52 HORSE AND MAN. 



' The result was, that it had expanded one eighth 

 part of an inch at the heels and quarters ; and from 

 the quarters towards the toe this gradually diminished, 

 showing a space of four inches front, and two inches 

 on each side of the centre of the toe, where no 

 expansion whatever had taken place ; the tracings 

 proving at the same time that expansion was only 

 lateral^ and that none took place in the length of 

 the foot from heel to toe. 



' He states that he had other horses which had 

 before shown a still greater expansion than this ; but 

 this was only whilst the horse was standing, and upon 

 three legs.' 



The expansive property of the hoof has another 

 advantage. When an ordinary horse — say in hunt- 

 ing — is traversing stiff and clayey ground, its pro- 

 gress is greatly hindered by the soil which adheres 

 to the hoofs, and by the depth to which the foot 

 sinks in the ground. Sometimes, when the horse has 

 taken a leap, the fore-hoofs sink so deeply that the 

 animal cannot instantly extricate them. The forward 

 impetus cannot be checked, and the result is that the 

 leg is broken at the pastern, and the horse has to be 

 killed. The rider may probably be killed too, but we 

 are now dealing with the horse and not with its rider. 



But, with an unshod horse, the result of a similar 

 leap would be very different. As it comes to the 



