176 THE HORSE. 



one foot is so affected, the liability to interfere is less than where both 

 feet are affected, for the reason that the ankle of the perfect leg is not 

 so near to the center line. Such animals are especially liable to stumb- 

 ling and to lameness from injury to the ligaments of the fetlock joints. 

 The deformity is to be overcome by such shoeing as will equalize 

 length of walls, and by proper boots to protect the fetlocks from 

 interfering. 



Interfering'. An animal is said to interfere when one foot strikes 

 the opposite leg, as it passes by. The inner surface of the fetlock joint 

 is the part most subject to this injury, although it may happen to any 

 part of the ankle. It is more common in the hind than in the fore legs. 

 Interfering causes a bruise, which is generally accompanied by broken 

 skin. It may cause lameness, dangerous tripping, and thickening of the 

 injured parts. 



Causes. Faulty formation is the usual cause of interfering. When 

 the bones of the leg are so united that the toe of the foot turns in 

 (pigeon-toed), or when the fetlock joints are close together and the 

 toe turns out, when the leg is so deformed that the whole foot and 

 ankle turn either in or out, interfering is almost sure to follow. It may 

 happen, also, when the feet grow too long; from defective shoeing; 

 rough or slippery roads; from the exhaustion of labor or sickness; swell- 

 ing of the leg; high knee action; fast work, and because the chest or 

 hips are too narrow. 



Symptoms. Generally, the evidences of interfering are easily de- 

 tected, for the parts are tender, swollen, and the skin broken. But very 

 often, especially in trotters, the flat surface of the hoof strikes the fetlock 

 without evident injury, and attention is directed to these parts only by 

 the occasional tripping and unsteady gait. In such cases proof of the 

 cause may be had by walking and trotting the animal, after first paint- 

 ing the inside toe and quarter of the suspected foot with a thin coating 

 of chalk, charcoal, mud, or paint. 



Treatment. When the trouble is due to deformity or faulty forma- 

 tion it may not be possible to overcome the defect. 



In such cases, and as well those due to exhaustion or fatigue, the fet- 

 lock or ankle boot must be used. In many instances interfering may be 

 prevented by proper shoeing. The outside heel and quarter of the foot 

 on the injured leg should be lowered sufficiently to change the relative 

 ^^ition of the fetlock joint, by bringing it further away from the center 



