hard chunk is found imbedded 1)etween the pad 

 and the frog and sole of the foot. The foot is 

 dry and the frog is hard for the reason that 

 instead of imparting moisture, the packing had 

 absorbed the moisture from the foot that had 

 been oiven to it in the first two or three weeks 

 that it was there and had also collected toll by 

 taking out more than was put in. Why does 

 this condition exist? The pads were left on 

 too long and the horse was out on all kinds of 

 roads, in all kinds of weather; the muddy 

 water carried the foreign substance in under 

 the pads and left it there. Had the pads been 

 removed and the feet repacked at the proper 

 time this undesired condition would not have 

 prevailed. The foregoing remarks are ap- 

 plicable more to the road or general purpose 

 horse than to the horse in training. But the 

 horse in training that wears pads sometimes 

 has his troubles ; in fact, quite often he is sub- 

 ject to neglect because he is ''going fine," and 

 the driver does not want his feet touched as 

 long as the shoes will stay in place. 



That is a very commendable trait in a trainer 

 — to let well enough alone — but when he has 

 those pads removed he will find the bottom of 

 his horse's foot all mush ; the insensitive cover- 

 ing of frog can all be scraped ofif with the back 

 of the shoeing knife ; the sole and bars are like 

 cheese and the whole mess smells like a dis- 

 sected livery stable. Well, what about it? 

 This colt you understand is in training. His 

 work is chiefly on the track, cinder path or a 

 smooth road or pavement. His feet are washed 

 every day and the boy has squeezed water 



37 



