94 HORSE-TRAINING MADE EASY. 



and brittle often as the hoof itself; its function 

 is thus destroyed, and it now acts as a foreign 

 body, bruising the sole, causing diseases of various 

 kinds to arise. If we examine the feet of horses 

 shod in the ordinary manner — and there are few 

 others — we find in place of the shoe having a 

 level beariug for the crust, it is bevelled from 

 without inwards, so that the foot rests upon a 

 concave instead of a level surface. The conse- 

 quence is, the heels, instead of expanding up 

 these inclined planes, are actually pressed in- 

 wards, in consequence of the lateral pressure 

 thus brought to bear upon them. This, as a 

 natural result, causes contraction of the hoof 

 Booner or later, causing a hard, brittle condition 

 of the hoof, predisposing it to split, producing 

 toe, quarter, or other cracks, which never occur 

 in an elastic hoof; corns soon follow contraction 

 of the hoof, often producing very severe lame- 

 ness, and leading to diseases of a more serious 

 nature. When we have a contracted foot, it is 

 only necessary to reverse the bearing of the shoe 

 — that is, the bearing at the heels back from the 

 last nail-hole should be very slightly bevelled out- 

 wards. This has a direct tendency to gradually 

 faciUtate the expansion of the heels. Dr. R. Jen- 

 nings's Hoof Ointment is one of the best appli- 

 cations that can be made to a contracted hoof; 

 it restores its elasticity, and promotes a healthy 

 condition of the hoof. And here let me caution 

 the smith, in bevelling the shoe, to give it a very 

 little slant, from the last nail-hole on either side, 



