PRACTICAL HORSESHOEING. 81 



is the final point of application, will displace the physical bal- 

 ance, and a single alteration in the proper balancing of the body 

 will result in a complication of foot disorders which may baffle 

 the best skill to remedy, and leave our burden-bearing servants 

 to succumb to their inevitable fate. Hence the benefits to be 

 derived from the use of these instruments will be apparent to 

 all practical shoers. Instruments of similar intent and purpose 

 are used by mechanics in every trade, even when not dealing 

 with vital, living structures, as is the case in this pursuit, where 

 any deviation from absolute accuracy causes suifering and un- 

 relieved distress. 



Different kinds of Feet. — I have previously indicated that 

 a horse's hoofs may, by. variation of growth or usage, be either 

 perfect or imperfect, and these last may also be rugged, long, 

 crooked or flat, and the frogs may be broad or the heels narrow, 

 and I have pointed out the necessity of paying due regard to 

 each of these conditions in determining the natural form and 

 size of the particular kind of foot being dealt with, also to the 

 employment of all the farrier's care and address in bringing it 

 to its best form, as there are many apparently trifling circum- 

 stances which have much to do with the conditions of orderly 

 soundness and efficient activity which are too often overlooked. 



The Natural Model. — If we examine the natural healthy 



feet of many horses, we will find that their essential shape is 



the same. Some may have grown more luxuriantly than others, 



it is true, whereby the crust will be deeper, or the bottom part 



may be worn and battered, giving the hoof an uneven, ragged 



appearance ; but when this superfluous or broken horn has been 



removed, it will be found that the bottom of the foot is nearly 



circular, the sole concave, the frog broad, the bars distinct, the 



commissures deep and the heels expanded. Surely no one will 



dispute that this form, which the Creator has given, is the most 

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