Page:Horses and roads.djvu/63

 Rh Horse’s Foot,’ they are illustrated most admirably. The subject of them was a horse nine years old, which had always worn shoes since he was first put to work, and had the shoe removed on purpose for the investigation and experiment. The unshod foot was lifted up, and its contour traced with the greatest precision on a piece of board covered with paper. A similar board was then laid on the ground; the same foot was then placed upon it, and the opposite foot held up whilst it was again traced. The result was that it had expanded one-eighth part of an inch at the heels and quarters; and from the quarters towards the toe this gradually diminished, showing a space of four inches in front, two inches on each side of the centre of the toe, where no expansion whatever had taken place;  the tracings proving, at the same time, that expansion was only lateral, and that none took place in the length of the foot from heel to toe. He states that he had other horses which had before shown a still greater expansion than this; but this was only whilst the horse was standing still, and upon three legs.