90 PAEII^G AND EASPING, 



tlie smith to cut away even the ragged portions which occasion- 

 ally hang from the sides of this organ. The constant attrition 

 which the frog undergoes when in contact with the road, is 

 sufficient to control its size, without having recourse to a knife 

 or a rasp in addition. 



A horse, in regular work upon hard roads, requires a set of 

 new shoes every four weeks ; and the old set removing once 

 between. I know numbers of horses, however, which require 

 a set of new shoes every three weeks. Now what with being 

 newly shod, and having the shoes removed in addition, and from 

 a smith cutting and rasping the feet so frequently, (supposing all 

 feet to grow at the rate of five-sixteenths of an inch in a month, 

 or one inch in three months,) it is evident, unless great care be 

 exercised, that more horn may be removed, than can be grown 

 between the periods of shoeing. Smiths frequently boast of 

 " opening the heels" with a view of causing the foot to expand, 

 when at the time they are perhaps committing an irreparable 

 mischief to the animal. 



Every master farrier ought to know the usual rate of 

 growth of the hoof of every horse shod at his establishment, 

 by which means he would understand the strength of every 

 hoof, and its ordinary capability of resistance. He would also 

 be able to calculate the exact amount of horn which he could 

 safely cut, or rasp away, without fear of damage to the fsot.* 

 It may also be added, that the greater the thickness of the hoof 

 and the sole, the greater the security to the delicate structures 

 within. 



* The means of attaining this knowledge arc simple. Procure a small 

 three-edged tUe, and file a portion of the horn across its suhstance, a certain 

 distance, — say one inch from the coronet. Do this at the front of the hoof, 

 and at the quarters ; then with a pair of compasses, measure the distance of the 

 part filed from the junction of the hoof with the hair. Make a memorandum of 

 the distance, and every time the animal is shod, compare with the fii'st measiu'e- 

 ment 5 by this means the rate of growth will be readily known. 



