I am cursed with this knowledge and now so are you

    • violetring@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      It’s actually a really interesting question. It’s commonly believed that on horses the vestigial remnants of additional toes/hooves/foot structure are the chestnuts and ergots. The first known horse had 3 and 4 hooves per leg!

    • violetring@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      2 months ago

      This is a trimmed chestnut. They grow a material similar to a nail or horse hoof - ergots are similar, but in a different location. When they get big you just peel or clip it off. They can smell a bit strong when you trim them, but hooves smell worse when the farrier comes out!