3o6 THE FORE LIMB. 



away by the shoeing smith. Some horses have an excess 

 of soft tissue at the back of the foot, which then makes 

 the distance between the coronet and heels abnormally 

 long. This condition is known as " boxy " or " fleshy 

 heels," and is objectionable, in that it cramps the action 

 of the foot, and renders it weaker, and consequently 

 more liable to injury, than if the foot were in a normal 

 state. 



An undesirable kind of conformation which is some- 

 times seen, usually in horses that have a combination of 

 cart and thorough-bred blood, is that which gives the hoof 

 the appearance of being too big for the bones which it 

 covers (Fig. 368), without being in any way deformed by 

 disease, or by an overgrowth of horn. This condition 

 is due to the pastern bones being slight in comparison 

 to the size of the pedal bone, which, in health, regulates 

 that of the hoof. In such cases, the leg is not only 

 abnormally weak, but the fact that its bones are not 

 symmetrical, points to the probability that there are, 

 in other parts of the framework, similar instances of lack 

 of harmonious conformation. 



