66 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



Now as to shoeing ; you will agree how important it 

 is when you think that a horse weighing half a ton is supported 

 on a piece of iron three-quarters of an inch thick. Also, 

 imagine the concussion and hammering which take place 

 in trotting half a dozen miles on a road as hard as granite. 

 The foot is formed by a kindly Nature in the most scientific 

 manner. The hard walls of the hoof are without feeling, 

 and are used to nail the shoe on to the foot. The shoe answers 

 no purpose other than to prevent the hoof being worn away 

 by contact with hard surfaces. The frog is that wedge-shaped 

 piece of indiarubber-like substance let into the foot, the 

 function of which is to take the concussion, therefore 

 the frog should touch the ground as much as possible ; 

 owing also to its shape it prevents slipping. The frog 

 should be developed as much as possible. You sometimes 

 see it shrunk to the size of your little finger, and 

 quite useless for the purpose for which it was designed. 

 The frog does not need cutting ; portions which would other- 

 wise fall off may have to be removed, but no more. If the 

 frog is not coming to the ground, lower the feet by rasping 

 the walls. The principle of shoeing should be to let the 

 frog bear on the ground as much as possible. The shoe should 

 be made to fit the foot, not the foot the shoe. Many farriers 

 rasp the hoof in front till the horse seems to be club-footed 

 and stands much too upright on his feet. The soles — those 

 portions between the frog and wall — should not be pared. 

 If the toe requires it, shortening should be done by rasping 

 the ground surface and not by dumping the toe. A 

 hunting shoe should weigh less than a pound and be made 

 of concave iron, fullered ; that is, with a groove cut for the 

 nail heads. Every three weeks or so the shoes should be 

 removed and, unless worn out, the same shoe put back 

 again after the walls where the weight comes have been 

 rasped level. The soles are sensitive and liable to injury from 

 stones, etc., if they are pared by the farrier to look 

 nice and neat. The removal of shoes is to ensure an 

 even distribution of weight. I do not suggest that the 

 toes should be allowed to get so long that they become 

 thin and shelly, but they should not be rasped till 

 the foot is unduly shortened. If you cast a shoe out 



