600 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



small iris, may show much white, and yet the animal have a 

 mild temper, but in such a case the expression will be entirely 

 different from that of the former. One has an expression of 

 mildness and confidence, while the other expresses rage 

 or fear. 



The Feet. " No foot, no horse," is an old maxim telling 

 concisely the value of the foot to the animal, whose value de- 



* 



pends so much on its ability to move freely and long. 



Because contraction of the hoof is so common among horses 

 confined to stable floors and hard roads, and maltreated by far- 

 riers and blacksmiths and grooms, the buyer of small experi- 

 ence jumps at the conclusion that a large foot is better than a 

 small one. 



A naturally small foot on man or horse does not argue 

 unsoundness or weakness any more than that because the 

 man or horse has an uncommonly large foot he is uncommonly 

 strong or powerful. 



The small foot may be more perfect than the large one. 

 The inside of the foot may be injured by the contraction of the 

 horny shell, caused by heat or dryness of the stable, and inflam- 

 mation aggravated bv stimulating food. 



/ 



The horse reared on the softest and wettest ground, would 

 have large, flat feet, liable to injury and disease, when taken to 

 hard roads and dry stable floors. The horses reared on dry, 

 hard, and stony plains, like the Arabians, would have compact, 

 hard feet, that do not so easily suffer by a change to the sta- 

 bles and streets of cities. Soundness or unsoundness can not 

 be predicated from the size of the foot alone. The form tells 

 more than size as to the value of the foot. The medium size, 

 with a uniform structure of bone, not heavy in front or too thin 

 on the side, or wanting at the heel, is the most desirable. The 

 flat foot, with a convex sole, and low heel, may be sound, but is 

 liable to give way under hard usage. 



THE PUMICE SOLE, lower in the middle than at the sides, is to 

 be shunned. The thousand laminae in the foot that act as 

 springs to ease the shock are weakened and the coffin bone is 

 let down and presses on the sole, and as there are no means 



