Toad in the hoof

While weeding this afternoon my hand encountered something soft and cool. I lifted up a toad and popped it into a horse's hoof that happened to be handy, in order to observe it better. I've always been fond of toads. Unlike slippery frogs that leap out of your hands, toads are slow moving and a little ponderous. Held for a few seconds, they eject a gush of liquid which is their only defense mechanism and nothing to be alarmed about. Their warty skin is distasteful to other animals: the cat who was with me dabbed a paw out but did not get closer.

The hoof came from the skeleton of a mountain pony that died a natural death in an upland field where I found its remains. The conjunction of the two, toad and hoof, brought to mind some ancient folklore concerning the Toad Men. In the days when horses were the kingpins of rural life, for riding, ploughing, transportation and so on, certain individuals were recognised as having special powers as horse-charmers, and they could handle horses like no one else. Membership of this fraternity was said to depend upon the possession of a particular bone obtained with great difficulty from a toad (or a frog). This bone, tiny obviously, had to be separated from the rest of the skeleton and boiled clean but throughout the whole procedure your eyes had to remain fixed upon the bone - lose concentration for one second and the devil would step in and swipe its power. Once you had completed the magic ritual successfully the bone would provide you with complete control over horses.

Another odd equine/amphibian connection is that beneath a horse's hoof there is a rubbery, V-shaped pad of gristle that acts as a shock absorber and circulation pump. For some reason it is called the frog.

Looks good LARGE.