MODERN BLACKSMITHING ^^ 



be at the inner web of the shoe, or no toe calk at al"!. 

 or, toe weight, to make the horse reach farther. 



It will sometimes be found that the hind foot is 

 shorter than the front foot. To find this out, measure 

 from the coronet to the end of the toe. The shorter 

 the- foot the quicker it breaks over. If it is found that 

 the hind foot is shorter than the front foot, then the 

 shoe should be made so that it will make up for this. 

 Let the shoe stick out on the toe enough to make the 

 foot of equal length with the front foot. It is well in 

 any case of forging to make the hind shoe longer on 

 the toe. If the hind shoe is back on the foot, as is 

 often done, it will only make the horse forge all the 

 more, for it will increase action behind, the horse 

 breaks over quicker, and strikes the front foot before 

 it is out of the way. Set the shoe forward as far as 

 possible, and make long heels. The longer the shoe is 

 behind the longer it takes to raise the foot and break 

 over. 



Clack forging is meant by the habit of clacking the 

 hind and fore shoes together. This kind of forging is 

 not serious or harmful ; it will only tend to wear off the 

 toe of the hind foot and annoy the driver, possibly a 

 little fatiguing to the horse. 



The position of the feet at the time of the clack is 

 different from that it is supposed to be. The toe of 

 the hind feet is generally worn off, while no mark is 

 made on the front feet. From this you will understand 

 that the hind feet never touch the heel of the front 

 feet, but the shoe. Just at the moment the fore foot 

 is raised up enough on the heel to give room for the 



