104 THE FAMILY HOKSE. 



In the fore feet the hoof is thickest in the anterior portion, but 

 in the hind feet, the greatest thickness of horn is in the quarters 

 and posterior part. This difference admirably adapts all the feet 

 to their respective requirements. 



A sectional view of the foot, with the lower part of the can- 

 non bone, is given in figure 65. Of the three large bones, which 

 are analogous to those of a human finger or toe, the lower or coffin- 

 bone, is enclosed by the hoof. It is of open, porous structure, per- 

 meated with nerves and blood vessels. The great plantar artery, 

 with its numerous ramifications, supplies the foot with arterial 

 blood. The coronary band, k, contains one of these branches, which 

 maintains the growth of the hoof. The sesamoid and navicular bones 

 act as pulleys, over which play the tendons that move the foot. 



When the horse is in its original wild and free condition, the 

 growth of the hoofs keeps even pace with their wear. But in the 

 domesticated condition, with labor upon hard and stony roads, the 

 wear exceeds the growth, and the necessity arises for protecting the 

 hoof by an iron or steel rim around its outer edge. It is plainly evi- 

 dent that the nearer this can be made to conform to the natural con- 

 ditions and functions of the foot, the better. Yet there seems to 

 be an unfortunate lack of correct ideas concerning the true princi- 

 ples of horse-shoeing. 



William Russell, after an experience of more than forty years 

 as a practical horse-shoer, writes: " If we wish to examine a perfect 

 foot, as nature made it, it is generally necessary to find one that has 

 never been shod, for the common mode of shoeing is so frequently 

 destructive, that we seldom meet with a horse that has not lost 

 in some degree the original form, and this deviation from the 

 natural shape is generally proportioned to the length of time it 

 has worn shoes." 



The shoe should be as light as possible to withstand the wear 

 and perform the service required. The coffin-bone of the foot is 

 open and porous in its texture, to impart lightness to the foot, yet 

 the design of nature is defeated by loading the feet with too heavy 

 shoes. In the young animal, shod for the first time, we have the 

 appearances presented by a perfectly normal foot, which requires no 

 preparation whatever for the proper application of the shoe, beyond 

 slightly levelling with the rasp the ground surface of the outer 

 crust. After a horse has once been shod, the excess of horn which 

 is to be removed exists at the toe. The wear at this point is pre- 

 vented by the firm nailing of the shoe, and the consequent absence 

 of all attrition, while at the heels, constant friction goes on between 

 the two opposing surfaces, and modifies the growth. Any excess of 



