428 
A. S. ALEXANDER. 
iiig in a canting of the foot which cannot but act injuriously 
upon the limb, and all such overgrowth, whether at toe or quar¬ 
ter, may lead to serious cracks that prove difficult to cure after¬ 
ward, but which may be easily prevented by timely trimming. 
Such interference with hoof-growth consists merely in reduc¬ 
ing the length of the toe and rasping the rough edges of the 
walls so that the foot shall come squarely in contact with the 
ground. The frog should be let alone, nor does the sole require 
any paring. Keep the frog in contact with the ground and the 
foot will develop a sound normal shape, but leave the walls and 
the toe alone and the frog will be likely to shrivel up, recede 
into the sole, as it were, and so lose its most important office. 
This trimming of feet does not apply to growing colts only, 
but also to the feet of unshod horses confined in stables or small 
paddocks where wear is limited by lack of action. Where horses 
are turned out for the winter the feet should be examined at 
least once a month, and all surplus growth of toe and wall re¬ 
moved by the rasp. Where this is done many an incipient case 
of thrush will also be detected and stopped before the frog has 
been destroyed and the horses will be ready for spring work with 
sound feet instead of contracted heels and a corresponding ten¬ 
dency to lameness. 
Many a good representative stallion of the imported draft 
breeds has brought his breed into disrepute in Western districts 
because of his unsound feet, but the fault lay usually in the 
owner’s lack of proper attention to the feet rather than in the 
feet themselves or the particular breed of the horse. When a 
stallion is purchased the foot should be examined at time of 
purchase, and if it is sound then it can be kept sound by proper 
care, trimming and shoeing ; but no foot accustomed to such care 
can remain sound when left unshod, untrimmed, and allowed 
to stand upon a manure poultice for weeks at a time to contract 
thrush or other evils the badlv-treated foot is heir to. “ No 
foot, no horse ” is a truism if a horse-“ chestnut,” but in nine 
cases out of ten the foot is all right at first, as is the breed, but 
bad management ruins Nature’s work, and man’s achievements 
in breeding and the blame falls always in the wrong place. In¬ 
telligent efforts toward breeding profitable grade horses may 
then prove abortive through lack of attention to the growing 
unshod foot, for such inattention is a prolific cause of bent knees, 
straight and “ cocked ” ankles, corns, quarter-cracks, thrush, and 
many other troubles which depreciate the value of the horse. 
Nor should the growing steer or sheep receive less atten- 
