188 HORSE AND MAN. 



did, but this is only in appearance, for on timing 

 him I find he is fully as quick on his journeys. 



' His hoofs assumed a very ridiculous shape while 

 attaining their present form, the coronet at one time 

 projecting like a moulding above the lower crust (or 

 wall). The crust of the hoof has only cracked where 

 the old nail-holes had injured it, and as they wear 

 away it becomes sound and hard. (See page 107.) 



' The whole of the tenderness of the foot had 

 proceeded from pressure on the frog. Only once 

 was there a suspicion of its being worn tender, and 

 if it really were so on that occasion, a single day's 

 rest in the stable cured it. Of course his feet were 

 well washed, and I examined them myself each day 

 on his return from exercise.' 



In this exceedingly valuable account, the atten- 

 tion of the reader must be drawn to one or two 

 points. 



One of them is, that the owner of the horse 

 ought not to be discouraged even by such an unex- 

 pected phenomenon as an altered shape of the hoof. 

 Another, that although of course it would be better 

 for a horse never to have been shod, provided that 

 its hoofs were rightly treated, the fact that it had 

 been accustomed to wear shoes does not prohibit it 

 from doing without them. A third point has to be 

 noticed namely, the loss of the animal's service for 



