shoe is the bar-shoe. The frog in a foot of 

 that kind is usually very prominent and if the 

 colt happens to be one of those big-gaited fel- 

 lows that hits the earth a thousand-pound 

 blow at every stride, the frog should be pro- 

 tected with a bar, for there is always danger 

 of a foot of that kind spreading sufficiently 

 under pressure to cause acute pain. This is 

 more prevalent, however, among thorough- 

 breds than trotters and pacers, as the texture 

 of the wall of the thoroughbred's foot is finer 

 than that of the ordinary harness horse. If 

 the wall of your colt's foot is of this character, 

 and after being shod a few days it begins to 

 creep or expand over the edges of the shoe, 

 which we will presume is fitted flush, it is 

 a good idea to draw a clip up on each side 

 of the shoe back pretty well towards the heel, 

 and every time the shoe is removed draw the 

 bar a little if it is thought that the heels of the 

 foot are in the least bit cramped. There is 

 very little danger, however, of a foot of this 

 kind becoming contracted. 



Much has been said and written about cut- 

 ting away the bars — the continuation of the 

 wall that runs down on each side of the frog — 

 but there is a difference in bars and the posi- 

 tion they occupy that should always be taken 

 into consideration. In the low-heeled, w^eak- 

 cjuartered foot I have just been discussing, the 

 bar, a hard, unyielding strip of horn, runs down 

 along the side of the frog and if it is not cut 

 back or defined, it spreads itself over on the 

 thin, yielding sole back in the angle between 

 the wall and the frog, and the slightest pres- 



17 



