STOPPING THE FEET. 217 



and whicli is often noticed in trotting horses, whetlier un- 

 der the saddle or in harness, is a striking of the shoe of 

 the fore foot with the toe of the shoe of the hind foot. 

 The parts of the fore shoe which are thus struck may be 

 known from being worn brighter than the rest of the shoe, 

 and if these parts are filed away the diffiulty will generally 

 cease. 



Stopping the feet, which belongs to "Grooming" 

 rather than to "Farrieing," consists of filling the space be- 

 tween the shoe and the hoof, and all within the inner cir- 

 cumference of the shoe, with some material which will 

 gradually impart moisture to the foot. It should always 

 be resorted to whenever there is the least tendency to dry- 

 ness or fever in the feet, and there is an advantage in 

 stopping the feet of all horses as often as every other night. 

 The stopping should be very carefully removed before the 

 horse goes out. 



The best material for stopping are : 



1 — Pure cow-dung, — recently dropped. 



2— Wet clay. 



3 — Cow-dung and clay, mixed. 



4 — "Wet oakum. 



5 — ^Linseed meal. 



6 — A mixture of tar, tallow, clay and cow-dung. 



A change from one of these to another will be found 

 beneficial, though, in the country, cow-dung is usually the 

 most convenient, and it is quite as good as any of the 

 others. 



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