HORSESHOEING. 79 



of the limbs, the lines of flight of the hoofs, and the manner in 

 which they are set down and picked up are regular. If there 

 are deviations from the normal they will fall either into the base- 

 wide and toe-wide group or into the base-narrow and toe-narrow 

 group. When clear upon these points the horse is allowed to 

 stand quietly, and the observer, placing himself in front, examines 

 the foot more closely, fixes the direction of the foot axis clearly 

 in his mind, marks also the form and character of the hoofs and 

 the position of the coronets, as far as these parts can be inspected 

 from in front. At the same time each hoof should be closely in- 

 spected to determine whether the slant of both quarters corre- 

 sponds to the direction of the long pastern, and whether the 

 course of the wall from the coronet to the plantar border is 

 straight or bent in or out (contraction, fulness). Walls curved 

 from above to below always indicate an unnatural height of some 

 section of the wall and a displacement of the base of support of 

 the foot. In order to gain accurate and complete knowledge of 

 the position of the limbs, the flight of the hoofs, and the manner 

 of setting the foot to the ground, the horse must frequently be 

 moved back and forth many times, especially when the standing 

 position is somewhat irregular and the hoofs are of different 

 shapes. 



At this point begins the examination of the position of the 

 limbs, and the form of the feet and hoofs, in profile. After cast- 

 ing a glance over the entire body, so as to gain an idea of the 

 animal's weight, height, and length, the attention is turned to the 

 position and direction of the limbs and hoofs. The eye should 

 particularly note whether the form of the hoof corresponds to 

 the position of the limb, and, furthermore, whether the slant of 

 the fetlock is the same as that of the wall at the toe,— that is, 

 whether the foot axis is straight or broken ; also whether the 

 toes and quarters are parallel, for the toe is sometimes bulging 

 (convex) or hollowed out (concave) between the coronet and 

 plantar border, and the quarters are frequently contracted and 

 drawn or shoved under the foot (weak quarters). If the wall 



