312 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
parts inaccessible to a bandage, or for a sore back, 
when the skin is not broken, pure alcohol is a remedy 
which I have found efficacious. 
And now I have a word to say about 
SHOEING. 
The first principle of shoeing is, that the foot 
should be reduced by paring or burning only with 
the greatest caution, and in the least possible degree. 
Indeed, some of the latest authorities declare that the 
sole of the foot should never be pared or burned, 
and that the heels should never be “opened out,” 
i.e. that the horn between the bars of the foot and 
the frog should never be cut away. 
But I think that in some exceptional cases the 
sole of the foot should be pared, and that, more fre- 
quently, it is best to “open out” the heels. Of course 
the sole of the foot grows continually, and the theory 
is that the superfluous or old part comes off naturally 
in flakes. But sometimes, especially when the horse 
is shod in such a manner that the bottom of his foot 
is absolutely removed from contact with the ground, 
the sole fails to wear off as fast as nature intended, 
and as a result it begins to encroach upon the frog. 
In such a case it should be pared.. And so as to the 
heels. If the heels of a colt be examined, a small 
wedge-like opening will always be found between the 
bars and the frog. Sometimes in old horses this be- 
comes entirely closed, and when that happens, I think 
it should be opened to preserve the normal condition 
of the foot. 
However, as a rule, neither sole, frog, nor bars 
should be touched, and the wall of the foot should 
