22 ARTISTIC HORSE-SHOEING. 



border of the wall, the sole, bars, and frog", are subjected 

 to contact ; Nature intended them to meet the ground, and 

 there sustain the animal's weight, as well as the force of 

 its impelling powers. But on hard or rocky land with a 

 level surface, only the dense, tough crust and bars, the 

 thick portion of the sole surrounded by them, and the elas- 

 tic, retentive frog, meet the foi'ce of the weight and move- 

 ment ; and, in both cases, not only with impunity, but with 

 advantage to the interior of the foot, as well as the limb. 

 The horn on this face is, as has been said, dense, tough, 

 and springy to a degree var^' ing with the parts of which it 

 is composed; while its fibres are not only admirably dis- 

 posed to support weight, secure a firm grasp of the gTound 

 and aid the movements of the limbs, but are also an excel- 

 lent medium for modifying concussion or jar to the sensi- 

 tive and vascular structure in their vicinity. 



*^ The whole circumference of the wall meets the ground, 

 and from the disposition of its fibres, the arrangement of 

 the cells which enter into their composition, and its rigid- 

 ity, it is admirably fitted to resist wear and sustain press- 

 ure. It projects more or less be3''ond the level of the sole, 

 and the space measured between the white zone within it 

 and its outer surface gives its exact thickness. This is a 

 fact not without interest to the farrier in the operation of 

 attaching the shoe by nails, as these have to be driven 

 only through this dense horn — which in g-ood hoofs cannot 

 be said to much exceed half an inch in thickness — and in 

 proportion to its thinness is the necessity for carefulness 

 and address on his part, in order to guard against wound- 

 ing or bruising' the sensitive textures. 



