How horses lost their toes
Ancient equines had up to four toes, which they shed as their body size grew
By
Emily Underwood
9:00am, August 28, 2017
Horses can leap over high hurdles, gallop at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour and haul around up to nearly 1,000 kilograms of body weight — and all with just one big toe on each foot. Now, a new study published August 23 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B helps explain why: Streamlined digits improved horses’ strength and speed.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-horses-lost-their-toes