On the Management of Horses Feet 



193 



substance of the hoof ; but beyond the range to 

 which red blood globules pass, that transparent 

 secretion, is diffused through the entire sub- 

 stance of horn, and is ultimately passed off in 

 the form of invisible vapour. 



The foregoing proposition may be verified 

 by the following test : — If a horse is made to 

 stand on a flat stone floor after taking oft' 

 his shoes and seeing that its feet be clean 

 and dry, and the floor equally so, and be 

 allowed to stand about a minute, it will be 

 found on moving him that four imprints 

 of his feet will be left on the floor, due to 

 condensation of vapour exhaled from the 

 surface of the foot. 



The incident is analogous to that which 

 occurs when we take hold of a piece of 

 polished steel, or touch a mirror in cold 

 weather, in which case the prints of our 

 fingers are left on the steel or glass by 

 similar vapour issuing from the surface of the 

 skin. Therefore, the horse's hoof is not ex- 

 ceptional, but subject to common natural laws. 

 Blood is required for the growth of new horn, 

 which in successive order is moving on, out- 

 wards and forward, becoming finii in texture 

 and fitted for its object. 



Another way of observing these phenomena, 

 less inviting than the example given, but one, 

 I regret to state, for which constant oppor- 

 tunity is afforded, is as follows : In the first 

 act of shoeing, after taking off" the old shoe, 

 the farrier proceeds to pare the foot, in doing 

 which he is either following instructions or 

 acting according to custom long in vogue. 

 As slice after slice is pared from the sole, and 

 the workman's injunctions in many cases are, 

 that he should thin it until it yields under pres- 

 sure of the thumb, the horn will be found 

 moist ; and as the thinning operation is con- 

 tinued, the transparent juice will be appa- 

 rent on the surface of the hoof, issuing 

 from its pores like sweat, and if the 

 finger be passed over the newly cut sur- 

 face, a damp streak will be visible, in 

 which case any one may write his initials on 

 the horse's hoof with the moisture drawn from 

 it. Byparing on still further, instead of colour- 

 less fluid, red blood will issue in all its inte- 

 gi-al parts, and then a name may be written on 

 VOL. r. 



the sole of the foot in blood. There is yet 

 another stage, which, by courtesy, is called an 

 operation, consisting of drawing blood by 

 pints and quarts from the sole of the horse's 

 foot, in which act all the paring thus far de- 

 scribed being accomplished, the expert hand re- 

 volves his drawing knife onto its hooked point, 

 and, with a thrust downwards and fonvards in 

 a semicircular direction, a shaft is sunk through 

 the remainder of the sole, and blood flows — 

 in the act a net-work of blood-vessels and 

 nerves is divided. I am not adducing these 

 examples of practice to remark on the mon- 

 strous cruelty or its tolerance, but to ex- 

 tract material as a lesson on the manner of 

 the circulation of blood, and a secretion from 

 it through the hoof. 



Weakening of the hoof by any process what- 

 ever, especially by the prevalent ways of keep- 

 ingitin constant contactwith wet and byparing, 

 is to be regarded as the primary cause of one 

 of the greatest miseries of our age — lameness 

 of horses. Not only does the procedure 

 betray ignorance and indifference on the 

 subject, and therefore is the more regrettable, 

 and less hopeful of early recourse to remedy, 

 but the weak-footed horse is thereafter affected 

 by relatively slight additional causes. 



Against my theory of horses' hoofs being 

 destined for action on firm, and, if required, 

 hard ground, and of their being only in a fit 

 state to bear weight and exertion when free 

 from moisture imbibed from without, it may 

 be argued, that their condition of existence 

 necessitates exposure to wet, and that even the 

 dew on the grass keeps for the time the sur- 

 face of the hoof moist ; but let all con- 

 ditions be taken into account, and then 

 the theory I have advanced will be found 

 consistent, and the doctrine sound according 

 to all experience. 



When men speak of natural conditions of 

 horses, it is commonly found, if rightly 

 viewed, that that which is indicated is diame- 

 trically the opposite of natural ; they turn a 

 horse into an open field, and seeing that there 

 is grass and water, console themselves in the 

 belief that the animal so confined is enjoying 

 its natural freedom. 



Men authorized to be the teachers of those 



o 



