MOUNTED INSTRUCTION 15 



heel, and render lacerations more easy; long feet, which by removing 

 the frog and heels too far from the ground deprive them of necessary 

 moisture ; this, in turn, reduces the elastic properties of the horn and 

 diminishes the transverse diameter of the heels ; weak feet, or those 

 in which the horn of the wall is too thin to resist the tendency to 

 spread, whereby the soft tissues are easily lacerated. Wide feet 

 with low heels are always accompanied with a flat sole whose pos- 

 terior wings either rest upon the ground or the shoe and as a conse- 

 quence are easily bruised; at the same time the arch of the sole is so 

 broad and flat that it cannot support the weight of the body, and in 

 the displacement which happens when the foot is rested upon the 

 'ground the soft tissues are liable to become bruised or torn. 



It is universally conceded that shoeing, either as a direct or predis- 

 posing cause, is most prolific in producing corns. A shoe so set as 

 to press upon the sole or one that has been on so long that the hoof 

 has overgrown it until the heels rest upon the sole and bars become 

 a direct cause of corns. Indirectly the shoe becomes the cause of 

 corns when small stones, hard, dry earth, or other objects collect be- 

 tween the sole and shoe. Lastly, a rapid gait and excessive knee 

 action especially on hard roads, predispose to this disease of the feet. 



Bruise of the Frog: Generally happens from stepping on a rough 

 stone or other hard objects. It is more liable to take place when trot- 

 ting, running or jumping than when at a slower pace. A stone wedged 

 in the shoe and pressing on the frog or between the sides of the frog 

 and the shoe, if it remains for a time, produces the same results. 

 A cut through the horny frog with some sharp instrument or a punc- 

 tured wound by a blunt pointed instrument may also cause suppura- 

 tion and gangrene of the plantar cushion. Broad, flat feet with low 

 heels and a fleshy frog are most liable to these injuries. 



Contracted Heels, or Hoofbound: Is a common disease among 

 horses kept on hard floor in dry stables, and in such as are subject to 

 much saddle work. It consists in an atrophy, or shrinking, of the tis- 

 sues of the foot, whereby the lateral diameter of the heels is di- 

 minished. It afi^ects the fore feet principally, but is seen occasionally 

 in the hind feet, where it is of less importance, for the reason that the 

 hind foot first strikes the ground with the toe, and consequently less 

 expansion of the heels is necessary than in the fore feet, where the 

 weight is first received on the heels. Any interference with the ex- 

 pansibility of this part of the foot interferes with locomotion, and 

 ultimately gives rise to lameness. Usually but one foot is afifected at a 

 time, but when both are diseased the change is greater in one than in* 

 the other. Occasionally but one heel, and that the inner one, is con- 

 centrated ; in these cases there is less liability of lameness and per- 

 manent impairment of the animal's usefulness. 



Sand Cracks: May occur in any part of the wall, but ordinarily are 

 only seen directly in front, when they are called toe cracks ; or on the 

 lateral parts of the walls when they are known as quarter cracks. 



