TJlc Country Gcntlcmaiis Magazine 



99 



%kt (Stabk. 



ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HORSES' FEET. 



BY JOSEPH GAMGEE, SEN. 



THAT the British Isles produce the best 

 horses in the world, for all purposes, is 

 a proposition which I shall not for a moment 

 question. If we examine the causes upon 

 which this pre-eminence depends, we shall 

 find that, whilst it is due to a certain extent 

 to the innate love of horses on the part of 

 the people, which has ever led them to culti- 

 vate with care the breeds which we possess, 

 it depends in the main upon the climate and 

 soil of our country. 



Notwithstanding these advantages to which 

 this innate stamina is due, and the increasing 

 interest with which the national wealth, spirit 

 of commercial enterprise, and the popularity 

 of field sports, has invested the subject of 

 horse-breeding; we are compelled to acknow- 

 ledge that, out of all proportion, more lame 

 and feebly-footed horses are to be found in 

 England than in any other country. This is 

 assuredly an evil urgently calling for remedy, 

 as it is due to preventable causes, and is, there- 

 fore, a discredit to the enlightenment of a great 

 nation. 



As the first step towards inquiry into the 

 causes which lie at the root of the evil, I sub- 

 mit one, and which is the parent of other in- 

 jurious influences: it is the notion, commonly 

 entertained, that moisture is necessary to the 

 condition of horses' feet. Let us see in what 

 manner the feet of horses are affected by con- 

 tinued exposure to the influence of wet — to 

 their being kept soaked in wet ? The main 

 question may with advantage be considered 

 under the following three divisions : — ist, as 

 it applies to the breeding and rearing of 

 horses ; 2d, in its bearings on the ordinary 

 management of those employed for all kinds 

 of work ; and 3d, as to the wisdom or non- 



advisability of the soaking process applied to 

 horses' feet in the treatment of cases of lame- 

 ness. 



In considering the first section of my sub- 

 ject, some comparative observations may help 

 to estabhsh clear notions on the function of 

 hoofs in general, and that of the horse in 

 particular. Why nature has endowed some 

 quadrupeds with hoofs and others not, and 

 why the horse is gifted with the most elabor- 

 ate and powerful, are questions pertinent to 

 this subject. 



All animals inhabiting the land are en- 

 dowed with feet, furnished with nails, claws, or 

 hoofs ; and however different they may at first 

 sight appear, these are merely modifications of 

 a common structure, so as to suit it to the 

 performance of functions adapted to the con- 

 ditions and requirements of each species of 

 animal. Strength, hardness, toughness, or 

 want of brittleness, are the properties which 

 are required by all the modifications of the one 

 structure under consideration, and are accord- 

 ingly equally characteristic of a hoof, a nail, 

 and a claw. That great differences in form 

 should exist between them can only appear 

 natural when we remember that, whilst nearly 

 all these nails, hoofs, and claws are in varying 

 degrees essential for different ofiices : in the 

 lion, eagle, &c., they constitute weapons of 

 defence and aggression. Regarding now, 

 the undivided hoof of the horse, and the 

 cloven foot of the ox and other tribes, as 

 but modifications of nails and claws common 

 to a large section of the animal kingdom, if 

 we examine the special circumstances under 

 which these different animals are placed, we 

 shall arrive at the conclusion that all quadru- 

 peds endowed with hoofs are destined to in- 



