44 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



the foot in a forward direction. The thickening is 

 either obtained by flattening the iron laterally, or by 

 turning down an inch at the end in the form of a 

 knob or " calkin." This latter is the usual jilan 

 for heavy draught horses; for lighter animals a 

 combination of the two forms is frequent, the out- 

 side heel being turned down, and the inside one 

 flattened ; this allows the iron on the inside to be 

 kept with the line of the hoof, and prevents the 

 possibility of cutting the opposite joint during 

 quick movements. The shoes with two calkins are 

 generally clijjped at the toe; those with the Hat 

 side, or " feather edge," have most commonly side 

 clips. By this arrangement the iron is not required 

 to project from the toe of the foot ; the importance 

 of this we sliall see shortly, when we speak of the 

 alterations necessary to suit certain peculiarities of 

 conformation, giving rise to such annoying habits 

 as " cutting," " forging," &c., as well as in 

 instances of positive disease, where the animal is 

 still in a condition to work without difficulty, if the 

 part be protected during the time by a properly 

 adjusted shoe. 



From our observations on the application of 

 shoes to the horse's feet, we may collect the fol- 

 lowing rules to guide us in ordinary cases : First, 

 to prepare the foot by levelling the "crust" to the 

 line of the frog, and removing so much of the 

 sole as is necessary to prevent its contact with the 

 iron of the shoe; leaving the frogs generally un- 

 touched, save to scrape off any loose pieces of 

 horn. Secondly, to have a shoe of good thick- 

 ness and breadth of " cover" or " web," with the 

 heels (of the fore shoes) thinned so as to allow the 

 passage of a flattened straw between the iron and 

 the hoof when the nailing is complete. Thirdly, 

 to use as few nails as possible, and to keep the 

 larger number on the outside of the foot ; four 

 outside and three inside will be the extreme num- 

 ber required. Fourthly, to rasp the outside 

 of the hoof no more than is unavoidable in smooth- 

 ing the clenches. 



Simple as these rules are in appearance, it will 

 require a man conversant with his subject to direct 

 their proper application, and we can only repeat 

 that we strongly advise owners of horses to study 

 the matter for their own interest's sake, as we are 

 perfectly satisfied that that is the only method of 

 ensuring a proper system of shoeing. So far we 

 have only had to deal with healthy feet, or at least 

 with feet free froin any positively serious defect 

 that interfered with the animal's action ; but cases 

 of such defects are so numerous, and frequently 

 so entirely connected with shoeing, that no one is 

 in a position to direct or advise on the subject who 

 is not acquainted with these defects and their re- 

 medies. Among other instances, we need only 

 refer to the annoying habit of " cutting," caused 

 often by a bad position of the limbs, but not un- 

 commonly due to the awkward use of shoes not 

 properly constructed or fastened. 



Cutting is of several kinds ; thehorse somelimes 

 strikes the opi)osite fetlock joint of one leg habi- 

 tually — not with sufficient force to produce much 

 injury, or even lameness at the time, but enough 

 to leave a mark, and by repetition to produce a 

 gradual enlargement; sometimes the blow is only 



occasional but more violent, causing instant and 

 severe, though temporary lameness, or even bring- 

 ing the animal suddenly down. Both hind and 

 fore limbs are subject to be struck — we think, 

 equally so ; but the danger of falling is much 

 greater when the horse cuts with his fore feet. 

 Sometimes the blow is given immediately under 

 the knee, in which case it is called " speedy cut" — 

 we presume, because the injury is usually inflicted 

 during rapid motion, or because fast trotters are 

 particularly subject to it ; this form of cutting is 

 the most dangerous of all, principally from its 

 occurrence while the animal is going quickly ; a 

 fail under such circumstances is almost inevitable, 

 and projiortionately serious. The " speedy cut" 

 is confined to the fore limbs, and generally to one 

 leg. Before attempting to suggest a remedy for 

 any species of cutting, it will be necessary to ascer- 

 tain the ])recise cause. Is the shoe on either foot 

 too far beyond the edge of the hoof? Are the 

 joints unnaturally turned inwards ? Is the blow 

 given by the shoe, or by the side of the hoof? 

 This may be usually ascertained by examining the 

 foot, and observing from what part the mud or dust 

 has been brushed. 



To cure the first form, where the projecting shoe 

 is the cause, we need only lessen the breadth of 

 the web on that side, and by ])lacing the inside 

 nails (in such cases two will be quite sufficient) 

 quite close to the toe clip, we may keep the iron of 

 the inside quarter quite within the foot. For the 

 kind feet it is necessary to use the toe-clipped shoe 

 with a feather-edge for the inside quarter, iiailed 

 only close to ihe toe ; if necessary, a clip may be 

 also taken from the outside of the shoe ; but, 

 naturally, the inside must be left quite free, that 

 nothing may interfere with keeping it well inside 

 the line of the crust. Where the blow is inflicted 

 by the hoof, as well as on, instead of by the shoe, 

 then we are occasionally compelled to rasp away a 

 considerable portion of the horn ; but this should 

 not be permitted until other plans have failed. 



In cases of mal-position of limb, such as slight 

 inward inclination of fetlock-joints, we frequently 

 effect a cure by using shoes with one side much 

 thicker than the other, and arranging them so as 

 to reverse the position of the feet as much as possi- 

 ble; for instance, giving one foot a thick inside 

 quarter-shoe, and the opposite foot a thin one ; 

 changing them again if the first experiment should 

 not answer; varying by thin and thick outside 

 quarter; or employing both insides, or both out- 

 sides, now thick and now thin, until we ascertain 

 by which system the desired alteration in the posi- 

 tion of the joints is produced. All these plans 

 should be patiently tried before we resort to the 

 expedient of rasping away large portions of the 

 hoof — a doubtful remedy at best, and probably 

 only a temporary one. 



'J'he habit of " forging" or " clicking" consists 

 in striking the back of the toe of the fore-shoe by 

 the extreme front of the toe of the hind one. Not 

 only is the noise produced unpleasant, but, from 

 the occasional fettering of the fore-foot by its con- 

 tact with the hind, the animal is likely to be thrown 

 down, or to loosen the fore-shoe by the blow. 

 Weakness from illness frequently causes the habit. 



