pen to risk of contraction.
To begin with, the heels are naturally weak, and, once the bars are
removed, there is nothing to prevent them rapidly caving in towards the
frog. Even when carefully shod, a foot of this class is readily prone to
contract directly the animal is brought into the stable, and the horn
commences to dry to excess. An ordinary light shoe should be used, and the
nails should be light and thin. They should be driven carefully home, and
the 'clinching' made as tight and secure as possible.

G. CLUB-FOOT.

_Definition_.--Under this name we indicate all cases in which the horn
of the wall become straightened from above to below. It will, therefore,
include all conformations varying from the so-called 'upright hoof,' in
which the toe forms an angle of more than 60 degrees with the ground, to
the badly 'clubbed' foot, in which the horn at the toe forms a right angle
with the ground, or is even directed obliquely backwards and downwards, so
that the coronary margin overhangs the solar edge of the wall.

[Illustration: FIG. 83.--THE CLUB-FOOT.]

_Symptoms_.--Even in its least pronounced form the condition is apparent at
a glance, the alteration in the angle formed by the hoof with the ground
striking the eye at once, and the heels, as compared with the toe,
appearing much too high. When the condition is slight, the wall of the toe
is about twice as high as that of the heels, while in the most marked form
the toe and the heels may in height be nearly equal (see Fig. 83). When
congenital, but little interference with the action is noticed. Such
animals, by reason of their 'stiltiness,' are unfit for the saddle, but at
ordinary work will perform their duties equally well with the animal of
normal-shaped feet. When acquired as the result of overwork, of contracted
tendons, or other causes, however, the gait becomes stumbling and
uncertain. The body-weight is transferred from the heels to the anterior
parts of the foot, and the shoe shows undue signs of wear at the toe.

_Causes_.--Upright hoof is undoubtedly hereditary, and is even seen as a
natural conformation in the feet of asses and mules. When hereditary in the
horse, however, it is certainly a defect, and is associated commonly with
an upright limb, and a short, upright pastern (see Fig. 83).

Among other causes, we may enumerate sprains or wounds of the flexor
tendons, or any disease of the limbs for a long time preventing extension
of the fetlock