Popular Errors of the Forge. 577 



make this more than useless operation easy, horses' feet are stopped with cow-dung, or some 

 other filth, the night before shoeing. 



" Perhaps to bring the hollowed sole into proportion with the rest of the foot the walls 

 are again reduced and weakened. 



" The next piece of standard stupidity is to pare the frog, which is the natural buffer of 

 the foot, it) order to prevent it from doing what it is meant to do — toucli the ground. The 

 longer the frog is left untouched by the knife and allowed to reach the ground the more it 

 will be developed. It becomes tough without losing its special properties that enable it to 

 bear the toughest roads without suffering. The untrimmed frog insures the hoof retaining 

 its proper shape at the heels standing or moving, and it is most useful in preventing slipping. 



" Workmen have a morbid taste for cutting into this india-rubber like substance, therefore 

 they should never be trusted to touch it at all with their sharp knife. 



" Thrush of many years' standing has been cured, and rotten wasted frogs have become sound 

 merely by such shoeing as brought them on the ground. 



" Having done everything possible to ruin the sole and the frog, the farrier proceeds to 

 complete his work by opening up the heels. This operation consists in making a deep cut 

 into the angle of the wall at the heel where it becomes bent inward to form the bars. In its 

 unmutilated state it is a very strong portion of the hoof, and prevents contraction of the heels. 



" Hacked away to give a false appearance of wideness the wall of the hoof is weakened 

 gradually, and contracts towards the heels. 



" It should ever be strenuously insisted upon that the whole lower face of the shoe, except the 

 border of the wall, shall be left in a state of nature. The sole, frog, and bars have an important 

 duty to fulfil, and no addition of iron, leather, or other material, is half so efficacious to protect this 

 part of the hoof, or so excellent an agent for sustaining weight and keeping the whole foot healthy 

 and in perfect form. 



" A shoe applied to the foot should have its hoof surface flat, in order that it may sustain the 

 wall and as much of this strong portion of the sole as its width permits.- 



"A light thin shoe is always preferable to a heavy thick one, as the narrowness of the 

 metal ensures a good foothold, while its thinness brings the sole, frog, and bars closer to the 

 ground. 



" As an exception, the massive draught-horse requires toe and heel projections, or catches on 

 the ground surface of the shoes. 



" These catches are chiefly useful when a horse is backing a load, but the animal relies 

 particularly on the toe of the hind foot to start and carry the wagon forward. Therefore, in 

 addition to the calkins or heel projections, there should be a toe-piece of the same height as the 

 latter, extending across the ground surface of the fore part of the shoe. This contrivance will 

 enable the farrier to dispense with a good deal of the iron now in use. 



" The form of the shoe should follow the outline of the ground surface of the foot. The 

 upper surface must be flat from the outer to the inner margin. It is an advantage to have it as 

 narrow in its relation to its thickness as the amount of work required will allow. The ground 

 surface for shoes not intended for heavy draught-horses should be of the same thickness on 

 both sides. This ensures the foot being kept in a natural position. Calkins on one side 

 raise the back part of the foot higher than the front, and throw the limb forward. Unless 

 the hoof meets the ground in a natural position some part of the leg or foot must suffer. 

 Therefore, if calkins are considered necessary, the fore part should be thickened and a toe- 

 piece added. 

 V V V 



