314 THE HORSE. 



of paring, tlian by carrying it to too great an extent. The act of paring 

 is a work of much more labour than the proprietor of tlie horse often 

 imagines; tiie smith, except he be overlooked, will give himself as little 

 trouble about it as he can ; and that which, in the unshod foot, would be 

 worn away by contact with the ground, is suffered to accumulate month 

 after month, until the elasticity of the sole is destroyed, and it can no 

 longer descend, and the functions of the foot are impeded, and foundation 

 is laid for corn, and contraction, and navicular disease, and inflammation. 

 That portion of horn should be left on the sole, which will defend the 

 internal parts from being bruised, and yet suffer the external sole to 

 descend. How is this to be measured? The strong pressure of tb<> 

 thumb of the smith will be the best guide. The buttress, that most 

 destructive of all instruments, being banished from the respectable forge, 

 the smith sets to work with his drawing-knife, and he removes the growth 

 of horn, until the sole will yield, although in the slightest possible degree, 

 to the very strong pressure of his thumb. The proper thickness of horn 

 will then remain. 



If the foot has been previously neglected, and the horn is become very 

 hard, the owner must not object if the smith resorts to some means to 

 soften it a little ; and if he takes one of his flat irons, 'and having heated it, 

 draws it over tlie sole, and keeps it a little while in contact with it. When 

 the sole is thick, this rude and apparently barbarous method can do no 

 harm, but it should never be permitted with the sole that is regularly 

 pared out. 



The quantity of horn to be removed in order to leave the proper degree 

 of thickness will vary with different feet. From the strong foot a great deal 

 must be taken. From the concave foot the horn may be i-emoved until 

 the sole will yield to a moderate pressure. From the fiat foot little need be 

 pared; while the pumiced foot will spare nothing but the ragged parts. 



The paring being nearly completed, the knife and the rasp of the smith 

 must be a little watched, or he will reduce the crust to a level with the 

 sole, and thus endanger the bruising of the sole by its pressure on the edge 

 of the seating. The crust should be reduced to a perfect level, all round, 

 but left a little higher than the sole. 



The heels will require very considerable attention. From the stress 

 which is thrown on the inner heel, and from the weakness of the quarter 

 there, it usually wears considerably faster than the outer one ; and, if an 

 equal portion of horn were pared from it, it would be left lower than the 

 outer heel. The smith should, therefore, accommodate his paring to the 

 comparative wear of the heels, and be very careful to leave them as 

 precisely level as possible. 



If the reader will recollect what we have said of the intention and action 

 of the bars, he will readily perceive that the smith should be checked 

 in his almost universal fondness for opening the heels, or, more truly, 

 removing that which is the main impediment to contraction. That portion 

 of the heels between the inflection of the bar and the frog should scarcely 

 be touched ; at least, nothing but the ragged and detached parts should be 

 cut away. The foot may not look so pretty, but it will last longer without 

 contraction. 



The bar likewise should be left fully prominent, not only at its first 

 inflection, but as it runs down the side of the frog. The heel of our shoe is 

 designed to rest partly on the heel of the foot, and partly on the bar, for 

 reasons that have been already stated. If the bar is weak, the growth of 

 it should be encouraged, and it should be scarcely touched at the shoeiujj 

 until it has attained a level with the crust. We recall to the recollection ot 



