THE CARE OF HORSES. 315 



the bottom ; but just before we brought up against 

 the curbstone, I turned the horse's- head gently to the 

 left, and he, understanding what was wanted, jumped 

 lightly to the sidewalk, and so kept his feet. 



The second great principle in shoeing is that the 

 foot should be allowed to come as nearly flat to the 

 ground as possible. 1 The office of the frog is to sus- 

 tain a part of the concussion which the foot and leg 

 receive when the horse steps ; and this it cannot do 

 when the shoe is so built up on corks or otherwise 

 that it keeps the frog clear of the ground. When the 

 frog is thus deprived of its natural use, the blood fails 

 to circulate in it, and it becomes atrophied or diseased. 

 In such a case, also, there is apt to be a consequent 

 trouble in the legs, for of course the strain upon the 

 legs is regulated by the shape and position of the 

 hoofs ; and this brings us to the third great principle 

 in shoeing, which is, that the horse should stand upon 

 his feet in the manner that nature intended. It is 

 plain that if his toe be left too long, or pared too 

 short, or if the hoof is so treated as to be longer or 

 higher on one side than the other, or if the shoe is 

 put on too far forward or too far back, — in these 

 and in many other cases that might be mentioned, the 

 legs do not bear their natural relation to the foot. 

 The consequence is that some muscles and tendons of 

 the leg do less, and some do more, than their quota of 

 work. If, for example, the slope of the hoof in front 

 is too great, the back tendons and joints of the limbs 

 must be strained. 



Even Maud S. was suffering from swollen fore legs 

 and strained tendons when she came into the hands of 



1 See page 249, for the Charlier system of shoeing. 



