DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 20 



o 



blow that it receives must of course give the 

 animal very considerable pain ; and I have 

 known many valuable horses thrown down in 

 this way ; since however high and wide the 

 heel of the shoe may be, the frog will be sub- 

 ject to occasional blows from sharp projecting 

 stones. Whenever therefore any of those 

 symptoms make their appearance, and when- 

 ever the foot seems to be underscoino^ an alter- 

 ation in form, immediate recourse should be 

 had to the mode of prevention we have pointed 

 out. 



The next disease to be noticed is the flat and 

 convex sole, or, as it is more commonly 

 termed, the pumice foot, which is represented 

 in Plate 3, Fig. 2. This disease most com- 

 monly occurs in heavy draught horses, and seems 

 to arise from a weakness of the crust ; for 

 when the sole becomes flat or convex, the 

 crust also loses its proper form, and becomes 

 flatter, appearing as if it had been incapable 

 of supporting the animal's weight, and had 

 therefore given way, allowing tiie internal foot 

 to press so upon the sole as to give it the 

 appearance we observe. This explanation of 

 the disease will perhaps appear better founded, 

 if vve consider that, when a horse is uiawiiig a 



