As an instructor who has many up-down kiddies and a few adult beginners on the lesson schedule, inevitably parents or adult newbies will eventually ask me what “those things on the horse’s legs are.” I used to go through the whole spiel of how they are remnants of toes from when the horse was a five-toed critter. I would explain how the modern day horse is essentially walking on his middle toe, and I would tell them about the two splint bones, the ergot at the back of the fetlock, and the chestnut, thus accounting for all five toes.
But after having one parent flat out say “You actually believe that?” and laugh at me I have altered my answer a bit. :rolleyes: I now preface my spiel by saying “If you believe in evolution then blah blah blah blah blah… If not, then I don’t know why they are there, but every horse has them.”
I don’t have a particularly strong opinion on the subject of evolution but I certainly never thought I would get into a debate about it at the barn, and I am now wondering if I should just shrug and say I have no idea why they are there. 
And to steal Jsalem’s wording from an earlier thread because I am feeling unoriginal at the moment, COTH’ers Discuss… 
