SHOEING. 427 



wrist and heel corresponding to the knee and hock-joints of the 

 horse, though the bones are of different relative lengths and shape. 

 The crust of the hoof is secreted in much the same manner as our 

 nails, and growing downwards, or towards the extremities, slides 

 over a laminated and highly sensitive bed, which, when injured, 

 produces intense pain, on account of the unyielding nature of the 

 crust, and the swelling consequent to inflammation. We may then 

 realize the suffering produced by the prick of a horse-shoe nail, 

 under a horn so much thicker than our finger or toe nails. 



As qualifications of resistance, and ease to superincumbent 

 structures, we have, of the human foot, the main arch of the soles 

 (which must be taken together to establish their completeness), 

 and the transverse arch of the ball of the foot, displayed when the 

 toes are brought to the ground. Of the horse there is the arch 

 of the sole, and those formed by the heels and frog. The sole and 

 coffin bone of the mule are more concave than those of the horse. 



As propellers and levers, we find the same action from heel to 

 toe, as the body moves forward in progression. The horse having 

 two sets of levers, one for the fore part of the body and one for 

 the hind, all working in connection, must make exactly the same 

 length of step with each foot to avoid interference. From this 

 fact, we account for a frequent cause of forging and stumbling. 

 Both horse and man accustom the motion of the body to the length 

 of step ; if we then attempt to walk in a pair of shoes so much 

 shorter than usual, as to cramp the toes and shorten the foot, we 

 will be unable to carry the body as far with each motion from heel 

 to toe, to correspond with our ordinary forward spring of the body ; 

 the tendency, therefore (until we learn better), is to a short, quick, 

 stumbling gait. Now, take a horse whose hoofs have been slowly 

 growing in length for a month, every motion of his body trained to 

 accord, pull off his shoes, which will be found (owing to the for- 

 ward growth of the hoof) farther from the heels than when first 

 applied, pare away the crust down to the sole, cut out a big notch 

 at the toe for a clip, set the new shoe back within the front of the 

 foot (more on the fore feet, as they are supposed to grow faster), 

 then rasp off the outer part of the toe back to the shoes, and clench 

 the nails as tight as possible. This is a common mode of shoeing; 

 his shoes are too small for him ; he swings into a trot with the 

 usual body motion, but the feet, all shortened, fail their part, 

 while the fore feet, diminished more than the hind, are not thrown 

 out quite as far, and the horse, unaccustomed to the change, dwells 

 too long on them to escape a blow from behind. Weariness and 

 laziness will also cause forging, by a tardy movement in front, and 

 stumbling, by a failure to raise the toe sufficiently to avoid scrub- 

 bing the ground when thrown forward. 



It is too common, especially in cities, among draught-horses, to 



