146 HOKSE-SHOEINGK 



torpid, with a foot perfectly adapted to such a region — its ground 

 face being so extensive and flat that it sinks but little, and the frog 

 developed to such a degree as to resemble a ploughshare in form, 

 which gives it a grip of the soft, slippery ground — is but indifferently 

 suited for travelling on a hard, rugged surface. In process of time, 

 however, the small concave hoof expands and flattens, and the large 

 flat one gradually becomes concentrated, hardened and hollow, to suit 

 the altered physical conditions in which they are placed. 



The degree of health possessed by the horn-secreting apparatus 

 at any time has also much to do with its activity in generating new 

 material. When its blood-vessels become congested or contracted 

 from some cause or other, its function is in a proportionate degree 

 suspended, and the hoof grows in an irregular manner, and may be 

 altered in thickness, texture and quality. 



In the ordinary conditions of town work and stable management, 

 I have observed that the wall of a healthy foot — its chief portion, 

 so far as farriery is concerned — grows down from the coronet at the 

 rate of about one-quarter of an inch per month, and that the entire 

 wall of a medium-sized hoof has been regenerated in from nine to 

 twelve months. 



The process of growth can be greatly accelerated and exaggerated 

 by irritating the surface which throws out the horn material. Thus 

 a blister, hot iron, or any other irritant or stimulant applied to this 

 part, will induce not only a more rapid formation, but one in which 

 increased thickness is a marked feature. 



SHOEING. 



In the foregoing pages we have considered the foot of the horse in 

 natural condition, as perfectly adapted for the performance of 



