290 STATE BOAKD OF AGKICULTUEE. 



miserable remains of a frog, such as may be seen in the feet of most horses long 

 accustomed to be shod. 



There are very few things so little varied in nature as the form of the ground 

 surface of horses feet, for whether the hoof be high heeled and upright, or low 

 heeled and flat, large or small, broad or narrow, the identical form of ground 

 surface is maintained in each, so long as it is left entirely to nature's guidance. 

 The outer quarter, back to the heel, is curved considerably and abruptly out- 

 wards, while the inner quarter is carried back in a gradual and easy curve. 

 The advantage of this form is so obvious that it is matter for wonder it should 

 ever be interfered with. The enlarged outer quarter extends the base and 

 increases the hold of the foot upon the ground, while the straighter inner quar- 

 ter lessens the risk of striking the foot against the opposite leg. 



It should surely be our object to retain these valuable qualities as long as we 

 can, and not lightly sacrifice either of them to a false notion of what may be 

 considered a prettier form. Whenever we observe nature steadily persevering 

 in one form, or one plan, depend upon it it is not within the range of man's 

 ingenuity to amend it, and he will better serve his own interest in accommo- 

 dating his views to her laws than in attempting to oppose them. 



Before the foot can he prepared for receiving a new shoe it will be necessary 

 to remove the old one, in doing which great care should be taken to raise all 

 the clhiches, and every approach to violently wrenching it off should be scrupu- 

 lously avoided, dragging the nails witli their turned down ends through the 

 crust, not only inflicts pain upon the horse by their pressure on the sensitive 

 parts within the hoof, as is evinced by his flinching and struggling to free his 

 foot from the grasp of the smith, but separates the fibres of horn beyond what 

 is necessary, and interferes with the future nail-hold. If the shoe resists a 

 moderate effort to displace it, one or two of the nails that appear to retain it the 

 most should be partly punched out. By this small trouble much future incon- 

 venience will be saved, the enlargement of the nail holes prevented, and the 

 crust left in a firmer and sounder state to nail to. 



The foot being relieved of the shoe should have the edges of the crust well 

 rasped.' To do this effectually requires a degree of force calculated to arouse 

 the fears of the uninformed, and to make them suspect something like wanton 

 destruction of the hoof. It is, however, only removing those parts which in the 

 unshod foot would have been worn away by contact with the ground. 



The operation of paring out the foot is a matter requiring both skill and judg- 

 ment ; and is moreover a work of some labor when properly performed. It will 

 be found tliat the operator errs much of tener by removing too little than too 

 much ; at least it is so with the parts that ought to be removed, which are some- 

 times almost as hard and unyielding as a flint-stone, and in their most favorable 

 state require considerable exertion to cut through. The frog, on the other hand,, 

 offers so little resistance to the knife, and presents such an even, smooth, clean 

 looking surface when cut through, that it requires more philosophy tlian falls 

 to the share of most smiths to resist the temptation to slice it away, despite a 

 knowledge that it would be far wiser to leave it alone. 



It would be impossible to frame any rule applicable to the paring out of all 

 horses' feet, indeed to the feet of the same horses at all times ; for instance, it 

 is manifestly unwise to pare the sole as thin in a hot, dry season, when the roads 

 are broken up and strewn with loose stones, as in a moderately wet one, when 

 they are well bound and even, for in the former case the sole is in perpetual 

 danger of being bruised by violent contact with loose stones, and consequently 



