120 THE HORSE 



ferent kinds of horses — as a thoroughbred and a 

 draft horse — and comparing them. 



Transfer now your study from the dead foot to 

 that of a young horse that has never been shod. 

 You will observe that the foot is symmetrical in 

 shape and that it stands on the ground level, with 

 neither toe nor heel tilted up; that the walls and 

 sole are of strong, firm texture ; and that the frog 

 is large and slightly yielding, like the heel of a 

 rubber boot. You will see, too, that the frog and 

 the walls, being a little lower than the sole, take 

 the chief part of the horse's weight, the frog do- 

 ing its full share. The whole foot is a beautiful 

 piece of mechanism, intended by nature for sup- 

 porting the horse and, by the elasticity of the 

 frog, for guarding itself against concussion when 

 on hard ground. If it were practicable never to 

 shoe it, a large part of the foot troubles that 

 horses have would be avoided. But as the foot 

 was intended mainly for a grassy surface and for 

 only occasional use on hard ground, the use of the 

 domesticated horse on hard roads makes shoeing 

 a necessity. 



Next look at the foot of a shod horse. In nine 

 cases out of ten you will find that the frog does 

 not bear upon the ground at all, its function as a 

 buffer thus being rendered useless and a double 

 duty thrown upon the walls, which now support 



