40 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



more than the needs of the summer require. The old coat, 

 as the weather continues growing warmer, is gradually re- 

 placed by the new. Thus the suit which the horse will need 

 in the fall begins to grow in the spring, and that for the 

 spring in the fall. By these wise provisions N'ature keeps 

 the horse constantly in clothing. 



The oft-repeated assertion that the horse becomes much 

 weakened and unhealthy during the process of shedding do 

 not seem borne out by the facts. If any animal exhibits any 

 such unfavorable symptoms at this period, the causes may 

 be much more reasonably set down to the change in the sea- 

 sons and from the stable, with its confinement and dry, 

 unnatural diet to out-door life and grass. 



There are oily secretions in the skin, as already described 

 in the extract we have given from Youatt, which ir^ health 

 pour out, and, spreading over the hair, give it the beautiful 

 glossy appearance all so much admire ; but when disease is 

 at work, these fountains are often closed, the coat assumes 

 a rough, ragged look, and the hair stands out stift", dry, and 

 bristling. 



THB FEET. 



Volumes might be written in regard to the feet, so pecu- 

 liar is their construction, so important their uses, so severe 

 . their services, and so numerous the diseases with which they 

 are afflicted. Many of the latter are among the most obstin- 

 ate and serious of all the ailments to which horse-flesh is 

 heir. In the veterinarian's descriptions, as in his practice, a 

 large proportion of his time must be devoted to the feet. 



Their diseases will be treated of, in detail, in Chapter lY. 

 We can here only stop to give a general outline of their 

 complicated structure, which the reader will be greatly as- 

 sisted in understanding by referring to the appropriate cuts 

 already introduced. 



The hoof is the horny crust or wall that incloses the sen- 

 sible or living portion of them, and extends from the hair 

 downward to the edge that 'Vests upon the ground. It is 



