PREPARING THE HOOF. 47 



It has been mentioned that the horn is secreted from 

 the living surface, and that myriads of beautiful vasculai 

 and sensitive tufts dependent from this surface, enter the 

 horn-fibres to a certain depth, and play an important part 

 in the formation of^he sole. The newly-formed horn is 

 soft and spongy, and incapable of resisting exposure to 

 the air, but as it is pushed further away from this surface 

 by successive deposits of fresh material, it becomes old 

 horn, loses its moisture, and in doing so acquires hardness 

 and rigidity sufficient to withstand external influences ; 

 then it is subjected to wear, and if this be insufficient to 

 reduce it sufficiently, it falls off in scales. But the process 

 of exfoliation is not a rapid one ; the flakes remain at- 

 tached to the solid horn beneath, more or less firmly, until 

 it in turn commences to loosen on the surface, and yield 

 new flakes, when the old ones separate. This natural 

 diminution in the excess of horn of the sole is a most 

 beneficial process for the hoof. Horn is a slow conductor 

 of heat and cold, and when thick, retains moisture for a 

 long period. These flakes, then, act as a natural " stop- 

 ping " to the hoof, by accumulating and retaining moist- 

 ure beneath, and this not only keeps the foot cool as it 

 slowly evaporates, but ensures for the solid and growing 

 horn its toughness, elasticity, and proper development. 

 In addition to this, every flake acts more or less as a 

 spring in warding off bruises or other injuries to the sole; 

 and thus the floor of the horny box is protected from in- 

 jury, externally and internally. 



What occurs when the farrier, following out the rou- 

 tine of his craft, or obeying the injunctions of those as ig- 

 norant as himself, or so prejudiced as not to be able to 

 reason, pares the sole until it springs to the pressure of 

 his thumb ? Why, the lower surface of the foot — that 

 which is destined to come into contact with the ground, 

 and to encounter its inequalities, and which more than any 



