IN SEAKCH OF A HORSB. 89 



A prominent ring round the hoof, has been fre- 

 quently mentioned to me as a symptom of recent in- 

 flammation ; but I believe it to be a fallacious one ; 

 for I have often noticed such marks in my own 

 horses, when I have had them long enough for the 

 entire hoof to have become renewed from the coro- 

 net, and yet they have never been in the least 

 degree lame. Where, however, the outward line of 

 the hoof marking its inclination to the plane of the 

 shoe is irregular, instead of being perfectly straight, 

 ^.^^ as I have attempted to describe in this 

 profile, it marks what is called a " shel- 

 ly" foot, from its resemblance to the 

 uneven surface of an oyster shell, and this is de- 

 cidedly bad. 



The sole of the foot should be subjected to still 

 closer examination. In its healthy and natural state 

 it is inclined to be concave ; whenever it is found to 

 be flat, and still more if any convexity is apparent, 

 the purchaser may safely conclude that the horse is 

 either lame or will soon become so : I should con- 

 sider a fault of this kind quite conclusive. A want 

 of substance in the heel is a usual accompaniment of 

 a convex foot. 



