CHAPTEE II. 



DEFORMITIES AND DISEASES OF THE HOOF. 



1. Flat Sole. 



A FLAT sole is one which exhibits no archino; towards the 

 centre, but lies more or less evenly in the same plane as the 

 wall, the latter being usually very oblique. The condition is 

 commoner in front than in hind feet, and is frequently con- 



FlG. 320.— Section of flat hoof with -weak sole, a shows weakened sole ; 6, weakening of the 



union ))etween wall and sole. 



genital, especially in horses reared on soft marshy ground. 

 It may also be produced by paring away too much of the sole 

 around its union with the wall (figs. 320 and 321), and keeping 

 the hoof continually moist. Apart from congenital conditions 



i'lG. 321.— Special shoe for above foot. 



the most frequent cause, however, is the use of shoes which 

 raise the frog clear of the ground, and thus throw the entire 

 weight on the wall. On account of its oblique course, the 

 wall is then unable to sustain the load, and the os pedis^ 

 especially in its posterior parts, gradually descends ; the 



