100 



the sole should be removed by the knife, neither fore nor aft. 

 The heels require opening as far as can be done without draw- 

 ing blood, and the opening in any case should not be larger 

 than is necessary for the Clip to fit into it, and grip the quar- 

 ters behind what is called the angle of inflection. If nailing 

 should be resolved upon, one nail should be got into this 

 very spot, the others at distances dividing the nailing space 

 between them evenly. 



The line of union between the frog and bars should be weak- 

 ened slightly towards the apex of the frog, but deeply poste- 

 riorly into the commissures. The central frog-fissure should 

 be opened a little through the centre from base to apex. 



I must here acquaint the student of the intention to cause 

 the principal expansion of the hoof right through the centre. It 

 is not the sides or quarters that is to be torn from their imme- 

 diate connections as some have imagined, but the hoof is made 

 to expand by widening the area of the large triangular fissure 

 into which the frog is inserted like a wedge. The frog has 

 also a central fissure which makes it easy for it to yield. The 

 frog has then more room, internally and externally, and this 

 is the objective point to attain. Give all the tissues room and 



that is really all that is needed. 



The one necessary condition in the form of the shoe, is that 



it shall have a flat, even-bearing surface, upon sole and wall 



alike, extending fully over the anterior two-thirds of the foot 



THE BEST KIND OF SHOE. 



The convex shoe as understood by horse-shoers, supplies this 

 condition. Such a shoe should be fitted as directed, the heels 

 have a good cover even if a small portion of the frog has to be 

 removed to effect this. The outer superior edge of the shoe 

 should be made to coincide with the outer inferior edge of the 

 wall, right home to the heels. 



A short-heeled shoe will spoil the whole thing. Never mind 

 appearances if the shoes are narrow at the heels. The di- 

 lator will change all that. 



