ANBI 320.3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Club Foot, Barrel Racing, Navicular Bone
20 Jun 2018
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Lecture 3: Foot Anatomy and Function
The horses foot is comprised of the hoof and all of the structures contained by the hoof, namely
the bones, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels encased in the hoof wall.
-Hoof refers to the external structures of the foot and includes the hoof wall, the sole
and the frog
- The structures of the hoof are insensitive in that they lack blood vessels and nerves
- Hoof wall and the frog are designed to bear the horses weight on a firm surface
- A well structured sole will not contact the ground
Hoof growth: ½ to ¾ inches every 10 weeks
- This growth is increased by exercise, nutrition, and genetics
- Thin hooves is a result of not paying attention to hoof quality when breeding
Hoof Wall:
- the Hoof Wall is conrified epidermis
- the wall is continuously growing
- is roughly divided into three areas: the toe, the quarters and the heal
- the continuation of the hoof wall bordering the lateral sulci of the frog is referred to as
the bars
- the buttress is where the hoof wall turns inwards to form the bars
- the white line is the area where the sole meets the hoof wall
othis marks the junction between the insensitive laminae of the hoof wall and the
sensitive laminae from the coffin bone
- the hoof wall is tough, flexible and impermeable
oweak spots in permeability are at the junction of the sole of the foot and the
hoof wall
- it is the inner vascular system inside the hoof wall that supplies all the nutrients needed
for hoof growth (hoof grows from top down)
- laminar connection between distal phalanx and hoof wall
othis is how they support all the weight and forces coming down on the hoof
othe strength of this connection is determined by nutrition, genetics, conditioning
oMore exercise the healthier and stronger the connection to the wall
Layers of the hoof wall:
- Hoof is compromised of cornified epidermis which grows continuously through the
horses’ life
- Outer layer is referred to as the periople, a narrow band just below the coronet band
oPeriople produces a protective waxy layer that moves down the outside of the
hoof wall
- The stratum tectorium is the protective layer covering the body of the hoof wall that
functions to maintain the moisture balance of the hoof wall
- Bulk of the hoof wall, the middle layer, is the stratum medium and the inner layer is the
stratum lamellatum or laminar layer
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