HORSES' HOOFS 29 



a measure , by keeping the hoof shortened up as 

 much as possible, thereby reducing the tension 

 on the supporting tissues of the fetlock. In the 

 same way the elasticity of tread can be promoted 

 in a straight-pasterned horse by reasonable 

 length of toe. 



Nature in some instances supplies compensa- 

 tions for defects of formation. In the fore ex- 

 tremity, the oblique shoulder, long arm and fore- 

 arm and smooth flexion of the joints may in a 

 measure counteract the injurious consequences 

 of calf-knees and unduly short and straight pas- 

 terns. Added to this there may be that lightness 

 of step, with which some horses are endowed, 

 that has its determining cause in the nervous sys- 

 tem, and which so much aids the wearing ability 

 of the legs and feet. 



Fleming, who is a justly recognized authority 

 on horseshoeing, gives as a guide to determine 

 the amount a horse's hoof should be reduced at 

 the time of shoeing, that the hoof should be short- 

 ened by the rasp until it is flush with what is 

 called the "white line." The "white line" is that 

 portion of the hoof that forms the connecting 

 medium between the outer margin of the sole and 

 the inner and lower margin of the wall. Its out- 

 line is very clearly defined in a freshly rasped 

 hoof. Fleming, doubtless, assumes that the sole 

 and white line have not been reduced with the 



