THE POINTS OF THE HORSE 155 



Splint is a bony projection or roughness usually found 

 on the inside of the splint bone, which lies close in with the 

 cannon bone of the front leg, and is commonly regarded as 

 the cannon. This is not considered a distinct unsoundness, 

 although very common and referred to quite frequently. 

 Splints sometimes appear on young horses and then disappear 

 with the mature development of the animals. Splints may 

 be easily seen while standing in front and looking at the inside 

 of the legs. 



Quarter-crack is a splitting or cracking of the bony 

 part of the hoof, usually of the front foot. This crack may 

 extend the entire length of 

 the hoof, and be so bad as to 

 require fastening the parts 

 with metal clamps or nails to 

 keep the cracks from extend- 

 ing or widening. Horses with 

 brittle or soft hoofs are most 

 affected with this trouble. 

 Quarter-crack may develop so 



Fig. 85. Quarter crack. Repro- 



far aS tO break through the duced from " Diseases of the Horse," 

 < U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



lower part of the foot and 



cause serious injury and lameness. 



Toe-crack is similar to quarter-crack, but is usually on 

 the hind foot, in the front part, and often extends the length 

 of the hoof. 



Founder, or laminitis, as the veterinarian calls it, is an 

 unsoundness of the feet. It is due to an inflammation of the 

 delicate tissues within the hoof, and is usually found in the 

 front feet. It is caused by a variety of conditions, such as 

 overwork, overfeeding, exposure, etc. If well established it 

 is incurable and causes the horse much suffering. The 

 common symptom of this trouble is lameness, which is 



