32 ESSAYS ON HORSE SUBJECTS 



understand how much more efficient a thick sole 

 is as a protection to the underlying quick, espe- 

 cially on rough, frozen and stony roads, than a 

 comparatively thin one. 



Now, if the sole is left thick, as it should be, 

 and in which case the white line would necessarily 

 be, it is a good guide for the shoer, in the 

 majority of cases, to rasp down to the white 

 line. Another error frequently made, though not 

 so common as mutilation of the sole, is cutting 

 away the frog. It does not require a deep 

 student of physiology of the foot to see almost 

 at a glance the function of the frog. Take a 

 normal hoof and examine the frog and you will 

 observe that it is placed at the back of the hoof, 

 where the major portion of the pressure comes. 

 You further find that, unlike either the sole or 

 the wall, it is endowed with elasticity equal to 

 india rubber. It is very evident that it is intend- 

 ed not only to come in contact with the ground, 

 but also to act as a buffer in lessening concussion. 

 Now, what happens if you cut it away and leave 

 the heel so high that it does not come in contact 

 with the ground? Why, it shrinks and becomes 

 as hard as wood, entirely unsuited to stand pres- 

 sure without bruising the underlying quick, and 

 no longer capable of performing its office of 

 breaking concussion. Not only that, but with a 

 thin, dried-up sole, the shrunken hoof draws the 



