Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/505

 '20. The reason why it is dangerous to pare the feet of horses, is because when the sole is pared, and the horse stands in a dry place, the horn becomes desiccated by the air which enters it, and removes its moisture and its suppleness, and often causes the animal to be lame.

'21. A habit to be abolished is that in which the farrier, to save trouble, burns the sole with a hot iron, so as to pare it more easily. The result often is to heat the sensitive sole and cripple the horse.

'22. It often happens that, to make the foot pleasant to look at, the horn of the sole is removed to the quick, and the flesh springs out from it; this granulation is called a cherry, and sometimes it makes the horse unserviceable for a considerable period.

'23. It is the pared foot which is most affected with what is termed contracted or weak inside quarter, and which also lames the horse.

'24. It also happens that one or both quarters contract, and sometimes even the whole hoof; then, in consequence of its smallness, all the internal parts are confined in their movements; this lames the horse, and is due to paring.

'25. There also occurs another accident: when the quarter becomes contracted, the hoof splits in its lateral aspect; this accident is termed a sandcrack (seime), and the horse is lame.

'26. The fashion of paring the hoofs, and especially the heels, within which are the bars, causes contraction, and this renders the horse lame.

'27. It is an abuse to rasp the hoofs of horses; this alters the hoof and forms sandcracks.