218 THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



that had been calked brought in one of these Western shops 

 to be shod and have his foot treated. I will now explain the 

 nature of the calk, so that my brother smiths will under- 

 stand the condition of the foot. The calk or cut was in the 

 center of the fore-foot, about an inch below the hair, and 

 extending- downward, being- short but deep. This smith, if 

 so he can be called, went to work as follows: He cut the 

 clinches and removed the shoe in the ordinary wa}^; then 

 taking his paring-knife, he cut from the hair clear to the 

 point of the toe, or the entire length of the foot. Under- 

 stand, he cut each side of the calk, thereby making a large 

 cavity the shape of the letter V, leaving the flesli, or mem. 

 brane, or quick, exposed to tbe dirt, grit and filth of the 

 streets, and the blood oozing out. He then nailed on the 

 shoe, and pronounced the operation complete. That horse 

 was then a hundred per cent worse than when he entered 

 the shop. 



You ask, Well, how did the horse get along in this condi- 

 tion ? The result was simpl}^ this: dirt and gravel got in 

 the exposed parts, and the animal became lame, not onl}^ 

 on account of the dirt and gravel, but because when the 

 foot w^as put on the ground and the weight of the animal 

 bore down on it the cut expanded, causing great pain. 



Now, any smith ought to know" that the heel is the ex- 

 panding or contracting portion of the foot, and, therefore, 

 Avhen the front of the hoof is split to the entire fength, it 

 will expand, causing pain and lameness. This horse be- 

 came worse at once, and the owner took him to another 

 shop. I happened to be present at the time, and the smith 

 asked me what I thought about the treatment the foot had 

 received. I told him the smith that did that job was a fool, 

 in m^^ opinion, and did not understand his business; and, 

 furthermore, that he ought to be arrested for cruelty to 

 animals. I then gave the smith a little advice as to the 



