CONTRACTED HEELS 319 



wide of web and thick of substance. A shoe with a 

 wide web at the heel will protect the frog of the foot, 

 and a thick shoe wiLl prevent the foot from spreading 

 when called on to sustain heavy weights. If the web 

 of the shoe be drawn in slightly at the heel, and 

 if the shoe extends well back, the frog is usually safe 

 from abrasions. It is only in rare cases that a sound 

 foot is so wide and weak at the heel as to require a 

 bar -shoe. 



The foot of the light horse, particularly the road- 

 ster, is quite different from that of the draft -horse. 

 Here the tendency is often toward contracted heels. 

 Care should be taken to drive fast steppers with high 

 heels slowly when going down hill. Even good shoeing 

 cannot overcome the effects of injudicious driving. If 

 shoes are allowed to remain on the front feet too long, 

 a single day's hard and careless driving on paved roads 

 or over a hilly country may lay the foundation for 

 contracted feet or "jammed" shoulders, or both. After 

 one of thes*e injudicious drives, the horse comes out of 

 the stable with less suppleness and less freedom of 

 stride than before. If the abuse is continued, the stiff- 

 ness of the shoulders and the tenderness of the feet 

 increase rapidly; and then appropriate shoeing may 

 somewhat alleviate the pain, but it will not cure the 

 unsoundness. Manifestly, prevention is better than 

 palliation. 



The heels of horses designed for fast work are 

 usually naturally bound together firmly and closely; a 

 necessity if the horse is to be driven rapidly on hard 

 roads. However, the heels of the front feet may be so 



