340 DEFOEMITIES AND DISEASES OF THE HOOF. 



ally, the prolongation at the toe acting as a lever. To prevent 

 this, Neuschield thins and flattens the extremity and bends it 

 upwards and backwards so as to take a bearing on the wall of 

 tlie tue, a stout piece of leather being interposed. 



For the early forms of this condition in foals a special shoe 

 has been used, provided with a kind of iron splint welded to 

 the toe and extending upwards above the fetlock joint. It is 

 made to fit the front of the large metacarpal bone, to which it 

 is secured by a well-padded bandage. The steady opposition 

 to the pull of the shortened tendons gradually causes elongation 

 and reduction of the knuckling. 



4. CONTKACTED FoOT. 



(A). Contraction of heels. — In contracted foot the posterior 

 half of the hoof becomes narrower and presses on the con- 

 tained structures, such as the corium, lateral cartilages, etc. 

 The condition frequently affects flat feet, and is commoner in 

 front than behind. It may develop to a very varying extent, 

 and its recognition demands a clear perception of the form of 

 a normal hoof. This should have, firstly, a broad and well- 

 developed frog. Both limbs of the frog should be of equal 

 size, and between them should lie a moderately deep but broad 

 groove. 



In unshod horses neither the central nor lateral furrows are 

 widely open, because the horny frog is pressed flat and thrust 

 closely against the bar at either side. 



In the contracted hoof the triangular space destined for the 

 reception of the frog is diminished in size and the frog itself 

 is smaller to a corresponding extent. The extremities of the 

 wall, therefore, approach one another. When the condition is 

 aggravated the lateral and central grooves of the frog are 

 narrow, they exist as more or less deep fissures, and in fully 

 developed cases the limbs of the frog almost disappear. The 

 bars are sometimes even in contact or overlap one another, and 

 the previously rounded prominent bulbs of the frog become 

 thin and closely pressed together. Whilst in hoofs of good 

 form the bars are straight, in this condition they describe a 

 curve, directed towards the bearing surface of the wall, that is, 

 they run backwards, outwards, and again inwards. In flat 



