574 



DISEASES OP THE HORSE. 



A front hoof of the regular standing position. — The outer wall is a 

 little more slanting and somewhat thicker than the inner. The lower 

 border of the outer quarter describes the arc of a smaller circle — ^that 

 is, is more sharply bent than the inner quarter. The weight falls 

 near the center of the foot and is evenly distributed over the whole 

 bottom of the hoof. The toe forms an angle with the ground of 

 45° to 50° and is parallel to the direction of the long pastern. The 



toe points straight ahead, 

 and when the horse is mov- 

 ing forward in a straight 

 line the hoofs are picked 

 up and carried forward in 

 a line parallel to the mid- 

 dle line of the body, and 

 are set down flat. Coming 

 straight toward the ob- 

 server the hoofs seem to 



Fig. 4.— Pair of fore feet of base-narrow form in toe-narrow j'jgg and fall DerpendicU- 

 standing position. r ir 



larly. 

 A hoof of the hase-wide position is always awry. The outer wall is 

 more slanting, longer, and thicker than the inner, the outer quarter 

 more curved than the inner, and the outer half of the sole wider than 

 the inner. The weight falls largely into the inner half of the hoof. 

 In motion the hoof is moved in a circle. From its position on the 

 ground it breaks over the inner toe, is carried forward and inward 



Fig. 5.^-a, side view of an acute-angled fore foot (shod); b, side view of a regular fore foot, showing 

 the most desirable degree of obliquity (45°); c, side view of a stumpy, or "upright," fore foot; 

 obliquity above 50°. In a, b, c, note particularly the relation between the length of the shoe and 

 the overhanging of the heels. Note also the toe roll of the shoes. 



close to the supporting leg, thence forward and outward to the 

 ground, which the hoof meets first with the outer toe. Horses that 

 are toe- wide (" splay-footed " — toes turned outward) show all these 

 peculiarities of hoof-form and hoof-flight to a still more marked 

 degree and are therefore more prone to " interfere " when in motion. 

 A hoof of the base-narrow position is awry, but not to so marked a 

 degree as the base- wide hoof. The inner wall is usually a little more 



