314 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 
covery, their form when near the fetlock usually varying too much 
from the natural outlines of the part when compared with those of 
the opposite side to admit of error in the matter. (See also page 439.) 
A ringbone, when on the front of the foot, even when not very 
largely developed, assumes the form of a diffused convex swelling. 
If situated on the lower part, it will form a thick ring, encircling 
that portion of the foot immediately above the hoof; when found on 
the posterior part, a small, sharp osseous growth somewhat project- 
ing, sometimes on the inside and sometimes on the outside of the 
coronet, may comprise the entire manifestation. 
Cause.—As with splints, ringbones may result from severe labor in 
early life, before the process of ossification has been fully perfected ; 
or they may be referred to bruises, blows, sprains, or other violence; 
injuries of tendons, ligaments, or joints also may be among the 
accountable causes. 
It is certain that they may commonly be traced to diseases and 
traumatic lesions of the foot, and their appearance may be reason- 
ably expected among the sequale of an abscess of the coronet; or 
the cause may be a severe contusion resulting from calking, or a 
deep-punctured wound from picking up a nail or stepping upon 
any hard object of sufficiently irregular form to penetrate the sole. 
Moreover, a ringbone may originate in heredity. This is a fact 
of no little importance in its relation to questions connected with 
the extensive interests of the stock breeder and purchaser. 
That the hereditary transmission of constitutional idiosyncrasies 
is an active cause with regard to diseases in general, it would be 
absurd to assert, but we do say that a predisposition to contract 
ringbone through faulty conformation, such as long, thin pasterns 
with narrow joints and steep fetlocks, may be inherited in many 
cases, and in a smaller proportion of cases this predisposition may 
act as a secondary cause in the formation of ringbone. 
The importance of this point when considered in reference to the 
policy which should be observed in the selection of breeding stock 
is obvious, and, as the whole matter is within the control of the 
owners and breeders, it will be their own fault if the unchecked 
transmission of ringbones from one equine generation to another is 
allowed to continue. It is our belief that among the diseases which 
are known for their tendency to perpetuate and repeat themselves 
by individual succession, those of the bony structures stand _ first, 
and the inference from such fact which would exclude every ani- 
mal of doubtful soundness in its osseous apparatus from the stud list 
and the brood farm is too plain for argument. 
Symptoms.—Periostitis of the phalanges is an ailment requiring 
careful exploration and minute inspection for its discovery, and is 
very liable to result in a ringbone of which lameness is the result. 
