328 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



D. Defects of the Foot. 



Most authors have unnecessarily increased the list of defects of the 

 foot, by comprising in it a certain number of conformations which are 

 nothing else than the expression of a diseased state very common and 

 very variable in its manifestations : contraction of the hoof. 



The foot of the horse may be defective under four different condi- 

 tions which receive special appellations : 



, 1. By Defect of Volume and of Proportion: Foot large, 

 small, narrow, and unequal. 



2. By Defect of Conformation : Foot flat, full, pumiced, with 

 bunions, with high, low, sloping heels. 



3. By Defect of Axis : outbow-foot, cross-foot, club-foot, crooked 

 foot, pincard foot. 



4. By Defect of Quality of the Horn : Foot soft, dry, brittle, 

 with weak heels. 



Let us rapidly examine each one of these defects in particular. 



i. Defects of Volume and of Proportion. 



Large Foot. An excess of the volume of the foot has 

 serious inconveniences in the fast horse on account of its weight, its 

 width, and the weight of the shoe. 



The step is heavy and awkward ; the reactions upon the ground 

 are too violent. The horse is liable to stumble, pull the shoes, and 

 interfere ; he is more predisposed to contusions of the sole and con- 

 gestion and inflammation of the vascular tissues; the horn is often 

 brittle and retains the nails poorly. Finally, a large foot is a character- 

 istic of slow, lymphatic horses, and always indicates the absence of 

 fine breeding and good qualities. 



These objections disappear in the slow draught-horse, which, from 

 the nature of the pace, is firmer on his feet, and jeopardizes to a less 

 degree the integrity of the apparatus of support. 



He must have a wide-webbed shoe, with the toe well elevated, 

 without garniture on the inner side (not projecting beyond the wall), 

 and slightly projecting on the outer side. 



Small Foot. A foot too small, in spite of its neatness and 

 lightness, is chiefly defective from the excessive reduction which it 

 causes in the width of the base of support. Its horn is thin and 

 ordinarily dry and brittle. The foot is easily bruised, contracted at 

 the heels, becomes painful after prolonged exercise, and is always more 



