154 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 



too frequently used as a cloak by ignorant pretenders. 

 Much attention has been devoted to diseases of the foot by 

 many talented veterinary surgeons, but still these complaints 

 are in a state of obscurity. Some feet are diseased to lame- 

 ness without exhibiting any external signs of its cause, and 

 many others arise from contraction also, without any other 

 mark of disease. I shall therefore dwell at some length on 

 this important subject. 



CONTRACTION. 



To enable persons to judge of the perfect and healthy 

 state of the foot of a horse, they should examine those feet 

 of young horses in the natural condition which have not 

 been shod or worked in any way. We have given a repre- 

 sentation of the sole of a sound foot, (plate 6, fig. 12.) It 

 will be seen that it is very nearly circular, and is somewhat 

 widest towards the quarters ; the inner one is a very little 

 wider than the outer. This form, however, seldom continues 

 long ; for the foot increases in length and gradually becomes 

 narrow in the quarters, more especially at the heel, when 

 the frog becomes contracted. The entire foot assumes a 

 greater concavity, and the heels become higher, which 

 induces lameness, or a circumscribed action follows. To 

 those unacquainted with the different parts of the sole, we 

 refer to the above figure for their form. The crust is repre- 

 sented at a a ; the sole, h ; the bars, c c ; the frog, d d. 



Contraction may exist without inducing lameness ; nor 

 does shoeing always promote this narrowing of the foot, 

 although it is in many instances the source of contraction 

 when unskilfully performed. The mismanagement of the 

 stable is the source from whence this, as well as many other 

 serious maladies, have their origin. 



In examining a contracted hoof, it is difficult to deter- 



