CLARK'S TREATISE. 509 



remarks tliat the sole and frog, by being exposed to wear, 

 acquire great firmness and tenacity, which enables them 

 to resist external injuries. 'But no apology whatever can 

 vindicate that pernicious practice of cutting and paring 

 their hoofs to that excess which is but too frequently done 

 every time a horse is shoed, and, in order to repair the 

 injury done to the foot, fix on it a strong, broad-brimmed 

 shoe, from the very construction of which, together with 

 the loss of its natural defence, horses, too frequently, are 

 rendered totally useless.' ' In preparing the foot for the 

 shoe, the frog, the sole, and the bars or binders, are pared 

 so much that the blood frequently appears. The shoe by 

 its form, being thick on the inside of the rim and thin 

 upon the outside, must of consequence be made concave 

 or hollow on that side which is placed immediately next 

 the foot, in order to prevent its resting on the sole. The 

 shoes are generally of an immoderate weight and length, 

 and every means is used to prevent the frog from resting 

 upon the ground by making the shoe-heels thick, broad, 

 and strong, or raising cramps or caukers on them. From 

 this form of the shoe, and from this method of treating 

 the hoof, the frog is raised to a considerable height above 

 the ground, the heels are deprived of that substance 

 which was provided by nature to keep the crust extended 

 at a proper wideness, and the foot is fixed as it were in a 

 mould.' ' If we attend further to the convex surface of 

 this shoe, and the convexity of the pavement upon which 

 horses walk, it will then be evident that it is impossible 

 for them to keep their feet from slipping, especially upon 

 declivities of streets. It is also a common practice, espe- 

 cially in this place, to turn up the heels of the shoes into 



