244 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



that the theory is a humbug ; that lateral expansion is 

 a thing that does not exist in the hoof of a horse, and 

 could not exist without imperilling its entire service. 

 The inference from what we have said is this (and it 

 would be well if every reader would accept it as a 

 law in shoeing) : Never allow the knife to touch the 

 sole of your horse's foot, nor the least bit of it be pared 

 away ; because Nature needs the full bulk of it, and 

 has amply provided for its removal at the proper time, 

 without assistance from you. And, secondly, never 

 allow a knife to be put to the frog; because Nature 

 never provides too much of it to answer the purpose 

 for which the Creator designed it; and the larger it 

 is, the more swiftly, easily, and safely will your 

 horse go. 



The bars of the foot are but the prolongation of the 

 outer wall of the hoof Their object is to protect the 

 frog, and strengthen the foot itself Their value in 

 this direction can scarcely be over-estimated. To cut 

 them away is like removing the beams that keep the 

 walls of a house from falling outward or crushing 

 inward. If a healthy foot is placed upon a glass 

 stand, it will be seen that the ground-surface of the 

 wall, bars, and frog, all bear the relative proportion 

 of weight. These might be called the three great 

 pillars on which the body of the horse, like some 

 dome upheld by three columns, stands. To shorten or 

 remove two of these three columns is, of course, fatal. 

 The dome is of such weight as to crush the sole 



