CHAPTER VI 
FAULTY CONFORMATION 
Unpver this heading we shall deal with such formations of 
the feet as depart sufficiently from the normal to render 
them serious. Faulty conformation may be either con- 
genital or acquired, and acquired gradually as the result 
of slowly operating causes, or suddenly as the sequel to 
previous acute disease. Whether congenital or acquired, 
serious in its nature or comparatively of no account, the 
veterinary surgeon will often find that the matter of con- 
formation is one which will have a direct bearing on many 
of his ‘foot’ cases, and, furthermore, that it is one upon 
which he will often be called to give advice. 
A. WEAK HEELS. 
Definition—That condition of the wall in which, owing 
to the softness of the horn and the oblique direction of the 
horn fibres, the heels are unable properly to bear the body- 
weight, and, as a consequence, curve in beneath the sole. 
We give the condition first mention, not because of its 
greater importance, but for the reason that it is frequently 
the forerunner of the condition to be next described— 
namely, contracted feet. 
Synptoms.—The extreme point of the heel is not affected 
unless the foot has been greatly neglected, and the con- 
dition allowed to develop. Where, however, the foot has 
been uncared for, curving in of the wall takes place to an 
alarming degree, and the heels curl underneath the foot 
115 8—2 
