ON THE NAVICULAR DISEASE. 9 



this. When all parts of the foot are in their natural 

 state, this organ is pressed upon from above fear- 

 lessly, including all that anterior portion of it which 

 is influenced by the navicular bone ; whilst its pos- 

 terior part, by touching the ground, ascends at the 

 same instant, and acts as a spring, which not only 

 pives the animal confidence in his action, but, when Position in 



O standing. 



standing still, emboldens him to convey a due pro- 

 portion of his weight on his navicular bones, and to 

 stand on his heels instead of his toes. This is the 

 real characteristic of a valuable horse ; viz., stand- The supoirn- 



_ , I • • il cumljentwc'ii^ht 



mg firmly on his flexor muscles, thus givmg the boidiy convey- 



' 1 1 1 1 1 • 1 ^x i^i edtothe flexor 



fore leo^, particularly the back sinew, that hbrous, muscles, dm- 



~ ■■ ' ^ , racteristic of a 



tense appearance which is the attraction to the pur- good leg. 

 chaser. The dealers in these valuable animals sel- 

 dom omit to take advantage of such circumstances, 

 and this indeed they are entitled to do, for, all other 

 points concurring, a horse possessing such qualifi- 

 cations is invaluable. 



I need scarcely remark how the reverse of this 

 position must favour contraction. 



When the toe is allowed to grow long, the heels 

 high, and the frog elevated, the softest part of the 

 fatty frog becomes absorbed ; the horny frog no 

 longer meets with its natural opponent, the ground ; 

 and, consequently, other important parts lose their 

 counter-pressure and support. This is clearly seen 

 when a horse is first observed to be getting wTong 

 in his feet, and often before either lameness ensues. 



