56 ^ ON SHOEING, 



not take place suddenly, as the internal parts 

 of the foot will resist it for a certain length of 

 time ; but the continued pressure of the quar- 

 ters will ultimately produce an absorption in the 

 coffin bone, which is obliged, in this manner, 

 to adapt itself to the diminished capacity of the 

 hoof. Feet which are disposed to contract, 

 generally possess great strength and thickness 

 in the wall or crust, and this contractile power 

 must be greatly increased by the common prac- 

 tice of notching the heels, paring the frog and 

 sole to an extreme, and shoeing with convex 

 shoes with thick heels, thereby preventing the 

 frog from touching the ground. In this case 

 the frog, for want of pressure, will be diseased 

 and wasted in substance, and the animal will 

 become unsafe in his progression whenever he 

 happens to tread on a stone, or any other pro- 

 jecting substance. Corns also commonly at- 

 tend feet of this description, from the heels 

 being bound both by the strength of the walls 

 and the bad construction of the shoe. In the 



^^'orst 



