CHAPTER II. 



THE FOOT IN ITS RELATION TO THE ENTIRE LIMB. 



As there are well-formed and badly formed bodies, so there 

 are well-formed and badly formed limbs and hoofs. The form 

 of the hoof depends upon the position of the limb. A straight 



limb of normal direction possesses, as 

 a rule, a regular hoof, while an oblique 

 or crooked limb is accompanied by an 

 irregular or oblique hoof. Hence, it is 

 necessary, before discussing the various 

 forms of the hoof, to consider briefly 

 the various positions that may be as- 

 sumed by the limbs. In this discussion 

 we shall deal with the living horse. 



A. Standing Positions of the Limbs. 



The position of a limb depends upon 

 the varying lengths of its component 

 bones and the angles at which they 

 meet one another. To judge the stand- 

 ing position of a fore-limb one must 

 stand in front of the horse ; to judge a 

 hind limb, stand behind the horse ; the 

 backward or forward deviations of both 

 front and hind limbs are judged by 

 standing at the side. But a horse does 

 not always move as his standing posi- 

 tion would lead one to suspect ; stand- 

 ing and moving are different. Therefore, in order to arrive at a 

 proper judgment, one must observe the limbs both at rest and in 

 motion. 



Normal (regular) position of 

 fore-limbs. 



