THE SHOE. 



727 



foot in various ways with the erroneous view of causing the heels 

 to " open out,'' or to prevent them from contracting. An exami- 

 nation of the animal's foot shows us that the horn at the heels 

 is secreted by the membrane which is wrapped round the ends 

 of the wings of the pedal bone. Hence, it is impossible to really 

 open out the heels without first fracturing the pedal bone. The 

 horny heels undoubtedly "wire in," if they are allowed to grow 

 too long; but this is a merei temporary condition. To use 

 Professor Williams' words, the hoof is a " simple horny box " which 

 neither expands nor contracts, as these terms are popularly under- 

 stood. The foot, like all other structures, is, of course, liable to 

 waste away from want of use; and it may be strengthened and 

 enlarged by being well exercised, though not by any mechanical 

 contrivances for opening it out. 



The Shoe. 



The following considerations should determine the shape of 

 the shoe: — 1st. The foot-surface of the shoe should be flat, as in 



Fig. 187. 



a concave shoe. 



188. — Section through 

 a seated shoe. 



a concave shoe (Fig. 187), so that the outer portion of the sole 

 may aid the wall in bearing weight. Seated sJioes, namely, those 

 which are bevelled on the foot-surface (Figs. 188 and 189), are, 

 for ordinary work, wrong in principle, and were invented in 

 those barbarous times when it was considered correct to pare the 

 sole so thin, that it would yield to the pressure of the thumb ; 

 hence, under this system, all weight had to be taken off the de- 

 nuded sole. The bevelling of a seated shoe may be utilised for 

 applying remedial agents to the sole in cases of disease or 

 injury. 



The use of seated shoes, esiDecially when the heels are allowed 

 to grow too long, increases the liability of the shod foot to 

 " pick up a stone," by leaving an over-hanging edge of iron on 

 the outer side of the depression between the heel and frog 

 Such an accident is almost impossible with a concave shoe (or- 

 dinary hunting shoe) attached to a properly-j^repared foot. If 

 the sole has been thinned and the bars cut away, the picking up 

 of a stone is apt, particularly when trotting down hill in harness, 



