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THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



vent undue wear, therefore, remove a small strip of the 

 lower border of the wall and substitute for it a similar 

 sized strip of iron, and we shall protect from wear at the 

 same time that we leave entirely to nature every other 



FiG. 62.— Groove for Charlier shoe formed by cutting away strip of wall. 



part of the hoof — sole, frog and bars. This seems emin- 

 ently simple and logical, but it is easy to show that it is 

 more plausible than true. First, I would point out that 

 the wall only is not the natural sustaining structure of 

 the hoof; the wall and the sole at its connection with the wall is. 

 Next, I deny that the Charlier system does " leave entirely 

 to nature every other part of the hoof." In cutting away 



Fig, 63. — Section of Charlier shoe on foot. 



the wall from the sole to affix the shoe, the natural func- 

 tion of the sole is seriously interfered with, and the bear- 

 ing on the wall, which ought to be partially distributed 

 over the arch of the sole, is limited to the wall. It is 

 claimed that when the foot has had time to grow, the 



