frog

Question
I've always wondered why the cushion on the bottom of a horse's foot is called a frog.  Got any idea?

Answer
The frog is made up of the collateral sulci on the sides and in the center, the central sulcus. Where the origin of the word comes from is somewhat up for debate.

There are some mythical ideas floating about that the frog was called that because it looked like a frog or was part of some ancient shamanistic ritual. There is even a story of a secret Scottish society of horseshoers, that used certain words to calm and quiet horses, ala recent "The Horse Whisperer" type techniques. (ref: http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/hq13.html - After reading it though, I wonder if the ritually sacrificed Scottish frog that was left on a bush - was of any real help in the long run?)

The truth probably resides in that the word "frog" was a derivation from the Middle English word "frogge," "frosh" or "frogga." This would be well before the things that were either depicted as Scottish Lore or "new wave" shamanistic recountings. As best I can tell, the word's etymology is around 17th century origins - which seemed to link it to wet or marshy areas, including most of western Europe. The horse's hoof tends to be soft and leathery, and therefore sometimes will sometimes get infected, and even exude pus when infected because of the damp wet surroundings. Anyway, this pus or infection was called "Frosch" or Frush in Old English and Germanic languages, which today we now call "Thrush." ( ref -http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Frush ) So the best I can possibly offer is that "Frosch" was taken as "Frosh" and changed ultimately in the translation into "Frog" from Old English origins. So it does appear to be a link to the Amphibian's wet domain... but not perhaps as direct link as we would imagine.