Chapter II. 



THE FOOT. 



" No foot, no horse I" is an old and true sa3^ing. Even a 

 slight injury to any one of his feet may render the horse 

 absolutely useless, for the time being at anv rate. Too 

 much care and attention cannot, therefore, be paid to 

 them, and it is, accordingly, desirable that every horse- 

 man should have some knowledge of the construction 

 of the foot. 



Tlie size of a horse's feet ought to be in artistic pro- 

 portion to the general conformation of the animal. I 

 personally jDrefer to see the foot, if anything, on the 

 large side. Tlie fore feet are almost circular in shape, 

 while the hind rather incline to be oval. They should 

 be of equal size. The heels should be wide and of the 

 same height. The horn, or outer wall, should be fairly 

 smooth and free from grooves. The angle, or slojDe, of 

 this wall should be about 50 deg. The sole should be 

 concave, more so in the hind than the front feet. The 

 frog ought to be very prominent, especially towards the 

 heels, and well down, its province being to arrest con- 

 cussion, and the more use it gets the better for the 

 whole foot. 



