BRITTLE HOOF. 259 



No. It however shifts its situation. It presses upon 

 the sole ; and the sole being naturally concave, flattens; 

 and thus expands the lower part of the foot. When 

 the weight is taken on , in raising the foot, the sole 

 ascends with a kind of rebound ; and the frog ascends 

 too, with the same kind of springy action, and forces 

 itself against the lower part of the tendon. Thus the 

 lower part of the heels are expanded by the descent 

 of the sole; and the upper part by the elevation of 

 the frog. 



To assist in this, there is another elastic mechanism, 

 placed on the upper part of the side of the foot ; the 

 lateral cartilages. These receive the pressure of the 

 frog; they receive it without concussion or shock, 

 and they increase the expansive effect. A horse soon 

 becomes lame when these cartilages are inflamed, 

 and turn into bone. 



BRITTLE HOOF. 



This is a very serious inconvenience with some 

 horses, especially in hot and dry weather. The hoofs 

 chip away at every shoeing; until at last there is 

 scarcely nail-hold, and the farrier is compelled to take 

 a great deal more care, than smiths in general will 

 take, to avoid pricking the horse. 



This brittleness of the hoof is a natural defect in 

 some horses ; but in others it is brought on by utter 

 neglect. In such cases every care is necessary; and 

 often all that can be done is of little use. In the 

 majority of instances the horse will be required to 

 work on ; and then the best efforts must be used to 

 limit the mischief as much as possible. For this pur- 

 pose both stopping and dressing must be applied to 



