324 THE HOltSti 



floor; these conditions, especial!}' in dry weather in 

 mid -summer or in cold weather in winter, result in 

 causing the feet to become over-dry, and, in fact, 

 slightly contracted, while the horse is losing something 

 of his suppleness. In a majority of cases, horses which 

 are used only occasionally do not get regular exercise. 

 Hence something should be done to modify the un- 

 desirable conditions. The floor of the stall should be 

 kept slightly damp; sawdust may be spread at the 

 front end of the stall, or, better still, use a moderate 

 amount of clay slightly dampened, but not so damp 

 as to soil the horse; or, best of all, provide box- 

 stalls for horses which have intermittent work and 

 which alternate between severe work and idleness. 

 (See Chapter XXI.) There are several ways of prevent- 

 ing the front feet from becoming dry and hard when, 

 of necessity, the horse is left to stand on a hard floor 

 for periods of time varying from a few days to a few 

 weeks. We hesitate to recommend packing the front 

 feet with moistened linseed meal, because the tendency 

 too often is to leave the packing in the foot too long, 

 and not to cleanse the foot thoroughly when it is 

 removed. Oil-meal is a highly nitrogenous product, 

 and hence becomes offensive and even dangerous to 

 the foot if the packing is not removed and the foot 

 thoroughly cleansed often. The oil-meal packing is 

 most excellent when properly used; the careless man 

 would better use clay for packing. If the feet of 

 horses used severely on hard roads are examined daily, 

 and simple treatment given when necessary, one will 

 soon discover if the foot has a tendency to become 



