94 HORSE AND MAN. 



dry, they will soon be covered with dust, which sticks 

 to the greasy surface, and gives it exactly the neg- 

 lected and untidy appearance which the groom has 

 tried to avoid. 



Then, after the horse has been taken back to the 

 stable, cleaning the hoof is as disagreeable and dirty 

 a process as blacking it, whereas dust cannot adhere 

 to the natural varnish, and the hoof can be easily 

 cleaned by a wet cloth. 



This, however, is not the worst result of grease 

 and lampblack, which would work no great harm 

 if they merely caused additional trouble to the 

 groom, but absolute damage to the hoof is done by 

 the grease. The groom, placing the hoof of the 

 horse on a level with his own boots, has no idea that 

 the former needs more consideration of treatment 

 than the latter. He has no idea that transpiration 

 takes place through the hoof, and that the grease 

 chokes up the pores in the horn, and so prevents the 

 needful transpiration from taking place. 



As might be expected, the stoppage of these 

 pores, and the check to transpiration, causes the hoof 

 to become hot and feverish, just as is the case with 

 ourselves when perspiration is checked. The horn, 

 too, cannot be properly formed, and becomes brittle. 



Then the groom sets to work to 'soften' the hoof, 

 which is the very thing that ought not to be done, 



