464 HANDT-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



*''■ alone where no nails have been driven, — giving rise to a train 

 ** of consequences destructive to the soundness of the foot, and 

 " fatal to the usefulness of the horse. 



" The toe of the forefoot is the thickest and strongest portion 

 '' of the hoof, and is in consequence less expansive than any other 

 " part, and therefore better calculated to resist the effect of the 

 " nails and shoe. The thickness of the horn gradually diminishes 

 " toward the quarters and heels, particularly on the inner side of 

 " the foot, whereby the power of yielding and expanding to the 

 " weight of the horse is proportionably increased, clearly indicat- 

 *' ing that those parts cannot be nailed to an unyielding bar of iron, 



Fig. 109. 



*' without a most mischievous interference with the natural func- 

 " tions of the foot. In the hind-foot, the greatest thickness of 

 " horn will be found at thp quarters and heels, and not, as in the 

 " forefoot, at the toe. This difference in the thickness of horn 

 " is beautifully adapted to the inequality of the weight which each 

 " has to sustain, the force with which it is applied, and the por- 

 " tions of the hoof upon which it falls. The toe of the forefoot 

 " encounters the combined force and weight of the forehand and 

 " body, and consequently, in a state of nature, is exposed to con- 

 " siderable wear and tear, and calls for greater strength and sub- 

 " stance of horn than is needed by any portion of the hind- 



