300 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



of the edges by these tips. If the horse is to remain out but 

 two or three weeks, the ordinary shoes may remain on his feet, 

 provided a little care is used in cleansing the bottom of the 

 hoof — for which the English shave before described is an excel- 

 lent tool. 



Shoes to prevent interfering should be light and of nar- 

 row web, especially upon the inside, with three nail holes near 

 the toe. They should be straight at the point where they come 

 in contact with the ankle of the opposite leg. The hoof should 

 be pared lowest on the outside to turn the ankle, that the 

 other hoof may pass by clear. Yet if the inside sole is not 

 dressed, the wall or rim soon breaks, and the inside is found 

 to be actually lower than the outside. The hoofs of inter- 

 fering horses are invariably poorest on the inside, and it was 

 by observing this fact, that my attention was first called to 

 the importance of a judicious paring of the sole in all cases. 



Shoes to prevent over-reaching should be long and for the 

 forward feet heavy, especially at the heels, and for the hind feet 

 light, with heavy toes. The hoofs should be well pared at the 

 toe. 



Shoes for the turf should be very light, with a web not 

 more than half the ordinary width. Great care must be used 

 that the wall be not cut too closely in paring. No amount of 

 iron or any other substance can take the place of the elastic 

 hoof. I have no doubt that many a heat on a race-course has 

 been lost from this cause alone. 



Calked Shoes. — These are for winter use. The web should 

 be narrower than for summer, and so hammered on the inside 

 edge as not to retain the snow in balls. The calks should be 

 short and neat, and standing out slightly at the edge to let out 

 the ball. 



Spring-heel Shoes. — For this kind of horse-shoe one or two 

 patents have been issued. One of the shoes is of iron or steel, 

 the other of rubber. No one can fail to see that these contriv- 

 ances must increase the expense of shoeing ; but should they 

 not, their complicated structure render them more liable to get 

 out of order, and to damage the hoof, besides forming recepta- 

 cles for the filth and mire into which the horse may chance to 

 step. Let us have a sufficient quantity of the elastic hoof of 

 nature's own providing, and then all will be "very g#od." 



