DISEASES OB^ THE HORSE. 



563 



At rest, the observer should stand in front and note the slant of the 

 long pasterns. Do they drop perpendicularly, or slant downward and 

 outward (base-wide foot), or downward and inward (base-narrow foot)? 

 Whatever be the direction to the long pastern, an imaginary line pass- 

 ing through its long axis, when prolonged to the ground, should appar- 

 entl}' pass through the middle of the toe. But if such line cuts 

 through the inner toe the foot-axis is not straight, as it should be, but 

 is broken inward at the coronet, an indication that either the outer 

 wall of the hoof is too long (high) or that the inner wall is too short 

 (low). On the contrar}", if the center line of the long pastern falls 

 through the outer toe the foot-axis is broken outward at the coronet, 

 an indication that either the inner wall is too long or the outer wall 

 too short. 



The observer should now place himself at one side, two or three 

 paces distant, in order to view the limb and hoof in profile. Note the 

 size of the hoof in relation to the heierht and weie'ht of the animal, and 



Fig. 0.— a, Side view of foot with the foot-axis broken backward as a result of too long a toj. The 

 amount of horn to be removed from the toe in order to straighten the foot-axis is denoted by a dotted 

 line; b, side view of a properly balanced foot, with a straight foot-axis of desirable slant; c, side view 

 of stumpy foot with foot-axis broken forward, as a result of overgrowth of the quarters. The amount 

 of horn to be removed in order to straighten the foot-axLs is shown by a dotted line. 



the obliquity of the hoof. Is the foot-axis straight? that is, does 

 the long pastern have the same slant as the toe ? or does the toe of the 

 hoof stand steeper than the long pastern (fig. 6c)? — in which case the 

 foot-axis is broken forward at the coronet, an indication, usuallj', that 

 the quarters are either too high or that the toe is too short. 



If the long pastern stands steeper than the toe (fig. G«) the foot-axis 

 is broken backward, in which case the toe is too long or the quarters 

 are too low (short). In figures Ga and Gc the dotted lines passing 

 from toe to quarters indicate the amount of horn which must be 

 removed in order to straighten the foot-axis, as shown in figiire 6b. 

 Note also the length of the shoe. 



Next, the feet should be raised and the examiner should note the 

 outline of the foot, the conformation of the sole, form and quality 

 of the frog, form of the shoe, wear of the shoe, and the number and 



