MANUAL FOR ARMY HORSESHOERS. 53 



44- In general. — The foot should be prepared so that it will ap- 

 proximate as nearly as possible to a state of nature, and only such 

 trimming is allowed as is absolutely necessary for the purpose of 

 fitting and securing the shoe. 



TO LEVEL THE FOOT. 



45. Grasp the rasp with the right hand, the left hand near the 

 far end, left palm resting on the upper surface to act as a guide. 

 Place the coarse side of the rasp against the ground surface of the 

 wall on the right half of the foot, and with long, even strokes, smooth 

 off the foot where it has been cut ^vith the nippers. Then work on 

 the buttress and bring it to the same level as the quarter and toe, 

 removing such horn as mav be necessary and no more. Beginners 

 usually bear too strongly with the right hand and remove more with 

 the hind part of the rasp than with the front part. Avoid this fault. 

 Frequent tests should be made to avoid removing too much of the 

 horn. For this purpose, take the foot in both hands and press with 

 the thumbs near the white line; if the sole yields ever so slightly 

 no more horn should be rasped away or lameness will result. Work 

 carefully and slowly on the flat fool, which has a thinner sole than 

 the cup-shaped foot. 



For the left half of the foot reverse the hands on the rasp and pro- 

 ceed as above. This half will be found more difficult at first on 

 account of the awkward position, and as a result the work will often 

 be slighted. Experience with beginners shows that the right- 

 handed man leaves the left half too high four times out of five. 



To determine the level of the foot, the sheer raises the foot to a 

 position for sighting over the bearing or ground surface; let the foot 

 hang naturally and do not press against it with the thumb, as this 

 is apt to disturb the pastern and foot axes and make the foot appear 

 level when it is not; sight over each side separately, from the but- 

 tress to the toe, and note any irregularities which may appear in 

 these two surfaces; now continue the plane of the quarter and heel, 

 on one side across or through the horny frog to the opposite side of 

 the foot, for the purpose of determining whether or not the two sides 

 are in the same plane. This may be done with the eye by drawing 

 an imaginary line, or by placing the smooth surface of the rasp on a 

 level with the bearing surface of the foot, as indicated by the line 

 €—f. To determine the level of this plane, draw an imaginary verti- 

 cal line through the cleft of the frog, as shown bv the line c — d. If 



