The Angle and Length of Foot 247 



legs excessively, so that not only interference but also a defective gait 

 is the result. It cannot be expected to fix any definite angle for either 

 fore or hind feet ; but as a rule the frontal line of hoof should form a 

 continuation of the direction of the pastern joint. The extreme 

 range might be given as being from 45 to 55 for the fore and from 

 50 to 60 for the hind feet. 



Fig. 182 will give the reader an accurate idea of the sections of 

 the feet with these various angles. If it is considered desirable to re- 

 tain a certain height of heel, or if it is impossible to reduce the heel, 

 corresponding changes in- the toe will bring about the angle of the 

 foot best adapted to the horse. 



Lateral balance or "symmetry," as Roberge calls the leveling of 

 the foot from one quarter to the opposite quarter, concerns the direct 

 lines of motion of the feet and my method of analyzing it by means 

 of drawing a while cord midway between the sulky wheels and referring- 

 to it every track with regard to its distance from it and the inward or 

 outward angle it makes with reference to this median line, have all 

 been discussed before, but its importance may demand some more 

 attention. 



Whenever it seems necessary to lengthen one leg more than the 

 other the toe is lengthened that much, but the angle is kept the same, 

 for in that case the sole line A B will be let down, so to speak, for a 

 certain distance all the way from toe to heel, which makes it parallel 

 to the former sole line A B ; but while the angle remains the same 

 the heel is of course raised also, so that with both toe and heel raised 

 we have a longer leg. Moving the line A B down and parallel to its 

 former position will therefore lengthen the whole foot, as it should be 

 when so wanted. 



Experiments have proved the rule given heretofore and applicable 

 to most cases, namely, that the longer foot of the two fore feet will 

 act as a lever for the shorter one and will therefore not extend as 

 much as the latter ; and, again, that of the two hind feet the longer foot 

 will extend farther than the shorter one. Whether we speak of a longer 

 foot or a longer leg does not matter, the effect being the same; and 

 so it may happen that a shorter extension, or as it is erroneously called 



