DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 399 
possible and a shoe put on with a long, projecting toe piece, slightly 
turned up, while the heels of the shoe are to be made thin. 
Crookedfoot 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 heel 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 Jeg 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. 
Symptoms.—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 
