THE FOOT 81 



It need hardly be said that to appropriate length and direction must he 

 added ample width from front to back and from side to side, affording 

 space for broad articulations and coextensive ligaments and tendons. 



THE FOOT 



Strength, beauty of proportion, energy and endurance, however well con- 

 tained in the equine frame, are of little avail in the absence of a good foot. 



To realize the highest services which these qualities are capable of 

 developing requires the coexistence in this region of a high standard of 

 excellence both in conformation and strength. It must be recognized that 

 as the power of the motor becomes greater, so much more perfect and 

 resisting should be the parts specially exposed to wear. It is too often the 

 case with the uninitiated to lose sight of the foundation in presence of an 

 attractive superstructure, a course which in the experience of the writer has 

 cost many pangs of disappointment and regret to many self-constituted 

 judges. 



Size and Proportion. — This region is liable to considerable variation 

 as a result of the operation of shoeing and other causes, so feet naturally 

 ample in volume, and well conformed, may by unskilled treatment be 

 rendered abnormally small and unshapely. This is a question which must 

 always receive consideration in estimating the true character of this organ. 



The relative size of the feet will first demand attention. Discrepancies 

 in this respect are for the most part indicative of chronic disease, but now 

 and again horses come into the world with one foot smaller than another. 

 This irregularity of development is objectionable in so far that it indicates 

 weakness, diminishes the base of support, and renders the foot liable to 

 disease. 



To differentiate between congenital and acquired disparity in the size of 

 the feet sometimes requires an amount of technical knowledge which the 

 amateur cannot be expected to possess ; as, however, the former is of 

 seldom occurrence, any departure from the standard of uniformity should 

 at all times be regarded with the greatest suspicion. 



Although ample size is a quality much to be desired in the feet of 

 all horses, undue development in this direction is distinctly prejudicial to 

 the well-being of the animal. Large feet call for large shoes, hence the 

 limbs are encumbered with superfluous weight and the muscles are early 

 fatigued; moreover, the action becomes heavy and unsteady, which sooner 

 or later brings about brushing, stumbling, and premature decay of both 

 legs and feet. 



Less objectionable, but still to be condemned, are feet wanting in 



Vol. I. 6 



