50 MANUAL FOR STABLE SERGEANTS. 



at the quarters. This is called expansion, and amounts to about 

 one-twenty-fifth of an inch total increase in width of the foot at the 

 heel. 



117. Contraction. When weight is removed from the foot, the 

 digital cushion and frog return to their normal shape, and the car- 

 tilages and quarters move inward to where they were before expan- 

 sion occurred. This is called contraction. 



118. The benefits derived from these movements are many; 

 they diminish jar or shock to the foot and leg, and prevent the evil 

 results of concussion; they increase the elasticity of the entire limb, 

 and assist in the circulation of the blood in the foot. 



