DISEASES OP THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 399 



possible and a shoe put on with a long, projecting too piece, slightly 

 turned up, while the heels of the shoe are to be made thin. 



CrooJeedfoot is that condition in which one side of the wall is 

 higher than the other. If the inside wall is the higher, the ankle is 

 thrown outward, so that the fetlock joints are abnormally wide apart 

 and the toes close together. Animals with this deformity are 

 " pigeon-toed," and are prone to interfere, the inside toe striking the 

 opposite fetlock. If but one foot is affected, the liability to interfere 

 is still greater, for the reason that the fetlock of the perfect leg is 

 nearer the center plane. 



When the outside h«el is the higher the ankle is thrown in and the 

 toe turns out. Horses with such feet interfere with the heel. If but 

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

 feet are affected, for the reason that the ankle of the perfect leg is 

 not so near to the center plane. Such animals are especially liable to 

 stumbling and to lameness from injury to the ligaments of the fet- 

 lock joints. This deformity is to be overcome by such shoeing as will 

 equalize the disparity in 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, during locomotion. The inner surface of the 

 fetlock joint is the part most subject to this injury, although, under 

 certain conditions, it" may happen to any part of the ankle. It is 

 seen more often in the hind than in the fore legs. Interfering 

 causes a bruise of the skin and deeper tissues, generally accompanied 

 with an abrasion of the surface. It may cause lameness, dangerous 

 tripping, and thickening of the injured parts. (See also p. 387.) 



Causes. — Faulty conformation is the most prolific cause of inter- 

 fering. 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, swelling of the leg, high knee action, fast work, 

 and because the chest or hips are too narrow. 



Sym/ptoms. — Generally, the evidences of interfering are easily 

 detected, 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 



