THE POINTS OF THE HORSE 



179 



J-S, 



Sidebone is found in the rear part of the front foot on 

 the coffin bone at the crown or top of the hoof. It is due 

 to the hardening of cartilages, whereby they take on a bony 

 character, which causes lameness. In well-defined cases, 

 the sidebones appear as hard projections just beneath the 

 skin, and can be plainly seen or felt. In their early stages, 

 sidebones are not so easily 

 discovered, and one may buy 

 a horse that appears sound, 

 yet in a short time the trouble 

 will become noticeable. Side- 

 bones are most common on 

 draft horses, and on those 

 used on hard roads or pave- 

 ments. This unsoundness is 

 severely discriminated against 

 and shrewd men will not buy horses that have sidebones. 



Ringbone is a bony deposit which in the form of a ring 

 encircles the upper part of the foot or the pastern. On old 

 horses this bony enlargement sometimes becomes very con- 

 spicuous. It may be due to hard labor, strains, bruises, etc., 



Figure 58. Sidebone shown at A on 

 bone in foot of horse. Reproduced 

 from" Diseases of the Horse," U. S. 

 Dept. of Agriculture. 



Figure 59. Ring bone above the foot, as indicated by the arrow, and spavin 

 at lower part of hook near point of arrow. Reproduced from Circular 29, 

 Purdue University Experiment Station. 



