563 THE HORSE. 
is considered only necessary for beginners, and is therefore generally 
avoided even by them as a confession of want of skill. If the shoe is 
only heated to a point which will scorch but not burn, it will not injure 
the heels any more than the toe. Above all, in fitting the shoe to the 
back part of the foot, let the smith take care that it is not longer or wider 
than the point where the crust and bars unite. An eighth of an inch may 
be allowed to project backward beyond this point, but not more, but there 
should not be the slightest overlapping sideways. Mr. Mills deserves 
great credit for insisting strongly upon this ; and if he has made no other 
great improvement in shoeing, this alone should cause his labours to be 
estimated at a high rate. When the concave seating is carried all the way 
back to the heels, and the shoe is considerably wider than these parts, 
both of which mistakes are often committed, the heels are placed upon 
two inclined planes, each with a slope which draws them inwards; and 
though I do not believe that it is easy to expand or contract the 
whole foot, yet I am quite sure that the heels may readily be made 
to curve inwards. There is some excuse for dealers attempting to 
deceive their ignorant customers by shoeing their horses wide at 
the heels, for in looking at the foot without reference to this plan, 
the wide shoe makes it look far better than it really is; but for work 
there is nothing more likely to lead to corns, and it should never 
be permitted to be adopted for a single day. Every horse, when pur- 
chased, ought to have his shoes off, in order to see if he has corns, 
and before putting them on again, if the heels are too wide, they should 
at once be brought in. When the shoe fits properly, no light ought to be 
visible anywhere between it and the foot on looking at them sideways, 
unless it is intended to ‘spring the heels,” that is, to leave a small space 
between the two surfaces here, when the foot is weak in this part. After 
the fitting is finished, the shoe is “filed up;” but in this merely the 
edges should be very slightly rounded to avoid all risk of burs, except at 
the heels, where the angles should be carefully smoothed off in all direc- 
tions, and the outside of each bearing-place should be reduced, as recom- 
mended by Mr. Spooner, and alluded to at page 557. 
IN NAILING ON THE SHOE very little art is required if the holes are 
punched straight through far enough from the edge, and the crust is not 
broken or unusually thin. If these precautions are not taken, the incli- 
nation of the hole gives a bias to the nail which it is difficult to rectify 
while, if the holes are punched too near the edge, in order to get a 
sufficient hold they must be driven with a very slight slant far up into 
the wall of the hoof, and then the difficulty consists in bringing their 
points out at the proper place. When the nails are all driven through, a 
notch is made beneath each with the rasp; they are then carefully turned 
down and twisted off with the pincers, leaving a proper length to clench, 
when after a second hammering to secure their being driven well home 
they are clenched with the hammer by turning their points down into the 
notch previously made with the rasp. The whole foot is then slightly 
rasped over so as to remove any rough edges projecting beyond the shoe, 
and the operation is completed. 
In THE HIND SHOE there is not so much variation as in that used for the 
fore foot, because the hind foot is not nearly so subject to disease as the 
fore. It is generally made thicker but narrower than the fore shoe, and 
there is no necessity to make it concave-seated, berause the sole is not 
often tender, nor is it ever so thin and flat as is common enough before. 
As the horse stops himself by his hind feet chiefly, he requires some- 
