TH OF THE HOOF.

All parts of the hoof grow downward and forward with equal rapidity, the
rate of growth being largely dependent upon the amount of blood supplied
to the pododerm, or "quick." Abundant and regular exercise, good
grooming, moistness and suppleness of the hoof, going barefoot, plenty
of good feed, and at proper intervals removing the overgrowth of hoof
and regulating the bearing surface, by increasing the volume and
improving the quality of the blood flowing into the pododerm, favor the
rapid growth of horn of good quality; while lack of exercise, dryness of
the horn, and excessive length of the hoof hinder growth.

The average rate of growth is about one-third of an inch a month. Hind
hoofs grow faster than fore hoofs and unshod ones faster than shod ones.
The time required for the horn to grow from the coronet to the ground,
though influenced to a slight degree by the precited conditions, varies
in proportion to the distance of the coronet from the ground. At the
toe, depending on its height, the horn grows down in 11 to 13 months, at
the side wall in 6 to 8 months, and at the heels in 3 to 5 months. We
can thus estimate with tolerable accuracy the time required for the
disappearance of such defects in the hoof as cracks, clefts, etc.

Irregular growth is not infrequent. The almost invariable cause of this
is an improper distribution of the body weight over the hoof--that is,
an unbalanced foot. Colts running in soft pasture or confined for long
periods in the stable are frequently allowed to grow hoofs of excessive
length. The long toe becomes "dished"--that is, concave from the coronet
to the ground--the long quarters curl forward and inward and often
completely cover the frog and lead to contraction of the heels, or the
whole hoof bends outward or inward, and a crooked foot, or, even worse,
a crooked leg, is the result if the long hoof be allowed to exert its
powerful and abnormally directed leverage for but a few months upon
young plastic bones and tender and lax articular ligaments. All colts
are not foaled with straight legs, but failure to regulate the length
and bearing of the hoof may make a straight leg crooked and a crooked
leg worse, just as intelligent care during the growing period can
greatly improve a congenitally crooked limb. If breeders were more
generally cognizant of the power of overgrown and unbalanced hoofs to
divert the lower bones of young legs from their proper direction, and,