THE CARE OF HORSES. 315. 
the bottom; but just before we brought up against 
the curbstone, I turned the horse’s head gently to the 
left, and he, understanding what was wanted, jumped 
lightly to the sidewalk, and so kept his feet. 
The second great principle in shoeing is that the 
foot should be allowed to come as nearly flat to the 
ground as possible. The office of the frog is to sus- 
tain a part of the concussion which the foot and leg 
receive when the horse steps; and this it cannot do 
when the shoe is so built up on corks or otherwise 
that it keeps the frog clear of the ground. When the 
frog is thus deprived of its natural use, the blood fails 
to circulate in it, and it becomes atrophied or diseased. 
In such a case, also, there is apt to be a consequent 
trouble in the legs, for of course the strain upon the 
legs is regulated by the shape and position of the 
hoofs; and this brings us to the third great principle 
in shoeing, which is, that the horse should stand upon 
his feet in the manner that nature intended. It is 
plain that if his toe be left too long, or pared too 
short, or if the hoof is so treated as to be longer or 
higher on one side than the other, or if the shoe is 
put on too far forward or too far back, —#in these 
and in many other cases that might be mentioned, the 
legs do not bear their natural relation to the foot. 
The consequence is that some muscles and tendons of 
the leg do less, and some do more, than their quota of 
work. If, for example, the slope of the hoof in front 
is too great, the back tendons and joints of the limbs 
must be strained. 
Even Maud S. was suffering from swollen fore legs 
and strained tendons when she came into the hands of 
1 See page 249, for the Charlier system of shoeing. 
