366 DISEASES OF THE HORSE'S FOOT 



animal is a matter of great importance, some little attention 

 must be given to these two points. 



With a side-bone anywhere approaching full development, 

 diagnosis is easy. The thumb is pressed into the coronet 

 over the seat of the cartilage, when, in place of the 

 elasticity we should normally meet with, we have the solid 

 resistance offered by bone. In some instances diagnosis is 

 even easier still. We refer to those cases in which the 

 side-bone stands above the level of the coronet with such 

 prominence as to be readily seen and recognised without 

 manipulation, and where its growth has caused distinct 

 enlargement and bulging of the wall of the affected quarter. 

 It seems that in such cases the bone-forming process does 

 not end with simply depositing bone in place of the re- 

 moved cartilage, but that, after that is accomplished, the 

 bone still continues to be produced, as in the case of an 

 exostosis elsewhere. 



Although diagnosis in cases such as these is easy, it 

 becomes a very different matter when we are called upon 

 to give an opinion in cases where ossification of the carti- 

 lage is only just commencing. Whether the result of our 

 examination is to decide the sale or purchase of an animal, 

 to determine his fitness or otherwise to enter the show- 

 ring, or to merely advise a client as to whether or no a 

 side-bone is in course of formation, our position is equally 

 difficult, and in either case our examination must be 

 searching. 



Perhaps the best advice we can give is to say that the 

 whole of the cartilage must be manipulated both with the 

 foot on and of the ground. AVhat the reason may be we 

 do not pretend to say, but it is a well-known fact that in 

 many instances the cartilage, with the foot bearing weight, 

 is;SO rigid as to at once convey the impression that ossifica- 

 tion has commenced or is even far advanced. And yet 

 that same cartilage, with the foot removed from the ground, 

 is|as pleasantly yielding to pressure of the thumb as the 

 most exacting of us could wish for. In any case, then, 

 where doubt exists, the foot should be lifted to the knee. 



