THE HORSE’S FOOT. 
349 
examine as briefly as possible some of them. Proof of its signifi¬ 
cance is nowhere more forcibly presented than from its pre-his- 
toric history. In those remote ages, as an excellent friend has 
shown me, it resembled a paw, adapted to floundering about on 
the soft, swampy, lacustrine ground peculiar to a very remote 
period, but as the earth surface became harder and drier a 
corresponding change became necessary in the extremities, the 
hoofs began a gradual process of development, which in turn 
modified not only the form and character of the limbs, but all 
parts of the body as well. 
Farther evidence of the influence the character of the soil ex¬ 
erts is to be found in the present great variety of hoofs, each 
peculiar to different sections of country. 
We are told that “ about the third or fourth month of foetal 
life the hoof begins to form under a soft gelatinous substance, 
which at birth soon wears off, disclosing the sole, wall and frog 
already formed.” Among the influences that affect it in its 
future history are: Parental Characteristics —the shape and 
capacity of the pelvic cavity and adjacent parts of the mare; the 
health, especially of the mare, whether the subject of rheumatoid 
or other diathesis ; whether a sufferer from accidentally diseased or 
deformed limbs, inducing possibly, abnormal reflex effects, the 
position of the limbs in utero, accidents during parturition, etc. 
The other influences that 1 will call your attention to are ; 
Time of Parturition —whether the foal at birth is kept for weeks 
or months on a dry stable floor or other unsuitable place, or in 
pasturage, such as nature intended and the delicate little hoofs 
required. Whether reared in the north, with the usual six 
months of imprisonment each winter, or further south, where 
plenty of outdoor exercise can be had all the year round, so 
essential to muscular development and insuring an amount of 
tear and wear , without which no hoof can possibly be strong and 
hardy. The quality of such tissues as the skin, hair and hoofs, 
whether coarse or fine; the climate, whether wet or dry, cold or 
hot; the soil, whether low meadow or dry upland. There is still 
another influence demanding careful study— Heredity. 
No one can deny the importance of this subtle agency, 
