72 SCIENTIFIC HORSESHOEING. 



sarily in their ultimate scientific minuti?e, are as necessary to 

 make a perfect shoer as is the mechanical skill to make a perfect 

 shoe. 



Condensed Anatomy. — Fully appreciating the importance 

 of these suggestions and knowing that an accumulation of detail 

 often deters the average reader and thus defeats the design of 

 the writer, a concise review of the general anatomy of the horse's 

 foot will be introduced here, containing only the briefest hint 

 of the essential organs of locomotion, which may serve as a 

 convenient reference chart to the general features of the subject 

 under discussion. 



Speaking first of the external structure of the foot alone, 

 the parts with which the farrier has to deal, are the wall, sole, 

 bars and frog, all well enough known by name, but less familiar 

 in their relations with other parts and the mode of their co- 

 operation. 



The hoof is composed of horny, hair-like fibers, closely matted 

 together and forms the natural protection of the sensitive foot. 



The wall is that part of the hoof visible when the foot rests 

 naturally on the ground, and is the main factor in bearing the 

 horse's weight. 



The bars are a continuation of the wall forming the angles 

 at the heel, and assist in the lateral expansion and oppose con- 

 traction of the heels and quarters. 



The sole is contained within the lower margin of the wall, 

 and is a concaved plate of flexible horn covering the ground sur- 

 face of the foot. 



The frog forms the back part of the sole between the bars, 

 and is the natural buffer of the foot for the prevention of injury 

 and jar to the limb. 



The wall grows indefinitely, but the sole and frog naturally 

 throw off flakes or scales when they have grown to a certain 

 thickness and are essential in their entirety for the maintenance 



