OSMEirS DIRECTIONS FOR SHOEING. 501 



boutoir,\hQ butter oiVAwndtvW). . . . The superficies of 

 the foot round the outside now made plain and smooth, 

 the shoe is to be made quite Jiat, of an equal thickness 

 all round the outside, and open and most narrow back- - 

 wards, at the extremities of the heels, for the generality 

 of horses, — those whose frogs are diseased, either from 

 natural or incidental causes, require the shoe to be wider 

 backwards ; and to prevent this flat shoe from pressing 

 on the sole of the horse, the outer part thereof is to be 

 made thickest, and the inside gradually thinner. In such 

 a shoe the frog is admitted to touch the ground, the ne- 

 cessity of which has been already shown ; add to this, the 

 horse stands more firmly on the ground, having the same 

 points of support as in a natural state. Here now is a 

 plain, easy method, agreeable to common sense and reason, 

 conformable to the anatomical structure of the parts, "and 

 therefore to the design of nature — a method so plain that 

 one would think nobody could ever swerve from it, or 

 commit any mistake in an art where nothing is required 

 but to make smooth the surface of the foot, to know 

 what loss of crust each kind of foot will bear with ad- 

 vantage to itself, and to nail thereon a piece of iron, 

 adapted to the natural tread of the horse; the design, 

 good, or use of the iron, being only to defend the crust 

 from breaking, the sole wanting no defence, if never^ pared. 

 .... The modern artist uses little difference in the treat- 

 ment of any kind of foot ; but with a strong arm and a 

 sharp weapon carries all before him, and will take more 

 from a weak-footed horse at one paring, than nature can 

 furnish again in some months, whereby such are rendered 

 lame. If a strong-footed horse, with narrow and con- 



