THE HOKSE EDUCATOR. 91 



hard uneven earth ; it should be wide in the web 

 and of equal thickness and width from the toe 

 to the heel, that it may as much as possible 

 protect the sole, without altering the natural 

 position of the foot ; it should be well drawn in 

 at the heels, that it may rest on the bars, thereby 

 protecting the corn place or angles between the 

 bar and crust, and should in no part extend 

 beyond the outer edge of the crust. It is too 

 often the case that the shoe is made according 

 to the smith's notions of what the form of the 

 horse's foot should be, and the foot is pared, 

 burned, and rasped until it fits the shoe. Now 

 it should always be borne in mind that the shoe 

 is intended for the foot, and not the foot for 

 the shoe, and that it is therefore peculiarly 

 proper to make the shoe fit the natural form of 

 the foot. It is impossible to have the foot of 

 a horse sound and safe for work and use, after 

 bringing it to an unnatural figure by the use of 

 the knife and rasp. The foot of the horse, being 



