Deciduous hoof capsule

{{Short description|Eponychium in newborn hoofed animals}}

In hoofed animals, the deciduous hoof capsule ({{lang|la|Capsula ungulae decidua}}) is the eponychium in fetuses and newborn foals.{{Cite journal |last=Bragulla |first=Hermann |date=1991 |title=Die hinfällige Hufkapsel (Capsula ungulae decidua) des Pferdefetus und neugeborenen Fohlens* |trans-title=The deciduous hoof capsule (Capsula ungulae decidua) of the equine fetus and newborn foal |journal=Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia |language=German |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=66–74 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0264.1991.tb00293.x |pmid=1877762 |s2cid=221396589}} It is a deciduous structure, which disappears as the animal grows. In equines, they are shed soon after a foal begins to stand.{{Cite journal |last=Ginther |first=Oliver J. |date=2022 |title=Physical Interplay between Equine Fetus and Uterus from Day 180 to End of Pregnancy |journal=Journal of Equine Veterinary Science |volume=112 |pages=103918 |doi=10.1016/j.jevs.2022.103918 |pmid=35257827 |s2cid=247266319}} The shedding process can vary from dropping-off whole to the gradual wearing down of the capsule. Common names used in lay literature include "golden slippers", "fairy fingers", and "horse feathers".