THE SHOEING OF THE HORSE 201 



It will happen that the horn of the sole becomes so hard 

 that it is removed with very great difficulty, in which case 

 it becomes necessary to soften it by heat. This is effected 

 by means of a flat heated iron, drawn over the sole, and even 

 kept close to it for a little time. If the sole is thick, no 

 injury will be sustained from it, and, on the contrary, it will 

 render the paring more easy and less disagreeable to the 

 horse ; but if the sole has been regularly pared out during 

 shoeing, this must not be permitted. The quantity of paring 

 necessarily varies much, according to the formation and 

 condition of the foot. The foot which is pumiced should 

 only have the ragged parts cut away ; when the foot is flat, 

 little paring is needed ; from that which is concave, the 

 crust must be pared until it yields slightly to strong 

 pressure from the thumb; if the foot is strong, a great deal 

 of paring is requisite. Care must always be taken that the 

 crust is not reduced to a level with the sole, as this would 

 permit the sole to press upon the edge of the seating, and 

 thereby be bruised and injured. The entire circumference 

 of the crust should be perfectly level, but projecting a little 

 beyond the sole. 



We must now direct attention to the heels. More stress 

 is thrown on the inner heel than on the outer, and, from 

 natural weakness of the quarter there, it generally wears 

 quicker than the outer one. This being the case, less horn 

 must be pared from it than from the outer, as taking the same 

 quantity of horn from it would leave it lower than the other, 

 whereas they should be perfectly on a level. Almost all 

 smiths have a fancy for opening the heels, from the idea 

 that it does good by rendering the foot neater, which is a 

 fallacy, as they ought seldom or never to be touched ; nothing 

 should be removed but the ragged portions. 



It is intended that the heel of the shoe should rest partly 

 on the heel of the foot ; consequently the bars should be 

 allowed to remain nearly in its natural condition from its 

 first inward bend, and down the side of the frog. When 

 the frog becomes level with the crust, however, paring of 

 the frog becomes necessary. The quantity to be taken from 

 the frog depends on its greater or less prominence, and the 

 shape of the foot. It should project so much as to be just 

 within and above the inner surface of the shoe ; that is, upon 

 a level with the hoof when no shoe is on the foot. Tbis 

 will give it room to descend with the sole. If it is much 



