Just as the food and exercise of the horse
						must be attended to in order that he may keep sound, so his feet must be
						cared for. Now damp and slippery floors ruin even well-formed hoofs. In
						order that they may not be damp, the floors should have a slope to carry off
						the wet, and, that they may not be slippery, they should be paved all over
						with stones, each one about the size of the hoof. Such floors, indeed, have
						another advantage because they harden the feet of the horses standing on
						them. To take the next point: the groom must lead
						out the horse to clean him, and must loose him from the stall after the
						morning feed, that he may return to his evening feed with more appetite. Now
						the stableyard will be of the best form and will strengthen the feet if he
						throws down and spreads over it four or five loads of round stones, the size
						of a fist, about a pound in weight, and surrounds them with a border of iron
						so that they may not be scattered. Standing on these will have the same
						effect as if the horse walked on a stone road for some time every day.