570 AET OF SHOEING. 



the stamp gives, the French farrier adjusts his shoe exactly 

 even with the hoof on the inside, and somewhat fuller on the 

 out, and his method gives the means of taking strong and 

 yet safe hold of the wall in every part. 



On the contrary, the spurious custom of stamping, which 

 was forced into practice in England, was inconsistent with 

 good and safe shoeing. The radical faults in the plan are 

 two: firstly, the shape of the nail and nail-hole; secondly, 

 the coarse holds given by stamping too far into the web of 

 the shoe. 



The Army Shoe as at present adopted. 



Fig. 236. Off Fore. Fig. 237. Off ffind. 



The shape of the nails, as has been noticed, required a thick 

 outer margin to the shoe, in order to bury the long head of 

 the nail, without which precaution it had no hold, but 

 another fault, and as it affected the safety, and became a 

 common cause of lameness to the horses, was the absurd shape 

 given to both nail and nail-hole, which affords no command 

 on the part of the nailer on of the shoe over the direction of 

 the nail. In pointing out faults, the existence of which no 

 man who understands the theory and art of horse-shoeing 

 can deny, we must be understood, as stating what is the 

 tendency, and what the effects of a custom ; aware that there 

 are exceptional workmen, who, in making the shoe and 



