THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



13 



previously been accustomed to have his feet lifted 

 and sli;i[htly hammered, to remove any fear of 

 injury from his mind. We will suppose that no 

 brute force is necessary to spoil his temper, and 

 render him vicious in the shueinjif forge ever after; 

 the subject is perfectly quiet, and we have nothing 

 to do beyond preparing the foot, and attaching the 

 shoe to it as expeditiously as may be. 



In applying shoes for the first time, the difficulty 

 is not in doing, but in leaving undone. Nature 

 has really prepared the foot for us, and, beyond 

 scraping ofl' any loose pieces of horn, and levelling 

 the crust, nothing is required. The shoe should 

 fit the outline of the hoof, and be attached suffi- 

 ciently to prevent casting, the nails being more on 

 the outside than inside. Instead, however, of this 

 simple system, the most elaborate preparation is 

 considered necessary ; the hoof is cut and rasped 

 into what is thought to be the most advisable shape : 

 a shoe that bears little or no relationship to the 

 form of the ground surface of the hoof is applied ; 

 and a further rasping is required for the purpose of 

 perfectly adapting the horn to the iron at its base. 

 Here the first step is often taken towards causing 

 contracted or brittle feet, and towards a further 

 series of evils, all traceable to the single origin — bad 

 shoeing. Horses that have been long shod on this 

 plan of cutting and rasping are not subjects for the 

 more natural system of non-interference with the 

 healthy form of the foot, because the organ has 

 become accustomed to the periodical removal of a 

 large portion of it, and the supply is soon equal to 

 the demand ; a sudden alteration, therefore, would 

 be injurious. The error commenced must be con- 

 tinued, or only left ofi' by degrees ; otherwise, the 

 excessive growth, not being moderated, would 

 cause an unnatural spreading of the lower surface 

 over the shoe, besides removing the frog from its 

 proper place near the ground, and leaving nothing 

 to guard against contraction of the heels. 



The rules that distinguish a good system of 

 shoeing from a bad one are so perfectly simple and 

 easy of application, that one is led to wonder at the 

 difficulty that usually attends the attempt to enforce 

 them. Supposing we commence with the first 

 shoeing, we should be careful to leave the frogs 

 level with the heels ; the rasp rnay be applied to the 

 bottom of the foot sufficiently to get the level sur- 

 face, and to lower the crust to the line of the frog; 

 the shoe is then applied, hot enough to burn its 

 own channel or seating ; this is of course left uncut, 

 and the shoe, after being cooled, is nailed on, as 

 we have said, leaving the inside quarter and heels 

 as free as possible. Generally, seven nails may be 

 used, four of which should be on the outside quar- 

 ter. The nails are clenched on the wall of the foot, 

 and lightly rasped until level ; avoiding, however, 

 any unnecessary removal of horn during the pro- 

 cess ; a little tar is applied to cover those parts where 

 the rasp has touched, and the process is complete. 

 In the adult horse it will be always necessary to 

 cut out sufficient of the sole to prevent pressure 

 upon it when the crust is rasped down to the frog; 

 but to cut the horn until it yields to the pressure of 

 the thumb is absurd and injurious, removing the 

 support which the sides of the foot require, par- 

 ticularly towards the heels, and causing them to 



fall inwards if the i)lan be persisted in. The object 

 in cutting out the sole is entirely to prevent its con- 

 tact with the iron of the shoe ; as soon as this is 

 done, nothing more is necessary ; the same system 

 of burning a seating — to which plan there is no 

 real objection, notwithstanding the outcry about 

 it — is proper ; and the same care in arranging the 

 nails, and rasping them after clenching, only so 

 much as to render them smooth. 



These few rules are alone necessary for the pre- 

 paration of the foot in all cases where the organ is 

 healthy, and for the proper attachment of the shoe; 

 but something remains to be said about the pre- 

 paration of the shoe — certainly one half the process. 

 If we separate working animals into heavy and 

 light, we shall find that two sorts of shoes only are 

 necessary ; a rough kind, with the nail holes plainly 

 punched by a square pointed instrument ; and a 

 more highly finished piece of work, with the holes 

 for the nails punched in a groove that is cut 

 beforehand for the purpose of receiving the nail- 

 heads, which may be driven level with the base of 

 the shoe. The first kind is the common " stamped" 

 shoe, used for draught horses ; the second the 

 " fullered" shoe, emjjloyed for carriage and saddle 

 horses. Taking for granted the single difference 

 in finish, however, we admit no other distinctions 

 between the two sorts ; the same rules must be 

 applied to the final fitting out of the shoe, and the 

 same method of attachment is to be followed. 



To the man who comprehends the proper method, 

 it is as easy to proceed in the right way as in the 

 wrong. The fore shoes, which are usually con- 

 sidered the most important, should have a broad 

 under-surface ("cover"), and a good thickness of 

 metal; the heels should invariably be thinner than 

 any other part ; this lessening of the sole should be 

 from the upper surface — the part which is attached 

 to the hoof; so that when the shoe is nailed on, a 

 flattened straw may bo passed between the iron and 

 the hoof to the distance of an inch or more from the 

 heel forward ; the space thus left prevents any fet- 

 tering of this posterior part. For the purpose of 

 assisting the firm attachment to the hoof, a clip is 

 usually taken out from the toe of the shoe, and 

 fitted into the hoof by cutting, and burning when 

 the hot iron is applied, as the last step in the fitting- 

 out process. The shoe is now ready for fastening 

 on in the way we have before described. In some 

 instances certain alterations are necessary, from 

 peculiarities of locality. In some hilly countries, 

 for instance, the heels of the fore shoes are always 

 turned down to the extent of half an inch, to pre- 

 vent slipping when descending hills with heavy 

 loads ; but these considerations do not aftect the 

 shoeing of healthy feet under ordinary circum- 

 stances. 



The hind shoes do not receive so much attention 

 as the fore ones, for the reason that the hind feet, 

 from their position, are not so liable to the efi'ects 

 of concussion as the fore — disease of those organs 

 being indeed extremely uncommon. The heels of 

 the hind shoe are always made thicker than any 

 other part ; this arrangement is found necessary to 

 enable the animal to stop himself with sufficient 

 readiness, by taking advantage of the resistance 

 which the thickened heel offers to the slipping of 



