434 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



Fig. 748. — Back View of Coffin-bone ana fftriJCular-bone 

 Attached in Place. 



down hill, or on a rough, cobbly road, will greatly aggravate the 



lameness, be- 

 cause going 

 down hill in- 

 creases the force 

 of concussion ; 

 and a stony or 

 , uneven road . so 

 wrenches and 

 strains the joint, 

 ( or exposes the 

 frog to such in- 

 cidental press- 

 ure, as to greatly 

 increase the pain 

 and soreness. In 

 some cases of 



acute strain, the lameness may be quite marked, the horse being 

 scarcely able ,to walk, and when he does, keeping the foot flexed 

 by walking upon the toe, and when standing, resting the toe upon 

 the ground. As this acute stage passes 

 off, which will usually be in one or two 

 weeks, the animal Will seem to have grown 

 much better, at times perhaps appear quite 

 well, then grow suddenly worse again, de- 

 pending upon the part of the joint involved 

 and the road he is traveling on. He will 

 go better on hard, smooth, sandy roads, 

 but on soft, yielding ground, is liable to 

 grow lamer, if the sole is thin and the frog 

 prominent, because of the increased press- 

 ure upon the frog, and thence upon the 

 parts- involved,' by the foot setting into the 

 ground. As the lameness continues, more 

 or less; change of structure takes place in 

 the foot, a gradual drawing in of the quar- 

 ters, the foot becoming perceptibly smaller 

 than the opposite one, the heels higher, 

 the frog smaller, and the sole more concave, 

 the hoof showing a more glossy, hard ap- 

 pearance. The shoe will invariably be 

 worn round at the toe. A result that often follows is, f a shfinkihg 



Fig. 749.— Back View of the 

 Bones of the Foot ■" J "' 



