260 THE PERFECT HOKSE. 



hard and dry that the houtoir will not touch it, and the 

 horse goes lame. . . . What risk does a horse not incur 

 who has nearly been deprived of his soles through this 

 paring! If he encounters stones, broken glass, or 

 nails, these easily penetrate to the sensitive sole, and 

 cripple him for a long time, if not for ever. 



''When a horse loses a shoe, — a circumstance fre- 

 quently occurring, — and if the hoof is pared, the animal 

 cannot walk a hundred steps without going lame ; be- 

 cause, in this state, the lower surface of the foot being 

 hollowed, the horse's weight falls on the crust ; and this, 

 having no support from the horny sole, is quickly 

 broken and worn away; and, if he meets hard sub- 

 stances on the road, he all the more speedily becomes 

 lame. It is not so when the sole is allowed to retain its 

 whole strength. The shoe comes off; but the sole and 

 frog rest on the ground, and assist the crust in bearing 

 the greater part of the weight of the body ; and the 

 animal, though unshod, is able to pursue his journey 

 safe and sound. 



''It is a fact, that every horse, except those which 

 have the feet diseased and soles convex, and to which 

 shoes are necessary to preserve the soles, may travel 

 without shoes: and without going for an example to 

 the Arabs, Tartars, &c., we will find it among our own 

 horses, which, in the country, work every day without 

 requiring shoes ; but as soon as our wisdom and skill are 

 brought to bear in hollowing out the foot to the quick, 

 and making a fine, equal, and symmetrical frog, — doing 



