108 SYSTEM FOR TRAINING CAVALRY HORSES. 



against their fitting like two planed boards, as they 

 ought to do ; and the quantity of horn to be thus 

 removed is so small as not to be worth thinking 

 about. It is a mistake to suppose that a hot shoe 

 injures the hoof; it does nothing of the kind, and 

 you cannot possibly fit a shoe properly -without mak- 

 ing it hot. You should not burn a shoe into its 

 place on the foot, before you had taken care to make 

 both the foot and the shoe as level as you could, but 

 when you have done that, the small quantity of 

 burning that is necessary to make them come close 

 together can do no harm. A weak, thin crust will 

 not bear as much heat as a strong one ; nevertheless 

 it must be scorched, that you may be sure the shoe 

 fits properly. 



When you have cooled the shoe, you should " back- 

 hole" it, that is, make a free opening on the foot sur- 

 face for the nails to pass through ; and mind that, in 

 doing so, you do not make the holes incline' inw^ard, 

 but take great care to make them pass straiglit 

 through the shoe. 



Before you " file up" the shoe, hold it firmly in its 

 place on the foot with both hands, and examine care- 

 fully whether any light appears between the foot and 

 the shoe ; and if you should perceive any, alter the 

 shoe at once, for the crust must bear upon the shoe 

 all round, before you- can say that the shoe fits the 

 foot, as it ought to do. 



