Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/537

 remarks that the sole and frog, by being exposed to wear, acquire great firmness and tenacity, which enables them to resist external injuries. 'But no apology whatever can vindicate that pernicious practice of cutting and paring their hoofs to that excess which is but too frequently done every time a horse is shoed, and, in order to repair the injury done to the foot, fix on it a strong, broad-brimmed shoe, from the very construction of which, together with the loss of its natural defence, horses, too frequently, are rendered totally useless.' 'In preparing the foot for the shoe, the frog, the sole, and the bars or binders, are pared so much that the blood frequently appears. The shoe by its form, being thick on the inside of the rim and thin upon the outside, must of consequence be made concave or hollow on that side which is placed immediately next the foot, in order to prevent its resting on the sole. The shoes are generally of an immoderate weight and length, and every means is used to prevent the frog from resting upon the ground by making the shoe-heels thick, broad, and strong, or raising cramps or caukers on them. From this form of the shoe, and from this method of treating the hoof, the frog is raised to a considerable height above the ground, the heels are deprived of that substance which was provided by nature to keep the crust extended at a proper wideness, and the foot is fixed as it were in a mould.' 'If we attend further to the convex surface of this shoe, and the convexity of the pavement upon which horses walk, it will then be evident that it is impossible for them to keep their feet from slipping, especially upon declivities of streets. It is also a common practice, especially in this place, to turn up the heels of the shoes into