Horseshoeing. 297 



the shoe placed in the vice with the heels upwards and projecting ; 

 the smith then hammers them down, to shorten and condense them, 

 until the mass is reduced to about an inch and a half in length ; 

 he then removes the shoe from the vice and makes the top, bottom, 

 and sides of the heels flat on the anvil, preparatory to fitting the 

 shoe to the foot, taking care that both heels are of an equal height. 

 This plan affords a larger and more even surface of support than 

 mere calkins would do, and is better for fast work ; but calkins 

 are very useful for heavy draught, provided they are made of an 

 equal length at each heel. Nothing is more distressing to a horse 

 than working in shoes that bear unevenly on the ground, twisting 

 and straining his joints at every step he takes. 



Some horses have a habit of striking the foot or shoe of one side 

 against the fetlock joint of the other side either with their fore or 

 hind feet, and various devices have been at different times sug- 

 gested as a remedy for the evil ; but as each horse has his own 

 mode of doing it, much difficulty is often experienced in hitting 

 upon the right one. I have frequently solved the difficulty by 

 placing a boot, or piece of cloth covered with damp pipe-clay, 

 over the injured part, and then causing the horse to be trotted 

 along the road, and he generally returns with some of the pipe- 

 clay adhering to the offending portion of the opposite foot or 

 shoe, as the case may be, pointing out pretty clearly the part to 

 be lessened or removed. The adoption of this simple plan has 

 saved many a horse from months of torture arising from ill-con- 

 trived shoes and misapplied remedies. 



As a general rule, horses' shoes should be removed once be- 

 tween each fresh shoeing ; but this, like all general rules, admits 

 of exceptions, for if a horse Avears out his shoes in less time 

 than a month, they had better not be removed, or if he has a 

 weak, brittle hoof, and does not carry his shoes longer than five 

 or six weeks, they had better remain untouched, as such feet 

 grow horn very slowly, and are rather injured than benefited by 

 frequent removal of the shoes ; but a horse with strong feet, who 

 carries his shoes over a month, should have them removed and 

 refitted at the end of a fortnight or three weeks, dependent on the 

 time his shoes are likely to last. 



The treatment, or I might almost call it the ill-treatment, that 

 horses' feet receive in the stable requires a good deal of revision, 

 and might very well commence with the all but universal custom 

 of washing the feet and legs with cold water the moment the 

 liorses return to the stable from their work, when they are often 

 heated, tired, and exhausted. Nothing can be more injudicious 

 than subjecting them to the sudden chill, caused by a liberal appli- 

 cation of cold water to their legs and feet at such a time, and then 



