The coffin bone, also known as the pedal bone (U.S.), is the bottommost

bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

in the front and rear legs of horses,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s and other

ruminant Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are ungulate, hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally ...

s. In horses it is encased by the

hoof The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rum ...

capsule. Also known as the

distal phalanx The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. ...

, third phalanx, or "P3". The coffin bone meets the short

pastern The is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone (proximal phalanx) and the short pastern bone (middle phalanx), which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to fo ...

bone or second phalanx at the coffin joint. The coffin bone is connected to the inner wall of the

horse hoof A horse hoof is the lower extremity of each leg of a horse, the part that makes contact with the ground and carries the weight of the animal. It is both hard and flexible. It is a complex structure surrounding the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit ...

by a structure called the laminar layer. The insensitive laminae coming in from the hoof wall connects to the sensitive laminae layer, containing the blood supply and nerves, which is attached to the coffin bone. The lamina is a critical structure for hoof health, therefore any injury to the hoof or its support system can in turn affect the coffin bone. Despite the protection provided by the

, the coffin bone can be injured and

fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

d.Vogel (2006), p 189 For example, inflammatory conditions such as

laminitis Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates and is found mostly in horses and cattle. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperature in the hooves. Seve ...

may lead to rotation of the coffin bone and associated permanent damage due to the coffin bone pulling away from the hoof wall as the laminar layer tears apart. Pedal

osteitis Osteitis is inflammation of bone. More specifically, it can refer to one of the following conditions: * Osteomyelitis, or ''infectious osteitis'', mainly ''bacterial osteitis'' * Alveolar osteitis or "dry socket" * Condensing osteitis (or Osteiti ...

is another common inflammatory condition. Fractures can also occur to coffin bones and, depending on the fracture, can cause severe lameness. Other conditions linked to the conformation of the horse, such as flexural

contractures In pathology, a contracture is a permanent shortening of a muscle or joint. It is usually in response to prolonged hypertonia, hypertonic spasticity in a concentrated muscle area, such as is seen in the tightest muscles of people with conditions ...

may also affect the coffin bone. For example, the coffin joint can become deformed and lead to changes of the coffin bone within the hoof capsule if the horse has an untreated

club foot Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...

. Contracted heels can also affect the shape of the coffin bone, making it grow away from its normal, healthy shape. X-rays can diagnose injury, determine the position of the bone, and verify the type of damage that may have been received. Once injured, remedial

shoeing Shoe-throwing, or shoeing, showing the sole of one's shoe or using shoes to insult are forms of protest in many parts of the world. Shoe-throwing as an insult dates back to ancient times, being mentioned in verse 8 of Psalm 60 and the simila ...

can help protect the coffin bone from further trauma. Treatment of assorted disorders may also involve use of shoe pads, anti-inflammatory medication, and management changes.

Notes

References

* {{cite book , title = The Complete Performance Horse: Feeding, Fitness, Lameness, Preventive Medicine , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nzSLpxLqetUC , first = Colin , last = Vogel , publisher = David & Charles , location = Cincinnati, Ohio , year = 2006 , page = 217 , isbn = 0-7153-2307-5 Horse anatomy Equine hoof

See also

Notes

References