FAULTY CONFORMATION 153 



being in this case long-continued, render the feet extremely 

 predisposed to canker. The horn is distinctly soft to the 

 knife, and has an appearance more or less greasy. Animals 

 with spongy feet are unfit for long journeys on hard roads. 

 When compelled to travel thus, the feet become hot and 

 tender, and lameness results. A mild form of laminitis, 

 extending over a period of three or four days, often follows 

 on this enforced travelling on a hard road, more especially 

 in cases where the animal is ' heavy topped,' and the usual 

 food of a highly stimulating nature. In fact, it has been the 

 author's experience to meet with this condition several times 

 in the case of shire stallions doing a long walk daily upon 

 hard roads, with the weather hot and dry. 



Treatment. — When a horse with spongy feet is shod for 

 the first time, care must be taken to avoid excessive paring 

 of the sole, for already the natural wear of the foot has 

 been sufficient to keep the soft horn m a state of thinness. 

 For the same reason hot fitting of the shoe must not be 

 indulged in for too long a time. That common malprac- 

 tice of the forge, ' opening up the heels,' must, in this case, 

 be especially guarded against, or the excessive paring of the 

 frog and partial removal of the bars that this operation 

 consists in will lay the foot open to risk of contraction. 

 To begin with, the heels are naturally weak, and, once the 

 bars are removed, there is nothing to prevent them rapidly 

 caving in towards the frog. Even when carefully shod, a 

 foot of this class is readily prone to contract directly the 

 animal is brought into the stable, and the horn commences 

 to dry to excess. An ordinary light shoe should be used, 

 and the nails should be light and thin. They should be 

 driven carefully home, and the ' clinching ' made as tight 

 and secure as possible. 



G. CLUB-FOOT. 



Definition. — Under this name we indicate all cases in 

 which the horn of the wall become straightened from above 

 to below. It will, therefore, include all conformations 

 varying from the so-called ' upright hoof,' in which the toe 



