THE HORSE: ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 77 



with a small brush. It answers two purposes. First, the feet 

 always look nice; secondly, the horn is preserved and kept 

 in splendid condition, so much so that it rarely gets 

 broken, as it is tough and pliable. The mixture has the 

 same effect as moliscorum on hard leather. I have met 

 with several grooms who use lamp black mixed with fat 

 skimmed from a dead horse which has been boiled. I have 

 never used this myself, but know several who do use it, and it 

 appears to answer very well. I have seen the hoofs of 

 horses which this has been used upon and they have been 

 in splendid condition. Now the frog of the foot is found to be 

 of quite a different material from the outer horn. Years ago 

 farriers always used to cut the frog down very close, also the 

 crust or sole of the foot. This is very wrong, as they should 

 be cut down a very little, just trimmed so as they are not 

 shaggy. 



Farmers' horses which work on the land seldom have 

 anything wrong with their feet, first, because the ground is 

 moist, which keeps the foot cool, and secondly, when they 

 go to water they often soak their feet in a pond, which helps 

 them very much. Waggon horses which are on the road do 

 not go lame in their feet so quickly as horses which run, 

 because the jar of the feet in running makes all the 

 difference. Of course cart horses which are often working 

 on the hard road go lame much quicker than farmers' 

 horses which work on the land, in fact it is very rarely the 

 latter ever have anything the matter with the feet. If I had 

 heavy horses working upon the hard roads during the hot 

 weather I should let their feet stand in water for at least 



