PREPARING THE FOOT. 11 



a strong foot until it will yield to hard pressure 

 from your thumbs; but you must never pare it 

 thin enough to yield to light pressure. 



Plate I. shows a good-shaped near forefoot, 

 pared out ready for shoeing. I have placed letters 

 against the different parts. The toe reaches from 

 A to A, the letter B shows the middle of each 

 quarter, and C marks the heels. You will observe 

 that the crust is thicker on the outer quarter, 

 where the nails should be, than it is on the inner 

 quarter, where a nail must never be driven ; and 

 you will also see that the hoof is not a circle, 

 as some suppose, but is straighter on the inside 

 than it is on the outside. D marks the sole: E 

 shows the upper part of the bars, pared down 

 nearly level with the sole. F shows that part 

 of the bars which must never be touched by a 

 knife; G marks the frog, and is placed just over 

 the situation of the navicular joint. I would ad- 

 vise you to examine this frog well, because it is 

 what every horse's frog should look like, — plump, 

 and full, and even, with a broad, shallow cleft, 



