DISEASES FROM FAULTY CONFORMATION 189 
The matter contained in the first half of the foregoing 
paragraph explains in a large measure the rarity of corns 
in the hind-feet. Here there is nothing to prevent a shoe 
with branches of full length being used. The correct bearing 
is thus maintained, even with a shoe excessively thinned with 
wear, and the liability to injury from it decreased. An 
exception is to be found in the case of a feather-edged shoe, 
such as is used to prevent cutting or brushing. The thin- 
ning by wear from above to below of the branch already 
purposely thinned from side to side leads to the formation 
of a thin and narrow piece of iron admirably calculated to 
bend over and injure the sole. 
Even with a shoe of correct length, with a flat-bearing 
surface at the heels, and other conditions favourable to 
correct application, evil may still result from the shoe itself 
being made too narrow. Asa result of this, the branch of 
each side is set too far under the foot, with consequent 
injury to the sole. This is, of course, sheer carelessness 
on the part of the smith. When practised, however, it is 
not easy of detection, as in all cases the foot is rasped down 
to cover what has been done. In other words, the foot is 
made to fit the shoe and not the shoe the foot. 
Recognising this close fitting of the shoe as a cause, we 
are able to explain in some measure how it is that corns 
should occur with greater frequency in the inner than in 
the outer heel. There is no doubt that the inner branch of 
the shoe is nearly always fitted closer than is the outer. 
In the fore-foot it is also often shorter. Take these two 
evils and add to them the fact that the inner heel is called 
upon to bear more of the body-weight than is the outer, 
and the frequency of corns in the inner heel will no longer 
be wondered at. i 
Indirectly, the shoe may still be a cause of corn by 
reason of the irritation set up by gravel and small pieces 
of flint becoming firmly fixed between the sole and the 
web of the shoe. In nearly every case of this description 
the part to be injured is the white line. 
Corns may also result from the animal picking up a 
