103c SCIENTIFIC HORSESHOKING. 



Before going into detailed description of tlie different con- 

 formations of feet met with in our daily work, we will assume 

 that every animal had perfect feet, or we will take a colt never 

 shod, and go with him through life; and we will also assume 

 that it is impossihle to adjust a shoe to the horse's foot without 

 some injury to that part of his anatomy. Now the duty of the 

 farrier is to reduce that injury to a minimum, so that the shoe- 

 ing will not shorten the career of the horse or reduce his value. 



The parts of the foot to be carefully observed are the wall, 

 sole, frog, and the angle of obliquity of the wall at the toe, 

 which varies in different animals. The breed, labor, and also 

 the roads on which he works, play an important part, and each 

 case must be treated in a different manner. The horse that 

 works on the farm will travel sound and show no inconvenience 

 with shoes that would lame him on artificial paved streets and 

 roads, and again the shoes used in our cities would not answer 

 for the agriculturist; the latter are too long, and are liable to 

 be pulled off in the soft ground. Be that as it may, the same 

 careful preparation of the foot for the shoe should always be 

 demanded. Too strict adherence to these rules can not be ob- 

 served, to insure sound feet and legs. 



The angle of the wall varies in different animals; what 

 that angle should be in each instance must be determined by a 

 lateral survey of the foot and leg, so as to liave the strain or 

 weight equally divided. If the toe is too lung, the flexor ten- 

 dons and suspensory ligaments are overtaxed. If the toe is too 

 short and the heels are too high, there will be damage done to 

 the bones and ligaments of the joints. As a consequence the 

 animal will be deprived of that elastic, bounding, graceful foot- 

 step, which is so beautiful in the colt, and results from a well- 

 balanced foot. In removing the horn, as the wall and sole are 

 rasped off together, a line of demarcation will present i'.self 

 about three-eighths to one-half an inch from the outer edge ot 

 the wall. This line shows where the sole abuts; it is united to 



