56 HORSE AND MAN. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Expansion acknowledged, acted, upon, and perverted — Authorised direc- 

 tions for shoeing — ' Thinning ' and ' opening ' — Horseshoeing in 

 England and America — ' Dew-drops,' i.e. oozing blood — The diseases 

 called by the name of 'thrush' — True causes of thrush — Supply of 

 blood to hoof — Nature's balance of supply and waste — Office of the 

 blood — ' Thrush ' a safety-valve for inflamed blood — Derivation of the 

 word ' founder ' — ' Thrush ' never seen in wild horses — A compre- 

 hensive challenge — Where do wild horses keep their knives ? — The 

 frog again — Lieutenant Douglas on the frog and its value. Mr. T. 

 Gepp's experience. 



Some of those who asserted, and rightly, that the 

 hoof expanded when the weight of the horse rested 

 upon it, attempted to improve nature by art, and, 

 with the very best intention, contrived to do a 

 wonderful amount of damage to the animal. Of 

 course, they assumed that the horse must be shod in 

 the usual manner. Then, they forgot that the hoof 

 would not expand unless the weight of the horse 

 rested primarily on the frog, the ' mainstay of the 

 foot,' as Mr. Douglas calls it ; and lastly, most of them 

 forgot that the iron shoe would prevent the hoof 

 from either expanding or contracting. Some, how- 



