HORSESHOEING. 91 



they will fall either into the base-wide and toe-wide group or 

 into the base-narrow and toe-narrow group. When clear upon 

 these points the horse is allowed to stand quietly, and the ob- 

 server, placing himself in front, examines the foot more closely, 

 fixes the direction of the foot axis clearly in his mind, marks 

 also the form and character of the hoofs and the position of 

 the coronets, as far as these parts can be inspected from in 

 front. At the same time each hoof should be closely inspected 

 to determine whether the slant of both quarters corresponds 

 to the direction of the long pastern, and whether the course of 

 the wall from the coronet to the plantar border is straight or 

 bent in or out (contraction, fulness). Walls curved from above 

 to below always indicate an unnatural height of some section 

 of the wall and a displacement of the base of support of the 

 foot. In order to gain accurate and complete knowledge of the 

 position of the limbs, the flight of the hoofs, and the manner 

 of setting the foot to the ground, the horse must frequently be 

 moved back and forth many times, especially when the stand- 

 ing position is somewhat irregular and the hoofs are of different 

 shapes. 



At this point begins the examination of the position of the 

 limbs, and the form of the feet and hoofs, in profile. After 

 casting a glance over the entire body, so as to gain an idea of 

 the animal's weight, height, and length, the attention is turned 

 to the position and direction of the limbs and hoofs. The eye 

 should particularly note whether the form of the hoof cor- 

 responds to the position of the limb, and, furthermore, whether 

 the slant of the pastern is the same as that of the wall at the 

 toe, — that is, whether the foot axis is straight or broken ; also 

 whether the toes and quarters are parallel, for the toe is some- 

 times bulging (convex) or hollowed out (concave) between the 

 coronet and plantar border, and the quarters are frequently con- 

 tracted and drawn or shoved under the foot (weak quarters). 

 If the wall present rings the observer shoiild note their position 

 with reference to one another and to the coronet, and also their 



