THE HOOF, HOW PREPARED. IgQ 



ne latter promotes the secretion of healthy horn ; the proper degree of pre»- 

 ure being received by the heel, frog, and bars. Whatever is here said, the 

 *tre foot is still kept in view, unless the hinder foot is particularly mentioned , 

 and occasion will present itself for the distinction, as there is great differcnc* 

 oetween the two, as regards heavy draught cattle. Greater heat, fever, and 

 aifections of the lungs also cause the fore feet to contract disorders unknown 

 at the hind feet ; whilst a tardy circulation of the blood, and the conseque' .( 

 relaxation of the animal system, to say nothing of the evils incurred by heavy 

 drags against the collar, produce affections peculiar to the hind feet. Some 

 thin^' more is said of this kind of variation at page 12, Book I. 



When very much flaky or rotten horn presents itself, the sole should then 

 be pared the least, for this is a proof that great heat, or inflammation, affects 

 the whole sensible foot, and that the hoof is then too brittle. When the flaki- 

 ness is trivial, run over the whole surface with thebutteris, or knife, but go no 

 deeper than the removal of the loose flakes. La Fosse and Moorcroft were 

 both in the right when they told us that paring the sole inconsiderately is "the 

 chief cause of contraction," for the sole is thus rendered less capable of resist- 

 ing the pressure of the wall on all sides, and of the coffin-bone within, inso 

 much, that were the paring carried to an extreme, this bone would protrude 

 at the sole and come upon the ground for want of sufficient resistance. 

 Whenever a smith applies his thumb to the sole, and then cuts again until he 

 causes it to bend under the pressure, let him be admonished that he contri- 

 butes his aid towards contraction of the foot, and some one or other disease of 

 the sole. He has but to cut away a little more to arrive at the sensible sole, 

 which would produce blood, and ruin the horse by a quicker mode than thumb- 

 ing and cutting. 



The frog seldom requires the knife; never after the removal of a shoe 

 which has allowed it to come upon un paved ground ; for then the wearing 

 away is carried on naturally ; but if not so, the rough and rotten outside must 

 1)6 taken away, which some smiths effect by first tearing away the slips, or 

 exfoliation, and then paring the mealy -looking part underneath. Hereupon 

 the well recognised healthy horny frog makes its appearance, but is by no 

 means to be meddled with. The cleft is to l>e cleared out by means of a knife 

 having a sharp return at the extremity; but it must be evident that if the cleft 

 has incurred no foulness, nor the frog grown luxuriantly, neither the one nor 

 the other will require the least reduction. I will not say a word on the neces- 

 sity of removing the rotten overgrown horn at the toe, and round to the quar- 

 ters, so as to obtain a prober seat or bearing upon the shoe, this being an affair 

 within every one's compass ; but the rasping should always proceed with the 

 shoe before the workman's eyes, unless when he may find it necessary to take 

 It to the fire for the purpose of making alterations. The habit of doing this to 

 a nicety with a single heat may be acquired without going to the fire half a 

 dozen times, as I have seen done ; least of all should the shoe be tried on hot, 

 that the most ignorant of workmen may see where it bears most, or the least 

 industrious lessen his labour by softening the horn. Ruinous consequences 

 attend the application of fire to the feet, and yet I remember the period when 

 it was the common practice to place a shovel of hot coals on brittle hoofs to ease 

 the workman's labour! 



When a foot is fitted to receive the shoe, the bottom resembles somewhat 

 the hollow and rim of an oval dish. On being placed on a plane surface, the 

 frog and heels bear equally ; but when the shoe is applied, the frog is raised 

 by as much as the thickness of the shoe may be at the heel. At the heels, for 

 about an inch of its length, the rim of the shoe is to project beyond the out' 

 «ide of the hoof. 

 18 



