252 THB HORSE. 



injury on the foot. If the wall has not been SufEciently reduced' in lev- 

 eling the foot, or if the shoe used is too small, the rasp is required tore- 

 duce the projecting parts. Often, indeed, when there. is not eveU this 

 pretext, the whole surface of the foot is subjected to its relentless touch. 

 No procedure could well be devised which would be more hurtful to thfe 

 foot. In its natural state the entire hoof, from the coronet to the sole 

 level, is covered by a fine coating of natural varnish, thickest at the up 

 per margin and gradually becoming thinner as it descends. Under cover 

 of this beneficent curtain the new horn is secreted and protected until it 

 has attained maturity. The moisture secreted by the animal economy, 

 necessary to the perfection of the horn, is retained within it, and the 

 prejudicial influences of alternating drought and moisture are set at de- 

 fiance. In a very dry atmosphere like ours it is of great importance 

 that this beautiful shield should be preserved and fostered, and no name 

 is bad enough for a custom which, to serve no good purpose, robs the 

 foot of a necessary protection which it is beyond the power of art to imi- 

 tate or replace. 



Winter Shoeingf, The subject of winter shoeing presents, in many 

 sections of the country, fresh difficulties, for now the shoe is required, 

 in the case of all classes of horses, to discharge a double duty; to afford 

 foot-hold as well as guard against undue wear. Various patterns of shoes 

 have from time to time been invented to meet this double requirement, but 

 the commonest of all, fashioned with shoe and heel calks or calkins, is, 

 faulty though it be, probably, all things considered, the one which best 

 suits the requirements of the case. It should, however, never be lost sight 

 of that the shorter, the sharper, and the smaller the calkins are, so long 

 as they answer the purpose which called them into existence, so much 

 the better for the foot that wears them. High calkins, while they con- 

 fer no firmer foot-hold, are potent means of inflicting injury both on the 

 foot itself and the superincumbent limb at large. It is only from that 

 portion of the catch which enters the ground surface that the horse de- 

 derives any benefit in the shape of a foothold, and it must be apparent 

 to the meanest capacity that long calkins, which do not penetrate the 

 hard, uneven ground, are so many levers put into the animal's possession 

 to enable if not compel him to wring his feet, rack his hmbs, and inflict 

 untold tortures on himself. 



I have laid particular stress on this subject, as I am of opinion that 

 the presence of navicular disease, a dire malady from which horses used 

 for agricultural labor should enjoy a practical immunity, is traceable 



