278 NAVIN ox THE HORSE. 



Let the smith ask himself what the frog is there for, and 

 if he can not see any evil in it, let him not cut it away, for 

 sm-ely nature intended it for some useful purpose, and he 

 should not ignorantly destroy it. 



But it has two useful purposes. It serves as a wedge to ex- 

 pand the hoof and let the sole spring freely, and, at the same 

 time, sustains a part of the weight of the horse. It is also a 

 shield for the sensitive frog, a very important organ which 

 rests on it. ^ 



The cutting away of the frog lessens its bulk, causes it to 

 become dry and hard, and contract, thus permitting the heels 

 to wire in. Thrush or quitter may be the result of cutting 

 down the frog. The practice will invariably bring about the 

 destruction of the frog. The best rule that can be pursued is 

 never to apply the knife to the frog. Scales or splinters toward 

 the point of the frog might be cut oif ; but I fear granting even 

 this privilege, for some might go even further. JNTature will 

 not fail to remove these scales soon. 



Cutting the Inside of tlie Crust. — It is a very common practice 

 to cut down the inner part of the tread and rasp off the side 

 of the crust to prevent interfering. This is a very injurious 

 error. The lowering of the inner heel throws the fetlock-joint 

 inward toward the line in which the other foot moves, and 

 really makes the difficulty worse. It is also very likely to 

 produce corns to cut down the heel in this way. 



Rasping off the side of the crust may do something to pre- 

 vent interfering. But it weakens and dries up the quarter, and 

 this evil far overbalances any good it may do. 



The only way to successfully prevent interfering, is to bring 

 .e outer side lower than the inside. This may be done by 

 j^aring the outer side very low, or by putting on a shoe v/ith 

 a web, thick on the inside and thin on the outside. Nothing 

 but injury can result from one-sided calkins, which are some- 

 times used. On soft ground they sink and do no good, and, 

 indeed, will sink in most soils and roads, and, therefore, are use- 



