Pony physiology and evolution

[Kel_Grym 1,917]

Ponies...they're really really weird.

 

From a physiological stand point.

 

First thing. Their forelegs. They can move them around like a horses, and on the drop of a dime they start moving them around like a person's. Check your anatomy books. They can't possibly have a upper body skeletal structure like a horses, and I'm doubtful that region of their body is precisely like a humans either.

 

Are they double jointed, or something? How would that work? I'd love to see some interpretive fan art displaying an Equestrian pony's skeletal structure in all it's scientifically plausible glory.

 

Second thing. Those damn hooves. I haven't heard a lot of theories behind them, but the two biggest ones that I know of are, "Magic," and something I read in a fanfic about the keratin molecules rearranging themselves to be adhesive or something.

 

What do you think?

 

Also...if we stepped away from the fantasy aspect of MLP and looked at it through a purely Darwinian light, what set of circumstances would have to have existed that would lead up to the evolution of such a species?

 

I need to know! For science!

[Archer Dash 163]

Since I have a foolishly creationist agenda I can't say.  Just thought I'd bump this for other people.

[Unikitty 1,212]

In regards to the hooves topic, I like to go the keratin/bone idea, and say that perhaps these parts are where a pony's magic flows through. Unicorns channel and expel magic through their horns, so it's not unusual for the same elements in their bodies to have similar traits. It could be a sort of subtle magnetism, that works with magic as opposed to literal magnets. Sort of how we naturally move our muscles without thinking, their innate magic ability could work as an extension of their physical body, binding objects to hooves at will.

Considering the ponies quite clearly have the same evolutionary background, it isn't unfeasible to assume pegasus and earth ponies have at least some internal magical capabilities. It may just be that unicorns are more attuned to the magic, or are naturally able to tap into more than the default potential.
This would also explain how pegasus can fly, despite being too heavy(that and a lighter body structure(perhaps why Dash is always getting injured?)).

As for the forelegs department, I'm no osteologist, but my guess is simply that it's a complex mixture of muscle and bone structure, that enables such free movement. Perhaps it came into play when ponies started needing to use their legs more as hands.

I can't imagine that there would be anything too spectacular with evolution. Hands are pretty much integral to our design. Even when faced with a lack of said hands, people have turned their very feet into replacement appendages. The ability to hold things is possibly one of the top-most important requirements for advanced evolution.
My guess is that, considering ponies already had an innate magic ability(assuming this was something from early development, rather than a late-coming ability), they were able to just use that instead, rather than completely grow a set of hands(as their legs were still required for locomotion).

[Denim&Venöm 19,754]

We never do see how a pony holds an object, from the objects side. Always the back of the hoof. So a few ideas: They have tiny, bristled fibers under their hooves to grab onto stuff, like how insects or arachnids grab onto walls. They have some form of microscopic suction, like reptiles. Gravity may work a bit differently int heir universe, as all objects, including living beings, generate a gravitational force. Perhaps their gravitational force is a bit stronger than ours while their planet's gravity is slightly weaker, making it easier to grasp onto objects. Back to the point that we only see the backs of their hooves, they may be using ankle/wrist joint to wrap around objects. That ankle/wrist joint to them may feel and function more like a hand, if it were covered by a mitt, and they grasp using that type of control and function.