132 LAMENESS IN THE HORSE. 



finds one-half of the wall convex and the other half concave. 

 This malformation usually occurs in the developing hoof, — 

 that is, the one of the colt,— mainly due to improper or 

 neglected paring and faulty shoeing. If, for instance, the 

 outer half is allowed to grow too long, the wall of the inner 

 half in due time becomes convex, the outer one concave. 

 Lameness is wanting, but may set in at any moment, follow- 

 ing improper shoeing and drying of the horn. The dislocated 

 wall presses upon the underlying sensitive parts, and pain, 

 expressed by lameness, quite pronounced on hard ground, 

 is the consequence. Animals with this form of hoof are 

 subject to corns, sandcracks, loosening of the sole or wall 

 and distortion of the phalangeal articulations. 



4. The Club Foot. — This sort of hoof, natural to the mule, 

 shows an angle of 60 degrees or over. The wall at the 

 quarter is very high, occasionally having the same height as 

 at the toe. The frog appears too small for the size of the 

 hoof, and the sole is decidedly concave. While this hoof 

 form does not directly cause the animal to go lame, it pre- 

 disposes it to sandcracks, bruised heels and disease of the 

 flexor tendons. 



Certain deviations in the physical nature of the horny 

 box, when pronounced, are accompanied by lameness. Thus 

 the hard, brittle and dry hoof frequently is cracked, especi- 

 ally when contracted. This hardness is not confined to 

 the horn of the wall alone, but that of the coronary region, 

 frog and sole also participate. The horn of the coronary 

 region, when thus diseased, is whitish in color, full of little 

 fissures and covered with scaly fragments. Horses with 

 such a hoof frequently show lameness on hard ground when 

 trotting, their movements are limited and the entire animal 

 seems stiff. This condition is often wrongly interpreted as 



