J34 



finishing stroke to the destruction of the foot- 

 It causes the heels totally to close, and the 

 horse soon becomes lame. The bars being 

 placed there by nature, and strongly connected 

 with the heels at their widest extremes, seem to 

 be purposely places to press outward the crust 

 or horny substance at the extremities of the 

 quarters when the hoof becomes dry, and has 

 a propensity to shrivel and contract. The bars 

 exhibit a mathematical angle, the two sides of 

 which form a junction near the centre of the 

 foot, and widen regularly outward until they 

 join the crust at the heels. These are not 

 equally strong in all horses ; the weaker they 

 are, with mxore caution ought they to be 

 guarded, and not injured by paring away *, for 

 when the crust becomes strongest, it overcomes 

 tiieir elastic power, and the extremities of the 

 quarters encroach gradually until the heels are 

 quite closed, and the horse consequently lame. 

 The feet should barely be cleared of the super- 

 fluous callosities that adhere to them; for even 

 the smallest shaving that is unnecessarily pared 

 away tends to destroy the elasticity of the 

 horny substance which affords protection to 

 tUe sensible foot. The feet of horses are as 



