58 



changes in the character of the hoof, it is 

 of course necessary that in alternating 

 between close stabling and open air, the 

 transition should be sharp and decisive, 

 otherwise the result will not be clearly 

 defined. It is very well marked in the 

 case of farmers who shut their horses up 

 very closely in banked-stables during the 

 winter, using them but little, and keep- 

 ing them outdoors most of the time in the 

 warmer months. If the alternations are 

 irregular, or not pronounced, the result 

 will be correspondingly confused and ob- 

 scure. 



This change of nutrition extends from 

 what we can see to what we cannot see. 



It would scarcely be reasonable to sup- 

 pose that one part of the hoof — the outer 



