576 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



At rest, the observer should stand in front and note the slant of the 

 long pasterns. Do they drop perpendicularly, or slant downward 

 and outward (base-wide foot), or downward and inward (base-nar- 

 row foot) ? Whatever be the direction to the long pastern, an im- 

 aginary line passing through its long a;xis, when prolonged to the 

 ground, should apparently pass through the middle of the toe. But 

 if such line cuts through the inner toe the foot-axis is not straight, as 

 it should be, but is broken inward at the coronet, an indication that 

 either the outer wall of the hoof is too long (high) or that the inner 

 wall is too short (low) . On the contrary, if the center line of the long 

 pastern falls through the outer toe the foot-axis is broken outward at 

 the coronet, an indication that either the inner wall is too long or the 

 outer wall too short. 



The observer should now place himself at one side, two or three 

 paces distant, in order to view the limb and hoof in profile. Note the 

 size of the hoof in relation to the height and weight of the animal. 



Fig. 6. — a. Side view of foot with the foot-axis broken backward as a result of too long a 

 toe. The amount of horn to be removed from the toe in order to straighten the foot- 

 axis is denoted by a dotted line ; 6, side view of a properly balanced foot, with a 

 straight foot-axis of desirable slant ; c, side view of stumpy foot with foot-axis broken 

 forward, as a result of overgrowth of the quarters. The amount of horn to be removed 

 in order to straighten the foot-axis is shown by a dotted line. 



and the obliquity of the hoof. Is the foot-axis straight — that is, does 

 the long pastern have the same slant as the toe, or does the toe of the 

 hoof stand steeper than the long pastern (fig. 6c) ? In which case 

 the foot-axis is broken forward at the coronet, an indication, usually, 

 that the quarters are either too high or that the toe is too short. 



If the long pastern stands steeper than the toe (fig. 6a) the foot- 

 axis is broken backward, in which case the toe is too long or the quar- 

 ters are too low (short) . In figures &a and 6c the dotted lines passing 

 from toe to quarters indicate the amount of horn which must be 

 removed in order to straighten the foot-axis, as shown in figure 6&. 

 Note also the length of the shoe. 



Next, the feet should be raised and the examiner should note the 

 outline of the foot, the conformation of the sole, form and quality, 

 of the frog, form of the shoe, wear of the shoe, and the number and 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



