Fetal Growth of a Horse Foot

This diagram shows the fetal development of a horse foot.

• (e) is the foot at 6 weeks. Note, there are three toes.
• (e) is the foot at 8 weeks. The middle toe now dominates.
• (f) is the foot at 5 months. The middle toe is now the hoof.

So, modern horses have vestigial extra toes, which are too small to be easily noticed. Occasionally an unusual horse is born. For example, according to the historian Suetonius,

[Julius Caesar] used to ride a remarkable horse, which had feet that were almost human, the hooves being cleft like toes.

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