- Hooves are at the very bottom of a horse's, pony's, mule's, zebra's or donkey's leg. They are made up of an outer and inner part. The outer laminae grows constantly and has no nerves. It's very much like human fingernails, only a lot tougher. The inner part of the hoof is a complex organ containing bones and a cushioning system. Hooves come in a lot of colors, from black to tan to pink. They can even be striped.
- The horse's oldest known ancestor, Eophippus, who lived about 50 million years ago, had five toes. As the horse evolved, the third toe became the main weight-bearing toe for the body. Eventually, this toe became as thick as the rest of the leg. The remnants of two of the other toes are found in the chestnuts of the horse. A big, cup-shaped hoof was better at outrunning enemies over grasslands and desert than toes.
- The outer hoof is the armor for the inner hoof, where things get really complicated. If you hold a hoof for cleaning so that it looks like the image above, you will notice a V-shape in the underside of the hoof. This is the "frog," which is the main cushioning organ of the hoof. Inside of that are three bones that connect the skeletal system, muscles, tendons and blood vessels to the foot.
- Hooves act as the shock absorber and tires for the horse. Not only can they help a horse run away faster than many kinds of animals, they also keep the skeletal system from flying apart when the shock of a 1,000-pound animal hits the ground at full gallop.
- The frog of a horse's hoof is incredibly sensitive. If that touches the ground, the horse is in agony. The hoof keeps the frog and the bones inside of it from touching the ground. Try to avoid hitting the frog with your hoof pick when you pick out your horse's hooves.
- Not all horses or ponies need to wear shoes, but this depends on the hoof health of the individual horse and whether he or she will be doing a lot of working on concrete or other hard surfaces.
