CHAPTER XVIII 

 CARE OF THE FEET 



^T^HE first rule for keeping a horse's foot sound is 

 -*■ to have him shod often — once in four or five 

 weeks; and this is necessary whether the horse is 

 worked or not. If this is not done, corns or contrac- 

 tion or other evils will surely result. If the horse is 

 to be laid by for several weeks or longer, his fore 

 shoes, especially if they have calks, should be removed, 

 and the horse should be shod with tips so that his 

 feet can rest and his heels expand. A still better 

 plan is to take off his shoes altogether and let him stand, 

 on peat moss if possible, in a box stall. It is not well 

 to let the horse stand wholly unshod on hard floors 

 for more than a few days, for he would probably 

 become footsore. But a horse with good, strong feet 

 needs no shoes in a stall well equipped with bedding. 

 In some districts it is not unusual for a horse to be 

 shod in the fall, and then left all winter with his feet 

 untouched. This is one reason why really sound 

 horses, above the age of six or seven, are seldom seen 

 in those places. 



Frog-pressure is what every horse needs (and what 

 he receives in a state of nature) to keep his feet sound. 

 Frog-pressure may be obtained by dispensing with 

 shoes at times, by dispensing with calks, by using low 

 calks instead of high calks, and, in the city, by shoeing 



[85] 



