312 THE HORSE 



taken that the herbage is of the desired nature, the best proof of which is 

 that it has agreed with horses in previous seasons. Experienced judges 

 can generally pronounce upon the probability of the desired result after 

 inspecting the situation, but on the whole their opinion, however well 

 founded, is not so much to be relied on as the fact that horses have actually 

 become fresh while turned out there. 



When the saving of expense is the pi-incipal object, a good aftermath 

 may generally be chosen, on which horses will be " tacked " at 4s. or 5*. 

 per week from August to December. In large parks they are often taken 

 in at even lower rates, but there are many objections to these, such as the 

 increased danger of contracting infectious diseases, and the greater risk of 

 accident among a large number of horses and cattle ; and to these must 

 be added very often the poorness of the herbage. There is also generally 

 a difficulty in superintending the feet, etc., owing to the difficulty of 

 catching the horses in a large park, so that the plan is not to be recom- 

 mended whenever a run in a comparatively small enclosure can be 

 obtained. 



The fore-feet should always be protected by " tips," which are merely 

 short shoes reaching only two-thirds of the way to the heels, which are then 

 left uncovered. These should be sunk to the level of the planter surface, 

 by cutting down the crust or wall and leaving the sole, bars, and frog un- 

 touched. In this way a level bearing is obtained, and that natural frog- 

 pressure brought to bear upon soft ground or natural pastui'e which is so 

 desirable in horses long shod and stabled, and whose frogs are generally 

 more or less wasted and heels shrunken by reason of the shod-crust taking 

 all the weight. When the horse is rested the opportunity is afforded of 

 growing a new, strong, and serviceable frog, and this end will be sooner 

 attained by sinking the tip. The ordinary tip or short shoe is too often a 

 thick and clumsy affair putting a strain on the back tendons. 



The object is to avoid the risk of breaking away the toes, which is incurred 

 whenever the foot is battered on hard ground, as it often is when it is stamped 

 continually, as horses are very apt to do, on the bare surface which is kept 

 dry beneath a sheltering tree. Here the flies are very apt to collect around 

 the horses, and to get rid of their annoyance the legs are constantly in motion. 

 If the full shoe is left on, the hind toe is very apt to catch its heel in deep 

 ground, and tear it wholly or partially off; and moreover, it is too often 

 neglected, and either the heels press into the sole, producing corns, or they 

 confine the frog, and lead to disease of that important organ. Tips may 

 safely be left on without removal for two or three months, whereas shoes 

 require attending to every three or four weeks. The hind shoes are always 

 taken off, partly because the hind-feet are not so liable to be broken at the 

 toes, but chiefly because they would be dangerous to other animals if they 

 were left on, from the severe damage which is done by a kick with an 

 armed heel. 



Horses whose jugular veins have become obliterated from adhesive 

 inflammation following bleeding, are unfit to be turned out in con- 

 sequence of the difficulty which is presented to the return of the blood 

 from the head by its low position in grazing. So also those which have 

 recently suffered from staggers should not be sent out to grass, for fear 

 of the position causing a return of the disease. This precaution is 



