THE HORSE’S FOOT. 
3 
there are cases where the contraction is intermediate , that is, in 
the middle of the foot only, while it has its normal size, both 
at the coronary band and at the plantar border. Single and 
complicated contractions have also been named. It is admitted 
that it may be congenital , though rare; most often, however, it is 
developed by itself, as a result of special causes. 
I. Symptoms .—The physiognominal aspect of the hoof-bound 
foot is characteristic, and it is by this that we shall begin the 
symptomatology of the disease. When the disease is total, the 
complete general dimensions of the foot are observed to be 
smaller than would be required by the size of the animal 
affected; most frequently the hoof has an oval form, conse¬ 
quent upon the antero-posterior diameter exceeding the lateral, 
which is generally diminished. In the contraction of the quarters, 
the narrow condition of the foot is specially marked from the centre 
of the quarters back to the heels. In contraction of the heels, the 
diminution is very marked from the centre of the quarters to the 
end of the heels, so that the two sides of the wall converge to¬ 
wards each other posteriorly in following a nearly straight line, 
instead of the circular appearance of the normal state, and the 
heels have principally lost their round appearance, and are 
elongated, and even pointed in appearance. The wall, in the 
regions where the contraction is more marked, that is, behind, 
is either perpendicular to the ground, or even oblique down¬ 
wards and inwards, in such a way that the coronary circum¬ 
ference is greater than the plantar, and consequently it repre¬ 
sents an inverted truncated cone. 
The opposite form of contraction, that of the coronary, is 
seldom seen, and we may ignore it. The wall is irregularly 
rough and ramy, and without its shining appearance. The 
heels are generally high, nearly as high as the toe, though it is 
not so severely altered in cases where the heels only are con¬ 
tracted. As a consequence of the contraction of the plantar 
border of the wall, the sole seems to become folded in the direc¬ 
tion of its antero-posterior axis, and it shows a much greater 
concavity on its internal face than in the normal state. This 
cavity is then filled by the frog, considerably reduced in size, 
