[Bonetools] cattle PhIII horn sheath use

[cho13017 at iif.hu]

Dear Colleagues,
      I have received the following letter from a young colleague in Trieste.

i am a young italian zooarchaeologist from Trieste, my name is Francesco
Boschin. I met you during a zooarchaeological meeting in Vienna some years ago
(2007?).
I am studing a small sample from a castle (XVI-XVII cent.) in South-tirol near
Bolzano and i have a little question for you:
I found a knife cut-mark on the solea of a third cattle phalanx, probably to
remove the hoof-sheath.
Is it possible that hoof-sheath tissue can be used by handicraftsmen? Or do they
usually use  only the horns?

Thank you very much!

  best regards,
                          Francesco Boschin

I have seen rattles from Africa and South America made from cattle or sheep/goat
PhIIIs  but have never heard of the horny sheath being exploited for any other
purpose. My own best guess is that the cut mark is from some kind of collagen
extracting process, possibly related to glue-making.

All ideas welcome. I will relay all replies to Francesco.

Best,
Alice