334 CHAPTER 43. 



669. Chronic foot Lameness. 



As a general rule, a diseased foot is for obvious reasons hotter than a 

 sound one ; but in some cases of continued lameness and especially in 

 navicular disease, the affected foot may be colder than the other. This 

 peculiarity may be caused partly by the foot having been for a length of 

 time saved or " favored " by the animal ; and partly sometimes by the 

 measures taken to reduce the inflammation existing in it. In such cases, 

 however, of long continued disease or disuse the size and form of the foot 

 is always affected ; and any such structural alteration will lead us to 

 regard with suspicion a symptom, viz. greater coolness, which otherwise 

 would be indicative of health. 



670. Contraction. 



Contraction is not, as was formerly supposed, a disease in itself, but 

 merely a result of disease or of disuse. This latter cause may, however, 

 arise from circumstances, such as sprains of the tendons of the legs, 

 which are not connected with any disease in the foot itself. 



Although not primarily a disease, Contraction may, under certain cir- 

 cumstances become a diseased condition, which will assist in causing lame- 

 ness. 



Feet are not necessarily contracted, because they are small. Small 

 feet are often a natural formation, especially in high bred horses. If the 

 fore feet are small, reference should be made to the hind feet. If the 

 latter are likewise small, we may regard the formation as natural. The 

 objection or otherwise to small feet depends very much on the general 

 conformation of the animal. In a light well bred horse small feet are 

 very much in accordance with the other features of his frame ; whilst on 

 the other hand they would be incompatible with, and probably quite in- 

 sufficient to sustain a large, heavy carcase. Brittle feet are very objec- 

 tionable. The horn should be tough and sound. 



Although as a general rule, the fact of one foot being smaller than 

 the other should be viewed with great suspicion (and a remark should 

 always be made on it by the examiner to an intending purchaser), yet 

 it by no means follows that the horse must necessarily go lame on it. 

 The contraction may have arisen from disuse, caused as mentioned above, 

 by disease quite unconnected with the foot itself. Cases also frequently 

 occur, in which the small foot remains sound and serviceable for years, 

 even although at some previous period it may have been diseased. 



671. Influence of Conformation on the shape and size of the Feet. 



Conformation exercises a great influence on the shape and size of th 

 feet and also on the diseases, to which they are subject. If the horse 

 turns his toes out, the inner quarter will be straight and the horn on 

 that side will be weak ; whilst if he turns his toes in, the outer quarter 

 will lose its circularity, and the inner quarter will become more circular. 

 Oblique pasterns cause an open round foot, whilst short pasterns gene- 



