DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



561 



A front lioof of the regular standing j^osition. — The outer wall is a- 

 little more slanting' and somewhat thicker than the inner. The lower 

 border of the outer quarter describes the arc of a smaller circle, that 

 is, is more sharpl}^ bent than the inner quarter. The weight falls near 

 the center of the foot and is evenly distributed over the whole bottom' 

 of the hoof. The toe forms an angle with the ground of 45"^ to 50° and 

 is parallel to the direction of the long pastern. The toe points straight 

 ahead, and when the horse 

 is moving forward in a 

 straight line the hoofs are 

 picked up and carried for- 

 ward in a line parallel to 

 the middle line of the body, 

 and are set down fiat. 

 Coming straight toward 

 the observer the hoofs seem 

 to rise and fall perpendic- 

 ularly. 



A hoof of the hase-wlde 

 position is always awr3^ The outer wall is mo^e slanting, longer, and 

 thicker than the inner, the outer quarter more curved than the inner, 

 and the outer half of the sole wider than the inner. The weight falls 

 largely into the inner half of the hoof. In motion the hoof is moved 

 in a circle. From its position on the ground it breaks over the inner 

 toe, is carried forward and inward close to the supporting leg, thence 



Fig. 4.— Pair of fore feet of base-narrow form in toe-iiarrow» 

 standing position. 



Fig. b.—a, side view of an acute-angled fore foot (shod); 6, side view of a regular fore foot, showing- 

 the most desirable degree of obliquity (45°) ; c, side view of a stumpy, or ' ' upright, ' ' fore foot; obliq- 

 uity above 50°. In a, h, c, note particularly the relation between the length of the shoe and tlic- 

 overhanging of the heels. Note also the toe roll of the shoes. 



forward and outward to the ground, which the hoof meets first with 

 the outer toe. Horses that are toe-wide (" splay-footed" — toes turned 

 outward) show all these peculiarities of hoof -form and hoof -flight to 

 a still more marked degree and are therefore more prone to "inter- 

 fere" when in motion. 



A hoof of the hase-7iarroio position is awry, but not to so marked a 

 degree as the base-wide hoof. The inner wall is usually a little more- 

 14384—03 36 



