The morning call., 1893-10-15
SCIENTIFIC FARRIERY.
ne or the Ways in Which 1t Tortures Horses.

tendon becomes weakened and sore, and
is often thickened, forming permanent
blemish 10 the leg. A knife should never
be touched either to frog or sole of a
horses foot but these two, and partlcu-
larry the frog, present a great temptation
to the blacksmith, who fancies he knows
more about the foot he is t0rturing than
does the Almighty who made 1t. so he
chips out the sole Until II is high arch.
throwing all weight on the wall OF the
ho0f and exposing the exQuiSitely Sensl-
tive inner sole to the chance OF bruislng by
every stone In the road or to changes OF
cold aud heat and the hundred vlcissitudes
that are apt to befall it. He whittles aud
pares down the frog, often till the blood
starts, digs out the bars until they all but
disappear. and splits open the heels to pro-
duce what he is pleased to call Lateral eX-
pansiOn" and to declare necessary to keep
a horses feet in order.
There never lived man who knew
horse" or better understood the noble
animal, his needs and the art of caring
for him than the once famous W. IL. ID.
Murray, Adirondack Murray" What he
did not know about making the most of
good horse and Keeping him SOUND and
healthy no one need bother to ascertain
about, and Adirondack Murray has laid
down rule in regard to trimming horses
foot that every aorseman in the world
Never" he says, "allow the knife to
touch the sole of your horses foot, or the
least bit of 1t to be pared away, because
nature needs the full bulk OF 1t and has
amply provided for its removal at the
proper time. Secondly. never allow knife
to be put to the frog, because nature never
provides too much of 1t to answer the pur-
pose for which the Creator designed it, and
the larger it is the more swiftly, easily and
safely will YOUR horse co."
Now a word as to the other portions of
the foot with which the layman has to
deal. OF these the wall is that portion
which surrounds the loot, and is alone
seen when the hoOf is on the ground.
Generally speaking, this is what the un-
hoof. Like the sole. it is fbrOus in struc-
ture and very thin. This is the only part
of the hoof that should be subjected to the
knife, and this only for the purpose of re-
moving the superfuous growth, as we rare
the nails when they grow too long. The
growth of frog and sole is limited, conSe-
Quently the knife should never be used on
them, but the wall grows indefinitely, and
it is because of this growth that horse
shoes require to be renewed every few
weeks, even though NOT greatly worn.
The bars are a prolongation of the walls.
Their object is to strengthen the foot and
protect the frog. To remove them or cut
them down is like removing the ribs from
a ship or the rafters from beneath the roof
of house.
And yet it is a common practice with
smiths to cut away the bars until they do
not rest on the ground. With this done,
the sole gouged out and the frog pared
away the whole weight OF the animal
comes upon the outer wall, and thus many
of the diseases to which the foot of the
horse has been rendered peculiarly prone
are set up. OF these l shall speak in
another paper. This much for the parts
of the equine foot. Their preparation for
shoeing and the shoeing itself will be con-
sidered in the near future.
MISS RUSSELL.