40 



THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



direction of tlie limb, and when tlie sides of a hoof are 

 allowed to remain of unequal height, the higher side 

 presses the soft tissues of the coronet upwards. As the 

 hoof grows from the coronet, the side thus increased in. 

 height is not so noticeably uneven at the lower border of 

 the wall as at its upper, and it cannot be restored to its 

 proper form, except by months of careful attention and 

 slight over-lowering at each shoeing. The diagrams 

 (Figs. 25 and 26) represent vertical sections through a 

 foot from side to side. One shows the wall uneven at 

 the base, the other shows it uneven at the coronet. 



Fig. 25.— Uneven at Ground Surface. 



Fig. 26.— Uneven at Coronet. 



Pecularities in the formation of a limb sometimes 

 cause an apparent error in the relative position of the 

 foot. Thus we have horses that turn their toes in, and 

 those that turn their toes out. The cause of this twist 

 takes place at the upper part of the limb, and it will be 

 found that when the toes turn out, the elbow turns in, 

 and vice versa. The farrier can do no good to this forma- 

 tion, and attempts to alter it or disguise it by devices in 

 shoeing are only injurious to the foot, — little deceptions 

 worthy of a horse-coper. 



