390 
MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 
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 forma¬ 
tion 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 particular 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 complete fallacy, as they ought seldom 
or never to be touched; for, as we have already shown in 
our description of the anatomy of the foot, the bars are 
the only check in preventing contraction. Nothing, there¬ 
fore, should be removed but the ragged and detached 
portions. 
It is intended that the heel of the shoe should rest partly 
