CHAPTER VII. 

 HORSES' FEET. 



The foot— What causes lameness in the stable— Observation and 

 explanation— Corns and mud fever— Goose grease and water for 

 horses' feet— Thrush and its treatment-Cracked heels. 



Perhaps there is no part of a horse neglected so much 

 as the feet, and as it is so very important that these should 

 be well attended to, I will give a chapter on this subject for 

 the benefit of those who do not understand horses and very 

 seldom give the feet a moment's thought. Many hundreds 

 of horses are ruined every year simply for want of a little 

 care being taken of their feet. I will endeavour to make 

 myself as plain as possible in this respect. Now it must be 

 remembered a horse's foot is wonderfully constructed. 

 Nature has provided it with a thick horn for a covering 

 round the outside, the middle part is covered with a 

 substance more elastic, which is called the frog, and the foot 

 itself is enclosed between the two, while the sole of the foot 

 is different from these two, being formed of a soft horny 

 substance. 



A great many people think that a horse's foot is simply 

 a foot, and only made for work. They not only think so 

 but act accordingly. They merely feed and work the 

 animal, and when its shoes are worn out send it to the 



