IN SEARCH OF A HORSE. 199 



A very important duty of the groom is stopping 

 the feet at night; it is not necessary to do this every 

 evening, but every alternate evening it is desirable. 

 A mixture of clay and cow-dung is the usual and the 

 best stopping ; the effect of it is to keep the feet 

 cool, and the horny substance of the sole and frog 

 moist and elastic. Any man who doubts this, can 

 easily satisfy himself by leaving one foot open for a 

 week or ten days, and stopping the other; he will at 

 the end of that time, perceive a sensible difference 

 between them. Where the crust of the hoof is natu- 

 rally dry and brittle, it should be dressed externally 

 with tar, especially in hot weather. 



I have for many years, at the suggestion of Mr. 

 Sewell, adopted the plan of shoeing my horses with 

 leather. I am not prepared to say that in all cases 

 it will answer, though I have never found an in- 

 stance in which it has proved injurious. It not only 

 supersedes the necessity of stopping, but it protects 

 the feet from bruises, and picking up stones ; it also 

 has another advantage, which I conceive to be very 

 great. It enables the frog to sustain the pressure 

 on the foot without the least risk of injury, and 

 spares the leg the violence of the jar, always occa- 



