> Toes are, with the exception of the appendix, the most pointless piece of the human anatomy.
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> Thinking about toes and what uses they have [...] they are pretty useless.
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> Yes, I know that some people insist that they are useful for balance, but I don't see why we just have one big toeless block (á la "The Witches" by Roald Dahl) instead of five little stubby things that break easily and cause considerable pain if the nails grow too much. Anyway, a foot with a bigger surface area should help balance somewhat...
>

You need toes because we walk and run on two legs. Bipedal movement is tricky at best, and the toes are absolutely necessary for fluid ambulatory motion. If we had four (or more) legs to balance upon, we could conceivably get away with having only a single, hard, toeless hoof on each foot à la horsey, as you suggest.

For example, if I had missing toes I could slowly shamble along okay, but don't ask me to run, climb a wall, or jump off a two-foot table because I'd fall flat on my face. The toes -- especially the big toes -- receive the brunt of subtly balancing the body even when you're standing at rest.

An orthopedic podiatrist (foot doctor) once told me that she sometimes sees patients with a disorder that makes certain bones spongy, and that the toes can be affected because the feet receive so much punishing work. These patients sometimes beg her to "cut off their toes" to stop the bleeding and pain and damage to the tissues. What she does instead is offer to anesthetize their toes for a while, so that they can walk around a bit while thinking about their request. They find that without being able to use their toes properly, the patients are continually struggling to prevent falling forward on their faces.

Wolf "Barefoot in Zanzibar" spirit