No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTURE. 418 



needs calks, shoe with as low calks as possible, always settmj,^ ihe 

 toe calk back troui tlie edge of the shoe some distance, that will 

 cause the colt to set his foot down on the ground square to pull, and 

 he will learn that in the start and never climb on his toes as a horse 

 will do if he has the toe calk out on the extreme edge of the shoe, 

 as is the habit of most shoers to-day. 



PREPARING THE FOOT FOR .THE SHOE. 



First, before removing the old shoe, examine the foot carefully, 

 so as to see what it needs to get the foot in proper balance. 

 After having this thoroughly fixed in your mind, remove the shoe 

 by carefully cutting the clinches, raising the heels of the shoe gently 

 with a pair of thick jawed pinchers, taking care not to bruise the 

 heel or strain the foot-joint, as I have seen horses made lame by 

 careless pulling the shoes. Then using the dirt hook to clean out 

 all the dirt and any foreign substance that may have collected in 

 the creases alongside of the frog. Then taking the round knife, 

 paring off all the ragged parts of the frog, and then the hoof parers, 

 starting at the heel, going around the foot, paring the hoof as level 

 as possible, finishing up with the rasp, so as to get a perfect level 

 surface for the shoe. 



Never under any circumstances put a hot shoe to the foot so as to 

 leave its mark, but fit the shoe perfectly level, punching out the 

 nail holes, slightly slanting in so as to get a good, deep hold in the 

 hoof, never driving the nails higher in the hoof than is absolutely 

 necessary as nails driven high up in the hoof deadens the hoof and 

 causes it to dry out more quickly, causing contraction and many 

 other troubles. In finishing the hoof, never rasp it any above the 

 nails or rasp too deep a crease under the nails, using the clinching 

 tongs to turn the clinch down, not hammering any on top of the 

 hoof,especially on a colt's foot, or a horse that is tender in the feet. 



QUARTER AND TOE CRACKS. 



These coine from various causes, such as standing on hard, dry 

 board floors, leaving the shoes on too long, driving at a high rate 

 of speed down hill, not paring the foot properly so as to give the 

 proper elasticity to the bottom of the foot, contracting it, getting 

 the foot out of balance so as to throw too much weight on any partic- 

 ular part of the foot. The following treatment should be observed: 



First, level the foot carefully by paring the walls so as to make 

 a perfect bearing for the shoe, cutting out the sole so as to give 

 some elasticity to the bottom of the foot, then using the round 

 knife to cut the edges of the crack in a V shape so as not to leave 

 any place for sand or dirt to work in and keep pressing the crack 

 open from the coronet down to the bottom of the crack. It is some- 



