130 STABLE ECONOxMY. 



loose or broken nail, or a clench started, or if the horse be 

 cutting, let the smith be called at once. 



The Unshod Feet of Colts are often neglected. Some 

 colts contract thrushes before they are stabled ; without look- 

 ing for them occasionally, they may do much mischief before 

 they are discovered by accident. They ought not to be neg- 

 lected a single day. Others, especially those that do not 

 stand very well on their legs, frequently wear down the in- 

 side of the foot so much more than the outside, that the limbs 

 become more and permanently distorted. The feet should be 

 dressed every five or six weeks. 



Horses standing in Loose-Boxes, as stallions, hunters, 

 and racers, often are, for several successive weeks, frequently 

 have their shoes taken off. This is seldom a good practice, 

 but much depends upon the floor of the loose-box, if paved, 

 and not completely covered with litter, the bare feet are al- 

 most sure to receive injury. Pieces of the horn are broken 

 off, or the toe is worn down by pawing and scraping, to which 

 idle horses are much addicted. If the horse were to stand 

 here for twelve months, his feet in that time would become 

 tougher and more solid; but in the first three or four months 

 they are injured more than improved. The horse is wanted 

 before improvement has begun. If his foot be contracted, it 

 may be expanded a little by letting him stand unshod ; but 

 the floor must be soft and damp, or moist. If the sole be thin 

 and flat, yet strong enough to bear the horse's weight, it will 

 receive more support when the shoe is off than when it is on. 

 It will be less likely to descend farther. But the floor must 

 be such that it will press equally upon every part of the sole. 

 If a clay floor be improper, the box may be laid with tanner's 

 bark. Saw-dust, when in suflicient quantity, and frequently 

 changed, answers very well for a thin sole, and fine sand has 

 been employed for the same purpose. Short, soft litter, how- 

 ever, may supply the place of either. All that is wanted is 

 gentle and uniform pressure. A contracted foot may require 

 moisture, which may be given apart, in the clay-box, or by 

 means of swabs. Racers often have the hoof much broken, 

 and with no spare horn at the time they go into loose-boxes. 

 Further injury may be prevented by putting on narrow shoes, 

 like racing-plates, which save the crust, and permit the sole 

 to receive all the benefit of support, which a common shoe in 

 some measure prevents. 



In the Straw-Yard, a flat foot is sometimes mjured by 

 excess of moisture, and thrushes always spread in this place. 



