56 CARE AND TRAINING OF TROTTERS. 



can not cut the toes too short, nor keep the heels 

 too high, and where there is a strong predisposi- 

 tion to this unsoundness, early shoeing is strongly 

 recommended, the shoe to be square toed and set 

 back from the toe, the heels of the shoe to be of 

 a good length and a heel calk turned up on them. 



Now, the above are simple rules, so simple, in 

 fact, that they are known alike by the humble 

 stable boy and the prosperous owner, but we 

 often overlook small details ; consequently, the 

 oftener we are reminded of them, the more apt 

 we will be to remember them. If we overlook the 

 most minute detail, which goes to build up the 

 animal, we will have a weakness somewhere, and 

 the chain is as strong as its weakest link only. 



With the above precautions and attentions ever 

 before us, we will have the proper sort of a foot 

 to work on, when the time arrives for the first 

 shoeing. The first shoes should be applied for 

 protection only, consequently they rriust be as light 

 and thin as possible, and the nail holes as few as 

 possible, and punched toward the toe, to allow for 

 the natural expansion of the foot. The foot must 

 be leveled with the rasp only, no knife 

 should be allowed to mutilate the sole, the bars, 

 or the frog; if we leave these structures intact, 

 and apply a thin shoe, we do not rob the frog of 

 its function, that of acting as a cushion, not only 

 to the foot, but to the limb as well. The frog is 



