Horseslioeiwj. 



287 



will bear only a little ; still that little should be imparted to the 

 shoe. The old shoe, placed on a flat surface, will afford a very 

 good guide to the amount of elevation to be given to the toe of 

 the new shoe, provided the old one is not worn so much as to be 

 thoroughly and entirely worn out. 



A very convenient and handy tool for turning up the toe of 

 a shoe may be made by welding a piece of bar-iron five inches 

 long, one inch broad, and somewhat less than a quarter of an inch 

 thick, crosswise on to 

 each blade of a pair 

 of smith's tongs. Any 

 smith can manufac- 

 ture such a tool for 

 himself, and will find 

 it very useful by en- 

 abling him to grasp 

 both limbs of the shoe 

 at the same time, and 

 turn up the toe over 

 the end of the anvil 

 without twisting the 

 shoe, which he could 

 not do with common 

 tongs ; and he can 

 easily restore the seat- 

 ing at the toe by merely turning the shoe on the anvil. Fig. 4 

 will show this tool in use. Having turned up the toe of the shoe 

 and fitted it carefully to the toe of the hoof, the smith must direct 

 his attention to the quarters and heels, and whatever shape they 

 may happen to. take, that shape must be implicitly followed by 

 the shoe ; whether the quarters be straight or curved, or the heels 

 narrow or open, the shoe must follow the same shape : it is a 

 grievous mistake to suppose, as too many persons do, that it is 

 in the power of the smith to change the form of the foot by 

 merely changing the form of the shoe : what are called open- 

 heeled shoes will not make open-heeled feet. The situation of 

 the nails alone can alter the form of the foot, either by preventing 

 or permitting the hoof to expand to the weight of the horse. If 

 the shoe is nailed from heel to heel the hoof cannot expand, and 

 the foot must become damaged ; but if it be nailed, as I direct, with 

 three nails on the outside and two on the inside, a foot, that has 

 been already damaged by bad shoeing, may to a great extent be 

 restored by thus permitting the foot to expand. 



As a general rule, the first nail on the outside should be placed 

 an inch and a half from the centre of the toe, the second in the 

 middle of the quarter, and the third just behind the quarter ; and on 



