158 DISEASES OF THE HORSE’S FOOT 
From what we have said before on contracted foot, this 
bending in of the wall of the upright side will at once be 
recognised as a form of contraction. It is, in fact, con- 
traction confined to one-half of the foot only, and, as a 
result, the upright side of the crooked foot is prone to the 
troubles arising from that condition. Corns are frequent, 
and atrophy of that half of the frog on the affected side 
supervenes. With the inflammatory changes accompany- 
ing these conditions we find the horn of the affected side 
deteriorating in quality. It becomes dry and brittle, and 
extremely liable to sand-crack. At the same time, thrush 
of the contracted frog begins to make its appearance. 
Causcs.—More often than not this condition is a result 
of the conformation of the limb. According as the build 
above inclines the animal to ‘turned in’ or ‘turned out’ 
toes, so shall we have feet with a wall crooked inwards or 
crooked outwards ; and it may be mentioned here that the 
evil results inflicted on the foot by ill-shaped limbs above 
will make themselves the more readily noticed when the 
animal comes to be shod for any length of time. So long 
as a natural wear of the foot is allowed, so long does it 
accommodate itself to the form of limb above. So soon, 
however, as the shoe is applied, and a more or less equal 
(and in this case harmful) wear by that means insisted on, 
so soon does this abnormal change in the height and direc- 
tion of the horn fibres begin to make itself seen. 
While arising in the majority of instances from faulty 
conformation of the limb, crooked feet may also be brought 
about by bad shoeing, or by unequal paring of the foot, and, 
in a few cases, from unequal wear of the foot in a state of 
nature. 
Treatment.—Although it may be taken as a rule that 
lowering of the higher wall, even if persisted in at every 
shoeing, will do nothing towards remedying the primary 
-cause (viz., the evil conformation of the limb), yet it will 
serve to keep the condition within reasonable limits. In 
this case, while removing so much of the wall as is deemed 
necessary, care must be taken to leave uncut the sole and 
