324 ON THE TREATMENT OF HORSES' FEET, 



and this part of the quarters with the heels of the foot 

 and the frog perfectly level with each other; so that 

 each of the above parts (that is, the heels, the frog, and 

 heels of the shoe,) may equally bear the weight when 

 the horse has his foot in contact with the ground, just 

 as if the long shoe had been applied instead of the 

 short one. 



If these shoes are put on as I hav e here advised, there 

 will not be more weight on the tendons and ligaments 

 of the leg, than when the long shoe is used ; at least, I 

 have always found this to be the case. Nor will there 

 be, by any means, so much weight on them, as when a 

 country plate horse has three-quarter plates on, (to run 

 perhaps two or three four-mile heats,) which he almost 

 invariably wears when he is running; that is, if his 

 feet are out of order, for then no other plate can be ap- 

 plied with safety; and when running long lengths in 

 such plates, if the ground is hard, a horse's feet are 

 much exposed, and great concussion takes place in 

 them. 



Training grooms who have had much to do with 

 country running are fully aware of this, from their 

 having observed the very painful and heated state of a 

 horse's feet at night, after running the above-mentioned 

 lengths in short plates; and they are also aware, that 

 such a horse's feet get well again after a few day's rest, 

 if properly attended to and kept moist. 



This, I think, goes to prove, that to pay attention to 

 horses' feet by endeavouring to keep them as nearly in 

 a state of nature as possible, is quite as necessary as to 



