therefore, to cause them to be moved improperly, with loss of speed and
often with injury to the limbs, we might hope to see fewer knock-kneed,
bow-legged, "splay-footed," "pigeon-toed," cow-hocked, interfering, and
paddling horses.

If in shortening the hoof one side wall is, from ignorance, left too
long or cut down too low with relation to the other, the foot will be
unbalanced, and in traveling the long section will touch the ground
first and will continue to do so till it has been reduced to its proper
level (length) by the increased wear which will take place at this
point. While this occurs rapidly in unshod hoofs, the shoe prevents wear
of the hoof, though it is itself more rapidly worn away beneath the high
(long) side than elsewhere, so that by the time the shoe is worn out the
tread of the shoe may be flat. If this mistake be repeated from month to
month, the part of the wall left too high will grow more rapidly than
the low side whose pododerm is relatively anemic as a result of the
greater weight falling into this half of the hoof, and the ultimate
result will be a "wry," or crooked foot.

THE CARE OF UNSHOD HOOFS.

The colt should have abundant exercise on dry ground. The hoofs will
then wear gradually, and it will only be necessary from time to time to
regulate any uneven wear with the rasp and to round off the sharp edge
about the toe in order to prevent breaking away of the wall.

Colts in the stable can not wear down their hoofs, so that every four to
six weeks they should be rasped down and the lower edge of the wall well
rounded to prevent chipping. The soles and clefts of the frog should be
picked out every few days and the entire hoof washed clean. Plenty of
clean straw litter should be provided. Hoofs that are becoming "awry"
should have the wall shortened in such a manner as to straighten the
foot-axis. This will ultimately produce a good hoof and will improve the
position of the limb.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Ground surface of a right fore hoof of the
regular form: a, a, wall; a-a, the toe; a-b, the side walls;
b-d, the quarters; c, c, the bars; d, d, the buttress; e,
lateral cleft of the frog; f, body of the sole; g, g', g", leafy
layer (white line) of the toe and bars; h, body of the frog; i, i,
branches of the frog; k, k, horny bulbs of the heels; l, middle
cleft of the frog.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY HOOF.

A healthy hoof (figs. 1 and 8) is equally warm at all parts, and i