66 



a spell of hot weather, where a horse is doing a lot of work on the hard 

 dry road, and the moisture of the horn becomes exhausted, I am in 

 favour of stopping the feet, to keep them cool, moist, and pHable. 

 By referring to paragraphs i6g to 171, it will be seen how much 

 moisture the different parts of the hoof contains, and these quantities 

 should be maintained. I have never yet found anything for this 

 purpose to beat cow-dung and clay, in equal parts ; stuffing the bottom 

 of the feet with it each alternate night. 



185. Leather Soles should not be used except in cases of injury, 

 when they become necessary ; for to stimulate and preserve the 

 healthy action of the hoof, air should be allowed free access to all parts. 

 Exercise, also, is very essential, in order to keep both the outside 

 and inside of the hoof in sound condition. Without it, healthy 

 circulation cannot be maintained in the foot, and the result is, disease ; 

 therefore, if a horse cannot be taken out every day, it should be turned 

 into a loose box, or paddock. 



186. India-rubber Pads. — In connection with leather soles, rubber 

 pads are now made of various descriptions and sizes, and are found to 

 answer well. The Rubber Frog Pad, for example, is an artificial 

 India-rubber frog, fixed on a leather sole, which is nailed on between 

 the foot and the shoe, and is very uefsul for narrow-heeled fore feet, 

 and small or wasted frogs. Anti-Slipping Pads are also many, and 

 one of them in common use is a sort of bag of India rubber, in the 

 shape of the foot, with a corrugated ground surface, and fixed within 

 the inner rims of the shoe. The Frog- Bar- Pad is another India- 

 rubber pad, fixed on to a stout piece of leather, the rubber-bar of which 

 runs across the back part of the foot, and covers both heels and frog, and 

 is nailed to the foot under a short shoe. This is one of the best forms 

 of pads, for besides preventing slipping, it is of great service in the 

 case of corns, weak heels, narrow or contracted quarters, navicular 

 disease, and chronic laminitic feet. 



187. For further particulars respecting the horse's foot and shoeing, 

 Mr. William Hunting's " Art of Horse-Shoeing " (third edition) is 

 recommended. 



