118 



DISEASES OF THE FEET AND LEGS. 



from disease in tlie legs, it becomes apparently less 

 after the limbs have been worked a while. With re- 

 gard to animals keej)ing their condition while labour- 

 ing under lameness, experience has taught me that 

 horses lame in the fore feet will, if able to work at all, 

 continue to do so without apparently losing condition 

 from the fret of lameness; but when the hind legs are 

 the seat of disease, the condition evaporates very ra- 

 pidly. This, I imagine, is because an animal lame in 

 the fore feet will lie down and take more rest than 

 when sound ; whereas if lame behind, he will not take 

 suJSicient rest, as rising and lying down cause him pain ; 

 hence he continually stands, and, of course, aggravates 

 the disease. 



The foot is thus sectionised and described by Dela- 

 were P. Blaine, Esq. : — 



Fig. 2. — Section of Foot. 



" On examining a perpendicular section of the foot 

 and pasterns, there appear the coffin-bone («), the 

 navicular or nut bone (^), the coronary or little pastern 

 bone (c), the large pastern bone (<-?), the back sinew or 

 great flexor tendon of the foot (e), the same tendon 



