84 ARTISTIC HORSE-SHOEING. 



trated, hardened, and hollow, to suit the altered ph3^sical 

 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 be- 

 come 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 meonths. 



The pi^ocess of growth can be greatl}^ 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, Avill induce not 

 only a more rapid formation, but one in which increased 

 thickness is a marked feature. 



