Wide fore-hoof.
Fig. 84.
Narrow fore-hoof.
Suppose now a hoof is before us; it is first necessary to know whether or not it is healthy. Unfortunately, a perfectly healthy hoof is not so easy to find as one may think. We recognize a sound hoof by the following marks: Seen from in front or from the side, the course of the wall from the coronet to the ground, in the direction of the horn-tubes, is straight,—that is, bent neither in nor out. A straight edge, placed upon the wall in the direction of the horn-tubes, touches at every point. The wall must show neither longitudinal nor transverse cracks or fissures. If there be rings, their position and course are important. Rings which pass around the entire circumference of the wall parallel to the coronet indicate nothing more than disturbances of nutrition of the hoof; but the hoof cannot pass for sound when the rings have any other position and direction than the one mentioned, or if the rings upon any part of the wall are more marked than elsewhere, even though they may be parallel to the coronary band. Marked ring-building upon the hoofs of horses which have regular feeding, grooming, and work indicates a weak hoof. Viewed from the ground-surface and from behind, the bulbs of the heels should be well rounded, strongly developed, and not displaced. The concave sole should show no separation along the white line. The frog should be strong, well developed, and have symmetrical branches and a broad, shallow, dry median lacuna. The lateral lacunæ of the frog should be clean and not too narrow. The bars should pass in a straight direction forward and inward towards the point of the frog. Any bending outward of the bars towards the branches of the sole indicates the beginning of a narrowing of the space occupied by the frog,—that is, contraction of the heels. The horn of the branches of the sole in the buttresses and in their proximity should show no red staining. The lateral cartilages should be elastic. No part of the foot should be weakened at the cost of other parts. By firm union of all strong parts the strength and vigor of the hoof is in no sense disturbed. If one desires to ascertain the exact form and state of health of the hoof, it must never be inspected and judged alone, but in connection with the entire limb.
F. Growth of the Hoof and Wear
of the Hoof and Shoe.
All parts of the horn of the hoof grow downward and forward, the material for this growth being furnished by the remarkably large quantity of blood which flows to the pododerm. The growth of the hoof is regulated by the nerves.
As a rule, the hoof grows uniformly,—that is, one section of the wall grows just as rapidly as another. A visible indication of growth is the increase in height and width of the hoof from colthood to maturity.
The rapidity of growth of the wall varies, amounting in a month to from one-sixth to one-half of an inch. The average monthly growth in both shod and unshod horses of both sexes is, according to my own experiments, one-third of an inch. Hind hoofs grow faster than front hoofs, and unshod faster than shod. The hoofs of stallions grow more slowly than those of mares and geldings.