246 THE PERFECT HOUSE. 



angle which is generally given is that of 45° : but this 

 is evidently wrong; and our wonder is that any one 

 should have suggested or indorsed it. In speaking of 

 this angle, Fleming says, — 



'' It will be obvious that this inclination also varies with 

 the breeding of the animal and the conformation of the 

 limbs, so that no definite degree can be assigned. But 

 it must be pointed out, that giving the angle of 45°, as 

 is done in almost every treatise on shoeing and the 

 anatomy of the foot, is a grave error. Looked at in 

 profile, a hoof with this degree of obliquity would at 

 once be pronounced a deformity. The slope is too 

 great (Fig. I) ; and, if the farrier were to attempt to 

 bring every foot he shod to this standard, he would in- 

 flict serious injury, not only 

 on the foot itself, but also on 

 the back-tendons and the 

 joints of the limbs. Careful 

 measurement will prove that 

 hig. 1. the obliquity of the front of 



the hoof is rarely, if ever, in a well-shaped leg and foot, 

 above 50° ; and that it is, in the great majority of cases, 

 nearer 56°. The sides, or 'quarters,' of the wall, are 

 less inclined, though the outer is generally more so 

 than the inner ; while the heels are still more vertical, 

 and the inner may even incline slightly inward. Viewed 

 in profile, the posterior face of the hoof will be ob- 

 served to have the same degree of slope as the front 

 face. In height, the heels are usually a little more 



