346 DEFORMITIES AND DISEASES OF THE HOOF. 



The same effect is produced wlien the seating is continued 

 right up to the heel of the shoe, especially if the bearing 

 surface of the heel (of the hoof) rest in the seated out portion. 

 Shoes with calkins favour contraction more than Hat shoes. 

 Finally, by shoeing young horses too early complete develop- 

 ment of the hoof is checked and contraction favoured. 



2. Dryness. — Dryness of the horn diminishes its elasticity 

 and volume. 



3. Insufficient Exercise. — Tf young liorses, after being 

 shod for the first time, are long confined to the stable, the 

 posterior lialf of the hoof invariably contracts, while want of 

 exercise causes the front hoofs to become hard and dry and 

 the hind-feet to be attacked with thrusli. Circulation and 

 liorn secretion are also less vigorous. In yearlings all these 

 ill results are seen in an aooravated form. 



Prognosis. — Attention should first be directed to the state of 

 the lateral cartilage, because, when this is ossified, no improve- 

 ment in form need be expected. Next, the conformation of 

 the limbs demands consideration. When the axis of the foot 

 and the form of the hoof seen from the side are upright or 

 snormal, the prognosis is favourable. If, on the other hand, the 

 foot axis is oblique and the lioof fiat, and if in addition the toes 

 are turned out, the conditions all point to contraction, and in 

 such cases the inner heel will be found wired in and the bulbs 

 of the frog displaced. In old animals, whicli for years have 

 suffered from contraction, the prognosis is unfavourable, because 

 atrophy of the os pedis has often occurred, and complete 

 recovery is impossible ; but in young animals even well-marked 

 contraction, if uncomplicated, can frequently be cured without 

 much difficulty. 



Preventive measures have occupied the attention of many 

 investigators, but owing to the treatment of working horses 

 and the various styles of shoeing, success has been distinctly 

 limited. It is often useful, after correcting the form of 

 the feet, to turn the horse out to grass without shoes, and later 

 to apply a shoe which permits free movement of the posterior 

 section of the foot and allows the frog to come to the ground. 

 Treatment, therefore, comprises the application of a flat shoe, 

 with a horizontal surface at the heels, non-interference with 

 the frog, and abundant exercise on moist ground. The farm 



