THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 29 



know which part is hig'h and which is low. It would not 

 do for me to say, " Trim all feet alike," because all feet are 

 not alike. That is why I say there is not enoug'h attention 

 given to placing horses' feet in the right position. For in- 

 stance, a horse comes to the shop, and the owner saj^s : 

 '* This horse is lame and I want you to shoe him." The 

 smith takes off the shoes, or sets his man at it, and tells 

 him to pare the feet. He does so, and generall3' takes otf 

 as much in one place as in another. The smith then fits 

 the shoes level, it is supposed, and they are driven on. The 

 horse goes off better, perhaps, for a day or two, then it is 

 the same trouble over again. 



Perhaps the horse is high outside, which causes a mis- 

 placed position of the bones ; then nature and the smith 

 have a tug of war, and the smith generally comes out 

 ahead, for, if the horse is not square on his feet, he certainly 

 cannot go right. We ourselves cannot travel easy if we 

 are traveling all on one side of our shoes, and it is just the 

 same with a horse, except that the poor beast cannot tell in 

 words where the sore spot is, so he takes the only course 

 left for him — that is, to limp and hobble along. 



Some owners of horses like to have their horse's feet cut, 

 but a very little, especially" the frog ; but I have found moi^e 

 trouble caused b}^ not cutting enough than by cutting too 

 much. Some will say : '' Cut the Avail and not the sole," but 

 you will find that b}" leaving too much sole it will leave 3"our 

 frog smaller — that is, it cuts off the supply of blood from the 

 frog. Besides, too much frog checks the growth of the sole 

 and other parts of the foot. 



How often we find a large, prominent frog and ver^^ little 

 sole, and that very dry and dead and chippy, no life, not 

 enough blood to support and feed it. I like to see all dead 

 tissue cut away. Then the live tissue has a chance to grow. 



Of course nature intends the feet to be kept soft. The 

 feet of horses that are kept on dry, hard floors, and work 



