Fig. 98.
An untrimmed hoof with
an excess of horn (a) at
the toe which breaks
the foot-axis backward.
Fig. 99.
An untrimmed hoof with
the an excess of horn (b) at
heels, which breaks the
foot-axis forward.
Fig. 100.
Hoof dressed and foot-axis
straightened by removing
excess of horn below dotted
lines in the two preceding
illustrations.
In this also the foot-axis is our guide. If this axis is as it should be, the wall at the toe and the long pastern will have the same slant ([Figs. 67], [68] and [69]). If the hoof has become too long under the protection of the shoe, this will be shown by the foot-axis being no longer a straight line, but broken backward at the coronet ([Fig. 98]); that is, the hoof in comparison with the fetlock will be too slanting. By shortening the toe more than the quarters this faulty relation will be corrected ([Fig. 100]) and the foot restored to its proper slant. If the quarters are too long (too high) in comparison with the length of the toe, the foot-axis will be broken forward at the coronet ([Fig. 99]), and the hoof will be too upright. By shortening the quarters more than the toe the foot-axis may be made straight. The plantar surface of the hoof is therefore correct (balanced) when the horse places the foot flat upon the ground in travelling, and when the lines bounding the hoof, viewed from in front, from behind, and in profile, correspond to the direction of the three phalanges (foot-axis).