52 



MANUAL FOR ARMY HORSESHOERS. 



the nippers. The knife must never be used on the bars or the 

 frog. The bars strengthen the hoof and assist in its expansion. 

 Cutting, therefore, weakens them and prevents them from performing 

 their function. Never use a knife on the hoof of a horse that has 

 been running barefoot, nor on flat feet, either natural or diseased. 



Ragged parts of the frog may be cut away by careful use of the 

 nippers. 



In removing surplus growth of horn it is safer to lower the toe 

 first, for, if the heels be lowered and, later, it is found that a cor- 

 responding amount of horn can not be cut from the toe, it will be 

 impossible to put the foot at the proper angle without the use of 

 heel calks or a thickened web at the heels. 



Taking the nippers in both hands so that the handles are per- 

 pendicular to the plane of the bearing surface, begin at the last 

 nail hole and cut until the white line shows plainly and live horn 

 has almost been reached; start with a thin cut or bite and gradually 

 increase the depth of bite to the point of the toe; continue along 

 the opposite wall to the last nail hole on that side, gradually 

 diminishing the bite. 



43. Heavy horses with wide feet and horses raised on soft, marshy 

 pastures usually have fiat feet. The natural flat foot, although 

 particularly liable to bruises of the sole, must be classed as a sound 

 foot and must be distinguished from one that is flat as a result of 

 disease. 



On account of its shape, the natural flat foot is sometimes called 

 "flare foot." The wall in such a foot wears away (or is trimmed 

 away) at a more oblique angle than in the ordinary upright foot, 

 and it is therefore frequently necessary, in the preparation, to 

 remove a part of the outer edge of the wall in order that the nails 

 may be driven in the white line where they belong. 



Thg preceding figures clearly explain this case, which must be 

 remembered as the only case where it is permitted to rasp the outside 

 of the wall. 



