438 HORSE-SHOEING 



be defective, and all must be proportionate. A foot denuded of horn may 

 have its sensitive portions injured, and a foot covered by an excessive 

 or disproportionate hoof may so destroy the balance of the limb as to 

 cause grave lesions, resulting in lameness. 



Shoeing is necessary to protect the foot by preventing wear of hoof, 

 but shoeing l)y preventing wear leads inevitably to excessive growth of 

 horn. Good shoeing, then, entails regular removal of shoes and systematic 

 reduction of the overgrowth of horn. Before a shoe can be properly placed 

 upon a foot, the hoof must be prepared for it, and this operation requires 

 for its skilful performance a knowledge of the normal form of a horse's foot, 

 of the proper proportion of its various parts, and some idea of the right 

 relative position of the foot to the limb. 



PREPARATION OF FEET FOR SHOEING 



The first step in the operation of shoeing a horse is to prepare the lioof 

 for the shoe. As a rule the hoof is overgrown, and the farrier has to 

 reduce it to proper proportions. He has also to produce a level bearing 

 surface upon which a shoe can rest securely. The first question to 

 determine is, what is the natural bearing surface of the hoof? On soft 

 ground the whole lower surface of a hoof takes a bearing, because the 

 ground yields, and allows the frog, sole, and lower border of wall all to 

 take weioht. On hard oround this is not so. The sole is arched, and on 

 a level surface only rests on its abutment with the wall. If we examine 

 the worn part of an unshod foot we find that the border of the wall, 

 with a little of the sole to which it is connected, is marked by contact 

 with the ground, and that the frog also shows evidence of wear. As a 

 shoe is only to protect the hoof these parts are indicated as the natural 

 bearing surfaces, and we follow nature in attempting to produce a 

 similar surfoce by artificial means. With a rasp the farrier removes so 

 much of the lower border of the wall as will reduce the foot to a pro- 

 portionate form. He uses his rasp so that a level bearing is formed from 

 the heel to the toe. He must leave as much horn on the foot as is 

 necessary to protect it from injury^ and he had better err on the side of 

 leaving too much rather than too little. Some hoofs are so overgrown that 

 their reduction with a rasp is tedious, and a layer of horn all round the 

 circumference of the wall is more easily removed with a hammer and steel 

 blade known as a " toeing knife ". Properly used on a strong foot this 

 method is unobjectionable, but on weak, soft feet it is liable to abuse by 

 removal of too much horn. The whole of the superfluous horn must never 

 be taken away with the " toeing knife ", as it does not leave a level bearing 



