HOKSE-SUOEING. i 97 



^N'ailing au iron shoe to a living horse's foot is a 

 very unnatural thing to do, but, as it must be done, 

 it is our duty to see how we can do it with the least 

 injury to the horse. To show this, it will be supposed 

 directions are being addresed to a young smith, who 

 is about to shoe his first horse. 



Prejyaring the Foot. 



You must begin by taking off one of the old shoes, 

 and one only, because the others should always be 

 left on for the horse to rest upon ; all horses stand 

 quieter on shod feet than they can on bare ones; and 

 they are less likely to break the crust : many tender- 

 footed horses are in positive agony, when forced to 

 rest on a bare foot while the opposite one is held up 

 to be shod. 



First raise all the clenches with the buffer, and, if 

 the shoe will not then come off easily, loosen some of 

 the nails with the punch ; but never tear the shoe off 

 by main force ; it splits the crust, widens the nail- 

 holes, and destroys the horm 



The shoe being off, you should rasp the edge of the 

 hoof all round, and take out any stubs that may be 

 left in the crust. Then you must pare out the foot ; 

 and this requires both care and thought. If the horse 

 has a strong, upright foot, with plenty of horn, you 

 should shorten the toe, lower the heels and crust, and 

 cut out the dead horn from tii-e sole, and also from the 

 corners between the heels and the bars ; the best way 

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