FROG MODIFIES CONCUSSION 321 



The feet of most horses kept for fast work are not 

 pared away enough. The heels are left so high as to 

 prevent the frog from coming into contact with the 

 ground. If the frog does not perform its legitimate 

 purpose of modifying concussion, then it soon becomes 

 hard and inelastic. However much it may be necessary 

 to reduce the horny portion, the buttress should seldom 

 or never be used on the frog of the foot. Never cut 

 away the rough and apparently dead exterior of a 

 sound foot, for this is as necessary as the semi -sensitive 

 parts which are not and should not be exposed. So, the 

 first instruction to the blacksmith should be, Do not use 

 the buttress on the frog. He may lower the hard envelop- 

 ing outer crust of the foot sufficiently to allow the frog 

 to come into contact with the ground where the dirt is 

 soft enough to allow the shoe, or the greater part of it, 

 to sink into the ground. Or the rim of the foot may be 

 cut away until the frog just escapes full contact with 

 the smooth pavement, after the plates or the light shoes 

 have been put on. If the frog is slightly higher than 

 the face of the shoe, the inequalities in the pavement 

 are enough to bring the frog in contact with the earth 

 sufficiently to keep it in a healthy condition. 



The long strides of the roadster result in the heel 

 of the foot striking the ground much in the advance of 

 the toe. It can readily be seen why the heels of road- 

 sters tend to become feverish, and ultimately con- 

 tracted. By paring down the heel as much as practica- 

 ble without endangering the frog, some of the severe 

 heel concussion may be avoided. The student should 

 observe carefully how the fore feet of various classes of 



u 



