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ON THE CONFORMATION OF HOUSES. 
riments I have made, and all tending to shew this motion. A 
horse’s hoof may spread or increase in shelving or growth ; but let 
me remark, that it is against the laws of force that an inclined 
cylinder, like the horse’s foot, should, as an action, expand late- 
rally by pressure being applied. If the foot were perfectly flat, and 
the horse were to tread upon a level hard surface, the declination 
of the foot could not go on, as an inclined cylinder could not act 
against a plane, except space were left to admit of the descent ; 
whereas, nature has so ordained, that a horse without shoes going 
upon natural dry soil, shall wear or curve the heels, as any one 
may readily see by a little observation ; and in this case it will 
be found that the curved heels, so long as the horse sustains his 
weight upon the foot, will come to the ground. Practitioners 
who use tips to horses’ feet cannot fail to have perceived this. 
The French were well acquainted with this peculiar wearing of 
toe and heel ; and their shoes, since La Fosse’s time, have been 
adapted accordingly, though the nature of the declination of the 
foot had not been understood, and no space was left between shoe 
and foot for the action ; hence the shoe is imperfect. 
The Art of properly preserving and defending the 
Foot of the horse is not merely handicraft, but it requires a 
knowledge of the structure, form, action, bearing, functions and 
proportion, growth and consumption, of the hoof; the different 
states the hoof assumes when shod and unshod, and the predis- 
posing causes which affect the hoof. Believing, as I do, that the 
spring, or yielding downwards and backwards, is the true action 
of the hoof I conceive that it is absolutely necessary that this 
action should be accommodated when the horse is shod. It is 
from the neglect of this practice that the heels at the inflexions 
being fixed points, the sensible parts opposite become bruised, 
producing extravasation of blood which we call corns ; an acci- 
dent which never happens, however thick the sole, when the 
action of the spring is allowed ; nor can a corn be cured, or the 
lameness relieved, so long as we do not take the pressure from 
the heel ; since, by using a bar shoe, or a three-quarter shoe — in 
fact, by some manner or other “springing the heel” — and by 
allowing the liberty of the descent of the foot at the heel, we 
shall usually get rid of the corn, without paring out the horn at 
the inflexions. 
The Texture of Horn varies with the Breeding of 
THE ANIMAL. The higher the breeding, the closer is the grain of 
the horn. The hoof varies in size and thickness of horn at various 
parts, according to the age of the animal ; and in horses of low 
breeding the horn is of a softer texture, and the feet are larger. 
The difference in forms of hoofs are altogether dependent on indi- 
