222 UOW TO SHOE A HORSE. 



distributed over tlie quarters and heels of both aides oi 

 the foot 



The bars are continuations of the wall, reflected at the 

 heels towards the centre of the foot, where they meet in a 

 point, leaving a triangular space between them for the 

 frog. 



The whole inner surface of the horny crust, from the 

 centre of the toe to the point where the bars meet, is every, 

 where lined with innumerable narrow, thin and projecting 

 horny plates, which extend in a slanting direction from 

 the upper edge of the wall to the line of junction between 

 it and the sole, and possess great elasticity. These pro- 

 jecting plates are the means of greatly extending the sur* 

 face of attachment of the hoof to the coffin bone, which is 

 likewise covered by a similar arrangement of projecting 

 plates, but of a highly vascular and sensitive character; 

 and these, dovetailing with the horny projections above- 

 named, constitute a union combining strength and elasticity 

 in a wonderful degree. 



The horny sole covers the whole inferior surface of the 

 foot, excepting the frog. In a well-formed foot it presents 

 an arched appearance and possesses considerable elasticity, 

 by virtue of which it ascends and descends, as the weight 

 above is either suddenly removed from it, or forcibly ap- 

 plied to it. This descending property of the sole calls for 

 our especial consideration in directing the form of the shoe • 

 for, if the shoe be so formed that the horny sole rests upon 

 it^ it cannot descend lower; and the sensible sole above, 

 becoming squeezed between the edges of the coffin bone 

 and the horn, produces inflammation^ and perhaps abscess. 

 The effect of this squeezing of the sensible sole is most 

 commonly witnessed at the angle of the inner heel, where 

 the descending heel of the coffin bone, forcibly pressing 

 Jbe vascular sole upon the horny sole, ruptures a small 



