The “bear-foot.”
A peculiar form of foot is the so-called bear-foot ([Fig. 70]), in which the foot-axis, viewed from the side, is broken strongly forward at the coronet. The wall at the toe stands much steeper than the long pastern and is more or less convex; in other words, a low-jointed, sloping pastern is attached to an upright hoof. Such a foot is sometimes improperly called a “club-foot.”
C. Lines of Flight of Hoofs in Motion.
If we observe horses moving unrestrained over level ground, we will notice differences in the carriage of the feet. Viewed from in front, or from behind, in the regular standing position of the limbs the hoofs are carried forward in a straight direction, that is, in a line parallel with the median line of the body ([Fig. 71]). The toes likewise point straight forward; the hoofs alight properly (flat) on the ground. If the horse stands base-wide, the hoof is carried in a circle; from its position, which is behind and well out from the median line, the hoof passes first forward and inward until it is close to the supporting leg, and then outward to the ground ([Fig. 72]), where the shock is received principally upon the outer toe. The toes point either directly forward, as in the regular standing position ([Fig. 72]), or forward and outward as in the toe-wide position ([Fig. 73]). In the toe-wide position the hoof in its flight may cross the median line.
Exactly the reverse is true of the horse that stands base-narrow; in this case the hoof is moved in a circle whose convexity is outward,—that is, the hoof from its position behind, and close to the median line, is carried forward and outward and then inward to the ground ([Figs. 74] and [75]).
Viewed from the side, the line of flight of a hoof is determined largely by the obliquity (slant) of the foot-axis.
Fig. 71.
Fig. 72.
