8 TREATISE ON HORSE-SHOEING. 



sole, and then you can get at the dead horn in 

 the corners more easily. The part of the bar 

 which stands up above the sole would have been 

 worn away, or broken down, if the shoe had not 

 kept the hoof off the ground 5 therefore you had 

 better always pare it down, but on no account 

 ever cut any thing away from the sides of the bars, 

 or what is called "open out the heels;" and be 

 sure that you never touch the frog with a 

 knife. Now remember that there are three things 

 which you must never do in paring out a foot: 

 you must never cut the sides of the bars, or open 

 out the heels, or pare the frog; and I will tell 

 you why you must never do them. 



The bars are placed where they are, to keep 

 the heels from closing in upon the frog; and if 

 you trim them by cutting their sides, you weaken 

 them, and they can no longer do it, and the foot 

 begins to contract. 



Opening out the heels does exactly the same 

 thing, by weakening the very parts which nature 

 placed there to keep the heels apart. Now it 



