OBSERVATIONS ON INJURIES, ETC., AMONG ARMY HORSES. 161 
call the brigade “ Z” and the battery “ W ” and ascertain 
how he is first branded : 
His right foot will be marked thus : And his left one thus : 
As these letters and numbers are subject to removal, con- 
sequent on the growth and periodical rasping of the ground 
surface of the crust, they require to be replaced in the sound 
horn ; it is therefore, not unusual, but the rule, to see, in- 
stead of four capital letters on the right foot, as many as 
seven, or the newly-made four with the upper two-thirds of 
the disappearing It H A. 
Here is a specimen of what we see every day ; right foot, 
thus : And the left one, thus : 
Fig. 3 . Fig. 4 . 
Now, as each of the above letters, &c., when burnt into 
the hoof, occupies a space measuring not less than three 
quarters of an inch square, it will easily be seen that no in- 
considerable surface and substance of comparatively recently 
formed horn-tissue must be totally destroyed by the red-hot 
iron. The depths of the brands vary according to the 
temper of the farrier and the temperament of the horse, 
some troopers objecting very much to the practice. 
In front of us are two iron brands, each composed of the 
letters R H A, joined together. By virtue of this arrange- 
