these have all gone but one, and the nail of this toe has grown into a thick, horny hoof which keeps the foot from being hurt as the horse gallops over its native plains. Its home is on broad, grassy levels, soft to the tread. But when used by man it has to travel much on hard and stony roads which would soon wear out its hoof. ”

“ In describing the anatomy of the foot, he explains that 'in the middle of the frog is a longitudinal cleft or opening, by which the heels have a small degree of contraction and expansion at every tread which the horse makes upon the ground;' and, speaking of the hoof, he remarks that the sole and frog, by being exposed to wear, acquire great firmness and tenacity, which enables them to resist external injuries. ”

“ It is common to allow the fore part or toe of the hoof to grow long, thereby throwing the horse much on his heels. This position is unnatural, because, were the horse in a state of nature, without shoes, the toe, from constant contact with the ground, would be worn down to its proper level with the heel. ”