154 On the General Treatment of the Feet, 



tioiij which the feet of all Horses that arc shod arc inevitably exposed 

 to NoWj if the mere circumstance of only nailing an iron shoe to 

 clie Foot of a Horse^ does dispose it to disease and contraction, (a 

 iact which it is impossible to deny,) there can be no manner of ques- 

 tion, that the various other disadvantageous circumstances, to which 

 it is exposed in the Stable, must very much exasperate, the morbid 

 condition of the hoof. Yct^ it is a curious, and, at the satt^eitime, 

 un almost incredible fact, that though every person conversant with 

 Horses, appears to know the value of wide heels, a sound, tougli, 

 broad frog, and a cool state of the hoof, yet, few can be made sen- 

 sible of the necessity, of adopting the best means to preserve the 

 Foot in this desirable condition. 



Now, the cornmon practice of letting Horses stand through the 

 day, upon litter, must materially contribute to accelerate this contrac- 

 tion, which is called Wire Heels, and which it is of so much import- 

 ance to guard against. For, if the litter be wet, it will become 

 positively hot, in consequence of the putrefactive fermentation which 

 is engendered in it, and thus lay the foundatioa of many diseases, 

 some of which, as they affect the bones and cartilages within the hoof, 

 may produce lameness, and exist for a great length of time, before 

 any external, palpable alteration of structure is visible. And, even 

 if the litter be perfectly dry and fresh, it will do mischief, by pre- 

 senting a soft and an unnatural cushion for the Foot; for though it 

 be not indeed positively hot in itself, yet, by confining the heat of 

 the Foot, it will, in this way, be the means of heating that organ, 



I am therefore decidedly of opinion, that next to bad principles of 

 Shoeing, the use of litter is the grand exciting cause of the produc- 

 fion of running thrushes, which are generally connected with that 



