318 THE HORSE 



proper attention during colthood, he should come to 

 his life work with sound, normal -shaped, hard feet. 

 From this on, use and breed should both be considered. 

 The draft -horse with his large, comparatively flat foot, 

 and the roadster, which sometimes has narrow heels, 

 should have quite different foot treatment as to cutting 

 away the surplus growth and as to the weight and 

 shape of the shoe. When the comparatively low heel 

 of the draft-horse and the comparatively high heel of 

 the roadster are not too pronounced, both are well 

 adapted to the work which these two classes of horses 

 are usually called upon to perform. Climate, soil and 

 use combined have resulted in producing, as a rule, the 

 foot best adapted to all the conditions under which the 

 breeds and varieties were formed. When it becomes 

 necessary to place a breed under conditions differing 

 from those in which the breed grew up, care should be 

 taken to select those specimens which have varied, 

 however slightly, toward the forms which will be best 

 adapted to the changed conditions. Then climate, soil 

 and use will soon accentuate the variations, and the 

 breed will quickly become adapted to its changed con- 

 ditions, instead of breaking down under them. To the 

 heavy draft -horse, his large feet are to him what wide 

 tires are to the freight wagon, when used on rough 

 pavements or on soft ground. So, reasonably large 

 feet and reasonably low heels are well suited to a heavy 

 draft-horse. The great weight of the draft-horse makes 

 it necessary to shoe him so as to bind and sustain the 

 quarters of the foot and protect the frog as well. 

 Hence, the shoes of the draft -horse should be rather 



