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farrier in twenty who knows anything about the proper principle of 

 horse-shoeing. 



On no account must a smith be allowed to pare the frog or cut out the 

 angles between it and the bars. This they are always fond of doing, 

 for the purpose, as they say, of "opening the heeL^," and so prevent con- 

 traction ! Nothing causes contraction so much as this very operation. 

 Neither should they be permitted to apply a rasp to the outside of 

 the hoof, and with still greater care must the sole be saved from their 

 villainous knife. Nature provides horn for the protection of the foot 

 against accidents, hence the stronger and thicker it grows the better, 

 and the frog is there to lessen concussion ; thus if a clumsy, ignorant 

 smith cuts and pares them away to make his job look neat and clean, 

 of course he weakens what Nature means to be strong, and thereby 

 does great injury. Depend upon it, contraction, corns, and disease in 

 the foot are almost invariably caused by shoeing. 



Horses' hoofs, as everyone knows, vary greatly in shape and in sub- 

 tance, but, with the exception of the shelly and brittle hoof, I think one 

 may be just as sound and good as another, provided it is as Nature, not 

 shoeing, has given it to the horse. The brittle, shelly hoof must be made 

 tough and strong by such applications as Clark's Hoplemuroma, or it 

 will be a fruitful source of trouble and annoyance, by reason of casting 

 shoes and so making bad worse. The " muley " foot is said to be the 

 most liable to concussion, to generate navicular and other disease, and 

 is most susceptible of contraction ; therefore plenty of room must be 

 given at the heel so that the frog, by ability to perform its natural 

 function, will be enabled to counterbalance the eflfects of the natural 

 deformity (so to speak) of the " muley foot." The flat, splay foot should 

 be guarded against pressure of the shoe on the sole, by carefully bevel- 

 ling the shoe. The large, round, tough, strong hoof, which is neither 

 flat nor "muley," is the most easily managed, and nothing but gross 

 ignorance or negligence will bring about corns or disease, or render it 

 liable to cast shoes. 



To sum up : — Never allow the smith to touch either sole or frog with 

 a knife, except merely to pare off jagged pieces and to remove grit ; let 

 him fit the shoe to the foot, not the foot to the shoe ; don't let him allow 

 the shoe to rest on or press any part of the sole or bars, but bear on the 

 outside crust only, and let the frog come nearly to the ground. When 

 removing a shoe have the clenches of the old nails carefully cut of, and 

 let the shoe be gently drawn — not wrenched — off. 



Horses used for heavy draught or fast driving should have shoes to 

 come only three-quarters along the hoof, leaving the growth of the frogs 

 perfectly uncontrolled. The result will be the horses will seldom fall, 

 and can travel in absolute safety over ice ; particularly going down hill, 

 as the frog can then act to best advantage. Hunters during the summer 

 should be shod in like manner. 



Horses hate to be alone, and as they are very fond of cats keep a few 

 always about the stables, but never let dogs or goats there, for the 



