How do ponies' hooves work?

[Midnight Seashell 206]

I been wondering how pony hooves work especially when it comes to holding and carrying things.I know ponies can bend their hooves to carry cups but what about when they want to hold things or flip a page from a book how would that work?

[VengefulStrudel 1,486]

Hello @@Midnight Seashell! Just letting you know the thread title was edited to better reflect your topic.

[An Unknown Pony. 370]

Just think of a hoof as an invisible hand,or a magnet that can attract any object.

[Brony Lounge 102]

Quite possibly they scrape the page along to change it, so probably dramatically shortening the lifespan of the book

 

as for carrying things they just don't, except for unicorns obviously

 

Or thats my best guess anyway XD

Edited June 5, 2016 by LinuxLounge

[BennyBoy 21]

I think that they are used like a cartoon horse's hooves would. If you applied natural physics to them, it would take out a lot of the gags of the show and make a lot of plot point unexploitable because characters need to be picking things up. Basically, the hooves work any way the creators want them to in order to keep the plot moving. That means moving and picking this up that they shouldn't be able to. 

[captainborgue 343]

That's easy- Granular jamming.

 

It's not unreasonable to conclude that sentient equines would have physiologically evolved traits- such as muscles and vascular constructs- that would enable them to utilize granular jamming on the soft, paw-pad-like structural components of the hoof (the inside of the semicircular hardened ridge).

 

[cmarston1 5,954]

Magic and cartoon logic, just like how everything else in the show works.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Given that the hoof wall (The hard outer coating of the hoof) is made of keratin, the same as horns and feathers on RL animals, it's possible that the version of keratin in the Pony universe is the conduit of magic. The different appendages having different properties, of course. Unicorn horns being exceptionally good at magic channelling, while pegasi feathers being more specifc to flight magic (as per Tirek draining pegasi magic, and the pegasi no longer being able to fly afterwards).

 

So basically, with this theory all ponies have a low-level magic 'manipulation' with their hooves. Those that train that particular skill can get more sophisticated so that they can operate a stringed musical instrument or similar device that would normally require fingers.

[MoltenKitten 341]

I like to imagine they have invisible fingers 

 

Would make sense based on how many times the word "hand" pops up in the show

Edited June 5, 2016 by MoltenKitten

[SolarFlare13 15,976]

I like to imagine they have invisible fingers 

 

Would make sense based on how many times the word "hand" pops up in the show

What about Pinkie Pie in the episode "Too many Pinkie Pies"? X3 <3

[gamecubeguy214 2,511]

Because reasons. It's a cartoon. Though, most of the time the ponies just use their mouths.

[PuppyKit 12]

Well they already said in the show that all ponies have magic and it comes out in different ways.

 

The ponies might be able to pick things up and play string instruments or even pinch and tickle with their hooves because magic is flowing through them. It might very well be tactile telekinesis gained through magic.

 

Tactile telekinesis is one of the more common super powers in comics. It's used to explain how people can fly without wings but it also is sometimes used to explain invulnerability and super strength. I bring it up because in Superman's case whenever he touches something his telekintic abilities wrap around the object. This is how he is able to grab planes and they don't break apart and also why he can safely catch people falling off buildings even though in real life the force of grabbing someone out of the air would be just as likely to kill them as hitting the pavement. His power puts the same amount of pressure all over the object so it won't break. Tactile telekinesis is probably Superman's most commonly shown power but is strangely the one only true comic book geeks know about. Yes I'm a huge superhero nerd and proud of it Xp

 

My point was that if ponies had this power, gained through magic, it would not only explain how they can hold things but also how they are so strong with such small bodies. It would also explain why Earth Ponies in particular are so much stronger and why Pegasus can only fly well they have their magic (As they lost their flying powers when their magic was eaten by the centaur goat man). The different species of ponies probably have their tactile telekintic powers come out in different ways. It might also Explain why Scootaloo can't fly as her body might not manipulate her tactile telekinesis correctly but that's a completely different topic

[twiia 1,842]

Logic apparently doesn't exist in a pony cartoon... O.o

[NeonCobalt 256]

How do they pick things up? Because cartoon, that's why.

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

their hooves were much like feet or hands. except the hooves dont have toes or fingers

[Dark Horse 12,826]

There have been at least two scenes in the show where Pinkie Pie has used visible sticky tape to hold items. Seems about as good an excuse as any.

 

 

 

 

[dekutree64 711]

My favorite explanation:

 

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2016 by dekutree64

[The MegaBrony 218]

A horse's hoof is equivalent to a human's middle finger.

[sweetolebob18 724]

The technical name for it is "tactile telekinesis".  In practical terms, think of it as "They can make their hooves selectively sticky".  Next question is "How effective is this?".  IMO, it varies widely from pony to pony depending on native ability & practice.  Octavia plays the cello in a string quartet good enough to play the Grand Galloping Gala.  In some episodes Apple Bloom can't hold a pencil well enough to write, she has to use her mouth.

 

Ponies tend to use their mouths.  I remember Baby Cakes, MR Cake partly used his mouth to change a diaper.  Be VERY careful what you touch, that's my advice

[Baykush 328]

They work the same way cartoon physics work, however the plot demands it.

[Crypty Scribbles 3,163]

Inagine that you have only one thiсk finger on each hand. Not the best, but you can do a lot of things with it, even grab some stuff or hold a bow to play cello.

 

Edited November 5, 2016 by Crypty

[GreenGreenWhirlWind 161]

I like to think that their hooves are just really sticky, like a lizard's fingers or an anteater's tongue.

[Snow 5,305]

I like to think that their hooves are just really sticky

well.. they say glue wad made with hooves so... it could be natural hoof glue that can be created and controlled at will :L

 

[Luminance 2,182]

I'm going to shed some light into this so here's a current picture of Rainbow Dash holding Scootaloo's cape. Notice her right hoof...

It's looks like a certain opposable looking "thumb". This is from the official Gameloft loading screen. 

[Merion 783]

Eww, nope! This is just disturbing D: