barefoothooves:

Polydactyl foal that had the extra foot removed. The coolest thing to me about polydactyl horses is that the extra foot comes from one of the splint bones. In ancestors of the modern horse like the Hyracotherium, Mesohippus/Miohippus, and Merychippus, the splint bones were like secondary cannon bones with their own distal phalanxes and hooves. So in a way it’s kinda like a little evolutionary throwback 😉

(Fun side note, the Hyracotherium had 4 toes in the front and 3 in the back, while the others had 3 all around)

Photo source: Performance Equine Associates