532 Breeding aiid Management of Horses on a Farm. 
descent of the coffin-bone, when the weight of the body is thrown 
upon the foot, Avithout coming in contact, or very nearly so, with 
the ground, and thereby giving to it a convex surface by which the 
due expansion of the foot cannot be obtained. Being on the sub- 
ject of the foot, I may as well remark in this place that for the 
purpose of restraining as little as possible the motions of the sole, 
heel, and quarters, the nails of the shoe should be as few in num- 
ber as are consistent with keeping it in its proper situation, and 
should always be driven as far from the heel as possible, in order 
that the expansion of that important part may be restricted to the 
least possible extent ; and inasmuch as the inner quarter is weaker 
and more pliable than the outer, the shoe on that side should be 
held by one nail less than on the other, in order that its motion 
during progression may be free and unfettered. It is likewise 
most important that the sole of the foot be occasionally pared down 
until it will bend somewhat under strong pressure of the thumb ; 
for without this care it will in a few weeks become thickened and 
inelastic from the constant growth of the horn, and consequently 
incapable of yielding sufficiently to the pressure from above, from 
which state the internal soft parts will not fail to suffer to a certain 
extent, enduring, as they must, constant concussion from the hard 
substance of the coffin-bone pressing them against the inelastic sole. 
These precautions with respect to the feet, which are some among 
many others equally necessary to their preservation, are always to 
be sedulously attended to from the first moment the young horse 
is made to wear shoes. While at grass, and unshod, the natural 
wear and tear of the feet will generally prevent any undue or re- 
dundant growth of horn ; but in the stable there are few more 
vicious s})ecies of economy than putting heavy and long-lasting 
shoes upon any horse, especially if he be valuable, as in no instance 
should they be left upon the feet more than three weeks without 
being removed, and the sole pared to a proper consistence. The 
space between the bars and the frog, which is naturally filled up 
by a substance whose function is to keep up a proper degree of 
expansion of the heel, should on no account be pared away — a 
practice common to all country blacksmiths, and which they erro- 
neously term " opening the heels," but wliich in reality lays the 
foundation of their gradual contraction. For further information 
upon the important subject of the feet, upon whose perfectly 
sound and healthy state mainly depends the action of the horse, I 
must refer the farmer who desires to be made acquainted with 
their natural structure and functions to those veterinary works 
which have received the stamp of public approbation, my present 
object being merely to warn him against destroying, or if possible 
limiting, those motions which Nature has assigned to them, and 
wliich, when once lost, are seldom if ever regained. For the 
