THE TYPES AND CLASSES OF HORSES 87 



to this, Hayes states 15 that "the horn of the wall, 

 sole and frog should be thick, hard and tough, so as to 

 resist in an efficient manner the effect of wear. Moisture 

 has a well marked softening and weakening influence on 

 the horn, and consequently affects the form of the foot. "We 

 find that the drier the climate, the stronger is the horn of 

 horses there reared, the more upright the hoofs, and 

 the more concave are the soles. When the horn of the wall 

 and sole is weak, it cannot efficiently support the weight 

 thrown on the leg, and the foot will have a tendency to 

 become flat. The feet of horses bred in Australia, for in- 

 stance, are stronger than those produced in England, ow- 

 ing to the climate being drier. . . . The great trouble 

 with heavy cart horses in England is the weakness of their 

 hoofs, the horn of which, as a rule, is no.t nearly so strong 

 as that of well bred horses ; although the strain which falls 

 on it is much greater than that which tries the tenacity of 

 the horn of the feet of saddle horses Considering the 

 greater size of the muscles and bones of the draft animal, 

 we might expect the horn of his hoofs would be proportion- 

 ately stronger than that of the half bred. The fact that it 

 is not stronger, is a proof that English cart horses are de- 

 ficient in one of the most important points of usefulness. 

 Veterinary surgeons in practice in England and Scotland 

 tell us that the large majority (about nine-tenths) of cart 

 horses which come to them for treatment, are foot cases." 

 The horn of the hoof should be free from cracks and all 

 roughness. A dark color is quite generally preferred, many 

 believing a white hoof has less wearing resistance than a 

 dark one. There is really little evidence on that point. 

 Judges should examine the feet with great care, and dis- 

 criminate without hesitation where pronounced defects 

 occur. 



The position of the front legs and feet should be such 

 as to result in the least effort when in motion, to secure 

 maximum results from a draft point of view. The subject 



16 Points of the Horse, London, 3d ed., 1904, p. 299. 



