SHOEING HORSES WITH UPEIGHT FEET. 337 



When due to faulty conformation the defect is incurable, 

 but less grave than when acquired. The uncertain, stumbling, 

 borinoj oait seen in horses with such hoofs is oftener a result 

 of defects in the limbs than of the form of the hoof. The 

 worst cases are those in which the heels do not touch the 

 ground during movement, and the condition is not due to mal- 

 formation of the limb. The tendons and ligaments are then 

 continuously under great strain, and, in unshod animals, the 

 sensitive structures of the toe are bruised in consequence of 

 excessive wear. In concrenital cases the heels bear an undue 

 proportion of the weight. An approximately ecpial wear of 

 the shoe and a level tread show that the faulty position of the 

 limb has been compensated by change in form of the hoof. 

 In fact, where the conformation of the limb is abnormal, 

 uprightness of the hoof is, strictly speaking, neither pathological 

 nor faulty. 



The method of shoeing varies. The upright hoof, when 

 compensatory to defective conformation, must be left alone. 

 This is the case where the entire foot from the fetlock down- 

 wards is upright, or where the suffraginis bone is nearly 

 horizontal. But if it result from increased wear of the toe in 

 foals which have not been shod, and it seem impossible to 

 restore the normal position by shortening the heels, a tip or 

 plain shoe with thin heels may be applied. On the other 

 hand, in heavy bodied horses doing hard work on streets the 

 heels should be lowered and care taken that the tread is kept 

 level, while the axis of the foot is rendered somewhat more 

 oblique. 



Uprightness consequent on excessive paring of the toe can 

 be diminished by using shoes with thin heels and broad toes, 

 sometimes by building up the toe with a horn substitute 

 {hitfleclerkitt), or by gradually lowering the heels. 



If the cause be some diseased condition of the limb above 

 the hoof, the object of the farrier should be to ensure a level 

 tread, and it may be necessary to apply shoes with calkins or 

 with thickened heels. In this case the production of upright 

 hoof should be favoured, a course which at first sight may 

 appear objectionable, but will be better understood by recalling 

 the improvement which follows the application of a thick-heeled 

 shoe in fiat-footed horses with strain or contraction of the 



Y 



