Second. It is rarely that a foot will be found where 



the heels can be pared down to so slight a depth as to 



afford the so-called "frog pressure," (most absurd 



nonsense) that they will not be so low as to throw the 



articulation all out of gear and cause serious trouble 



to it; as also more or less injury to the tendons and 



muscles. 



Irreg-ular Action. 



All irregular action of the limbs and feet must be 

 attributed, almost invariably, to a want of balance in 

 the foot or feet. Therefore, to correct faulty action 

 look carefully at the base to ascertain what causes the 

 trouble. Never undertake to correct such evils by 

 more weight of iron on one side of the foot than on 

 the other, or by more thickness of iron, except in the 

 rarest of cases— and such necessity will be shown in 

 these pages— at one point of the shoe than at another. 

 All such artificial attempts at correcting faulty 

 articulation will result in dire injury to the motor 

 power of the animal and must he strenuously avoided 

 under any and all circumstances. Examine carefully, 

 at all times, as directed, the base of the machinery, 

 for the motor power of the horse is live machinery, and 

 mast be treated on the same plane of scientific me- 

 chanics as any other machinery. 



JLevel Floor. 



Now, with reference to the use of the smooth level 

 floor. This is required so that the horse shall be able 

 to stand as plumb as it is possible for him to do so, 

 having nothing in the way of an uneven floor to make 

 him stand otherwise. This is necessary; for in order 

 to true and balance his feet, the eye of the smith must 

 be cast up and down the front line of each leg to ascer- 

 tain if the line of the centre of the leg would meet a 

 line drawn through the centre of the foot from front 

 to back of such foot, for no man living can true and 

 balance the foot of a horse by looking at and around 

 the surface, while the foot is held back of the leg and 

 inihand. When the foot shall look to be true and 

 balanced from viewing the leg and foot from the front, 

 then stand at the side of the animal, or rather a little 



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