CHAPTEE VI 



FAULTY CONFOEMATION 



Under this heading we shall deal with such formations of 

 the feet as depart sufficiently from the normal to render 

 them serious. Faulty conformation may be either con- 

 genital or acquired, and acquired gradually as the result 

 of slowly operating causes, or suddenly as the sequel to 

 previous acute disease. Whether congenital or acquired, 

 serious in its nature or comparatively of no account, the 

 veterinary surgeon will often find that the matter of con- 

 formation is one which will have a direct bearing on many 

 of his ' foot ' cases, and, furthermore, that it is one upon 

 which he will often be called to give advice. 



A. WEAK HEELS. 



Definition. — That condition of the wall in which, owing 

 to the softness of the horn and the oblique direction of the 

 horn fibres, the heels are unable properly to bear the body- 

 weight, and, as a consequence, curve in beneath the sole. 

 We give the condition first mention, not because of its 

 greater importance, but for the reason that it is frequently 

 the forerunner of the condition to be next described — 

 namely, contracted feet. 



Symptoms. — The extreme point of the heel is not affected 

 unless the foot has been greatly neglected, and the con- 

 dition allowed to develop. Where, however, the foot has 

 been uncared for, curving in of the wall takes place to an 

 alarming degree, and the heels curl underneath the foot 

 115 8—2 



