THE HINDER SHOE — TIPS. 399 



greater security in attaching the shoe to the foot, and 

 lessening the stress upon the nails, which might prove 

 injurious. In horses subjected to heavy draught, clips are 

 indispensable, and are useful to all employed in draught 

 of any kind. They will be found a useful preventive 

 in securing the shoes from being torn off, when the 

 strain is great on the feet while drawing. Clips are 

 also beneficial when horses are given to stamping and 

 pawing, as either of these tricks are likely to loosen the 

 simple shoe. But clips should only be used in such horses 

 as we have named, because they press upon the crust as it 

 grows down, and are therefore objectionable with horses 

 which are employed in light draught or hackneys. 



THE HINDER SHOE. 



As the hinder limbs are the chief instruments of progression 

 in the animal, except while walking, the whole stress of the 

 frame rests upon them. In consequence of this, the shoes 

 of the hind feet are always made broader than those of the 

 fore feet, and the toe is widened still more by rasping. 

 AYhon there is the slightest tendency to over-reaching, the 

 toes of the hind feet should be shortened as much as pos- 

 sible, by sloping in the surface, and rendering the shoe 

 somewhat less projecting than the toe The hinder differs 

 a little from the fore foot, in being straighter in the quarters. 

 The nails in the hinder shoe should be situated nearer to 

 the heel than in the fore shoe. 



TIPS. 



Tips are short shoes which reach only half way round 

 the foot, and are worn by the horse while at grass, as a 

 protection to the crust, to prevent it being injured by any 

 hard parts in the ground. They are especially necessary 



