60 HORSE AND MAN. 



rities is carried so far that blood-specks ( k dew- 

 drops,' as they are euphemistically termed) ooze 

 through the thinned horn. Just see what this means. 

 One of the chief duties of the sole is to protect the 

 sensitive structures within the hoof from sharp stones 

 and similar objects. 



It is difficult to persuade many people that 

 the Creator really did know how to make a horse, 

 and that divine handiwork cannot very well be im- 

 proved by man. But, a horse, whose hoof is left as 

 Nature made it, cares nothing about pebbles or even 

 broken flints, but can gallop among them without 

 being even aware of their presence, so dense and 

 strong is the horn of the sole. 



Within the last four weeks, an unshod mare 

 belonging to one of my friends ran away with her 

 mistress, who was driving her in an ordinary chaise. 

 The road had been newly laid with loose stones, but 

 she galloped for nearly two miles before she was 

 stopped. I examined ' Dolly's ' hoof a few days after- 

 wards, and found that they had suffered no injury 

 from the sharp points and edges of the stones. A 

 shod horse could scarcely have escaped laming. 



But, when the sole is pared until it is not so 

 thick as an ordinary visiting card, it is evident that 

 the pressure of a stone must cause the severest pain. 

 Moreover, this paring of the sole exposes the c linea 



