Breadinfj and Manafjemcnt of Horarx on a Fann. 531 
with long reins, but unattaclied to any vehicle, the man who 
drives them running behind, and being furnished with a whip 
to keep them up to the proper pace. By this means, being 
guided in every direction, made to turn, back, &c., they will, 
when harnessed, be much less raw and unhandy than when 
simply broken in to draw by ploughing and harrowing, to which 
work they may be put upon light soils when about three years 
old. And here let me remark that, if the farmer exact but 
gentle work from his young stock, and can manage to employ 
them upon soft ground, the longer he can avoid having them 
shod the better; shoeing at an early age being the bane of 
young horses, and frequently crippling their feet so as to render 
them almost worthless. 
Many people have an idea that the hoof of the horse, from its 
apparent strength and solidity, is a part incapable of motion, and 
are totally unaware of the internal structure of the foot and of the 
change of position which its component parts undergo when a 
horse is in action. I shall not here dilate upon the different sub- 
stances, as bones, ligaments, &c. &c., of which the internal parts 
of the horse's foot are composed, and which may be found elabo- 
rately described in many treatises upon the horse, but shall simply 
content myself with noticing the fact that, during progression, the 
foot of the horse, in its natural state, when unfettered by any shoe, 
not only expands laterally at the quarters and heel, but likewise 
that the sole of the hoof, which in the sound and healthy state is 
concave, causes this expansion by being pressed downwards and 
somewhat flattened by the weight 01 the animal being thrown upon 
the coffin-bone, which lies within the hoof. This lateral expansion 
being necessary to admit of the natural action of the diflerent 
parts contained within the crust of the foot, and likewise of their 
growth while the horse is young, must to a certain extent be. 
cramped and confined by the application of a shoe at any time, 
and more particularly at an eaily age, when it not only restricts 
the functions, but also the proper development of the foot. 
The part immediately under the horny sole is a soft body, called 
" the sensitive sole, ' and the frog of the foot likewise covers a 
substance of a similar nature. Were the external portions of the 
horse's foot therefore totally incapable of motion it is manifest that 
the weight of the body, when thrown upon the foot, would bruise 
the internal parts by compressing them against a hard and unyield- 
ing substance, and by so doing would speedily cause inflammation 
and lameness ; a result which very frequently occurs from continued 
bad shoeing, by which the motions of the more expansile portions 
of the foot, the quarters and heel, are improperly restricted. Hence 
also the reason why horses with flat feet are to a certain extent un- 
sound ; the sole being incapable of being pushed downwards by the 
VOL. v. 2 N 
