CHAPTER VII

CARE OF THE FEET

There is no part of a Shire to which more attention should be paid than the feet, and it is safe to say that the foot of the present-day cart-horse is infinitely better than were those of his ancestors of forty, or even twenty, years ago. The shape as well as the size has been improved till the donkey-shaped hoof is rarely met with, at least in show animals of this breed.

It is always advisable to keep the feet of foals, yearlings, and two-year-olds attended to whether they are required for show or not, and if they have their feet quietly picked up and the edges rasped, the heels being lowered a little when necessary, the hoof is prevented from breaking, and a better and more durable hoof well repays the trouble, moreover the task of fixing the first set of shoes--which used to be quite a tough job for the smith when the colts were neglected till they were three years old--is rendered quite easy.

Except for travelling on the road, or when required for show, there is no advantage in keeping shoes on young Shires, therefore they should be taken off when lying idle, or if worked only on soft ground shoes are not actually necessary.

Where several are lying together, or even two, those with shoes on may cause ugly wounds on their fellows, whereas a kick with the naked hoof is not often serious. There is also a possibility that colts turned away to grass with their shoes on will have the removing neglected, and thus get corns, so that the shoeless hoof is always better for young Shires so long as it is sound and normal. If not, of course, it should be treated accordingly.

In a dry summer, when the ground is very hard, it may be advisable to use tips so that the foot may be preserved, this being especially necessary in the case of thin and brittle hoofs.

For growing and preserving good strong feet in Shire horses clay land seems to answer best, seeing that those reared on heavy-land farms almost invariably possess tough horn on which a shoe can be affixed to last till it wears out.

For the purpose of improving weak feet in young Shires turning them out in cool clay land may be recommended, taking care to assist the growth by keeping the heels open so that the frog comes into contact with the ground.

Weakness in the feet has been regarded, and rightly so, as a bad fault in a Shire stallion, therefore good judges have always been particular to put bottoms first when judging. Horses of all kinds have to travel, which they cannot do satisfactorily for any length of time if their feet are ill-formed or diseased, and it should be borne in mind that a good or a bad foot can be inherited. “No foot, no horse,” is an old and true belief. During the past few years farmers have certainly paid more attention to the feet of their young stock because more of them are shown, the remarks of judges and critics having taught them that a good top cannot atone for poor bottoms, seeing that Shires are not like stationary engines, made to do their work standing. They have to spend a good part of their lives on hard roads or paved streets, where contracted or tender feet quickly come to grief, therefore those who want to produce saleable Shires should select parents with the approved type of pedals, and see that those of the offspring do not go wrong through neglect or mismanagement.

There is no doubt that a set of good feet often places an otherwise moderate Shire above one which has other good points but lacks this essential; therefore all breeders of Shires should devote time and attention to the production of sound and saleable bottoms, remembering the oft-quoted line, “The top may come, the bottom never.” In diseases of the feet it is those in front which are the most certain to go wrong, and it is these which judges and buyers notice more particularly.

If fever manifests itself it is generally in the fore feet; while side-bone, ring-bone, and the like are incidental to the front coronets.

Clay land has been spoken of for rearing Shires, but there are various kinds of soil in England, all of which can be utilized as a breeding ground for the Old English type of cart-horses.

In Warwickshire Shires are bred on free-working red land, in Herts a chalky soil prevails, yet champions abound there; while very light sandy farms are capable of producing high-class Shires if the farmer thereof sets his mind on getting them, and makes up for the poorness or unsuitability of the soil by judicious feeding and careful management.

It may be here stated that an arable farm can be made to produce a good deal more horse forage than one composed wholly of pasture-land, therefore more horses can be kept on the former.

Heavy crops of clovers, mixtures, lucerne, etc., can be grown and mown twice in the season, whereas grass can only be cut once. Oats and oat straw are necessary, or at least desirable, for the rearing of horses, so are carrots, golden tankard, mangold, etc; consequently an arable-land farmer may certainly be a Shire horse breeder.

This is getting away from the subject of feet, however, and it may be returned to by saying that stable management counts for a good deal in the growth and maintenance of a sound and healthy hoof.

Good floors kept clean, dry litter, a diet in which roots appear, moving shoes at regular intervals, fitting them to the feet, and not rasping the hoof down to fit a too narrow shoe, may be mentioned as aids in retaining good feet.

As stated, the improvement in this particular has been very noticeable since the writer’s first Shire Horse Show (in 1890), but perfection has not yet been reached, therefore it remains for the breeders of the present and the future to strive after it.

There was a time when exhibitors of “Agricultural” horses stopped the cracks and crevices in their horses’ feet with something in the nature of putty, which is proved by reading a report of the Leeds Royal of 1861, where “the judges discovered the feet of one of the heavy horses to be stopped with gutta-percha and pitch.”