THE horse-keeper's GUIDE. 293 



the cleaning-out more perfect. After the stall is dry, spread 

 the dry litter well out, and add to the top as much fresh 

 clean straw as is required to make up a good comfortable 

 bed. 



Once a week, or thereabout, all the bed should be taken 

 away, and entirely renewed ; but never cover wet and 

 soiled htter \vith clean straw — it is a lazy and a dirty, as 

 v^ ell as a wasteful practice. 



CHAPTER VI. 

 TREATMENT OF THE FEET. 



Every time that a horse comes in from work, be sure to 

 examine his feet, particularly the fore feet, for it often hap- 

 pens that a stone gets fixed in between the shoe and the 

 frog, and if suffered to remain there, even for a few hours, 

 may cause a bruise or lameness, which a little care may 

 prevent : indeed, whatever gets into the foot, whether sand, 

 gravel, or stone, should be carefully removed ; this will 

 take but a few minutes, and will pay well for the little 

 trouble it occasions. 



Stopping the feet, is only practised on the fore feet, 

 and when judiciously performed, is attended with very 

 good effects : but if the sole is flat and thin, it will be best 

 avoided : the less moisture such a formed foot receives, 

 the better, as it makes the sole yield too readily, and may 

 tend to lame the horse. A mixture of clay and cow-dung 

 is the stopping mostly used : clay, itself, is too hard ; tow 

 is often used for gig and roadrhorses, or horses that have 

 tbrushy feet : moss is also useful fjr the same pui'pose. 



The manner of stopping a horse's feet is to fill the sole 

 so as to be on a level with the shoe ; tow or moss should 

 oe put in dry, and water poured on it once or twice a 

 day, according to the moisture required. The object of 

 stopping a horse's feet is to prevent the sole becoming 

 hard and frigid from being too dry, and so laming the 

 horse. 



Some horses require their feet to be stopped much oft- 

 ener than others ; as a general rule, stop a horse's feet 

 the night previous to his being shoed ; once a week will 

 gen*4i-ally be found sufficient : from Saturday night till Mon 

 25* 



