42 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEIXG. 



outer surface of the wall should not he rasped, for it 

 affords protection to the deei:>er layer of horn. Tho 

 liarder the outer layer of horn is kept, the tougher and 

 firmer is the whole thickness. 



The Sole and Frog require very little attention. 

 No sensible farrier now puts himself to the unnessary 

 trouble of cutting away horn that is wanted for protec- 

 tion. It was not the X)ractical farrier that introduced 

 the stupid "paring and cutting" that ruined horses' feet 

 for nearly a century. It was the theorists, who taught 

 expansion of the wall and descent of the sole as primary 

 necessities in the function of a foot, who must be credited 

 with all the evils resulting from robbing the sole and 

 frog of horn. When a horse is shod with an iron shoe, 

 the wall cannot wear, and therefore it has to be artifi- 

 cially reduced at each shoeing. But the shoe does not 

 interfere with the wear of a frog, and the farrier may 

 safely leave that organ entirely to take care of itself. 

 To some extent, the shoe does interfere with the natural 

 wear of the sole, and, therefore, any flakes of horn which 

 have been prevented by the shoe from detaching them- 

 selves from the sole may be removed. The best way to- 

 remove these is with the buffer. The sole should not ba 

 pared out. I mean not only that the horn should be left 

 strong, it should not be pared with a drawing knife, 

 even if only a harmless surface layer be rem^oved. Th& 

 effect of leaving the sole of a shod foot with a smooth, 

 level, pared surface is to stop its natural method of 

 throwing off more or less broken flakes, and to cause it 

 to retain that which is half loose until it is removed in 

 one great cake. 



A ])ortion of the sole that requires a little special 

 care in preparing for shoeing is the angle between the 

 wail and the bars — the well-known seat of " corn." This 

 must not be left so as to come in contact with the shoe. 

 It is not to be " scooped " out, but it should be reduced 

 distinctly below the level of the wall, so that when the- 

 shoe has been in position for a week or two, there is still 

 no contact between the horn of the soles and the iron at. 

 that jjoint. 



