422 DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES. 



down, and they should only be used when circumstances absolutely require 

 them. In the hunter's shoe they are not acquired at the sides. One at the toe 

 is sufficient. 



THE HINDER SHOE. 



In forming the hinder shoes it should be remembered that the hind limbs are 

 the principal instruments in progression, and that in every act of progression, 

 except the walk, the toe is the point on which the whole frame of the animal 

 turns, and from which it is propelled. This part, then, should be strengthened 

 as much as possible ; and, therefore, the hinder shoes are made broader at the 

 toe than the fore ones. Another good effect is produced by this, that, the 

 hinder foot being shortened, there is less danger of overreaching or forging, and 

 especially if the shoe is wider on the foot surface than on the ground one. 

 The shoe is thus made to slope inward, and is a little within the toe of the 

 crust. 



The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of the fore foot. 

 It is straighter in the quarters, and the shoe must have the same form. For 

 carriage and draught horses generally, calkins may be put on the heels, because 

 the animal will be thus enabled to dig his toe more firmly into the ground, and 

 urge himself forward, and throw his weight into the collar with greater advan- 

 tage : but the calkins must not be too high, and they must be of an equal 

 height on each heel, otherwise, as has been stated with regard to the fore feet, 

 the weight will not be fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the 

 foot or the leg will materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be 

 placed nearer to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparatively 

 little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not so much 

 danger of contraction. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES. 



The shoe must vary in substance and weight with the kind of foot, and the 

 nature of the work. A weak foot should never wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot 

 a shoe that will last longer than a month. Here, perhaps, we may be permitted 

 to caution the horse-proprietor against having his cattle shod by contract, unless 

 he binds down his farrier or veterinary surgeon to remove the shoes once 

 at least in every month ; for if the contractor, by a heavy shoe, and a little 

 steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene between the shoeings, he will do 

 BO, although the feet of the horse must necessarily suffer. The shoe should 

 never be heavier than the work requires, for an ounce or two in the weight of 

 the shoe will sadly tell at the end of a hard day's work. This is acknow- 

 ledged in the hunting shoe, which is narrower and lighter than that of the 

 hackney, although the foot of the hackney is smaller than that of the hunter. 

 It is more decidedly acknowledged in the racer, who wears a shoe only suffi- 

 ciently thick to prevent it from bending when it is used. 



THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 



The proper form and construction of the shoe is a subject deserving of very 

 serious inquiry, for it is most important to ascertain, if possible, the kind of 

 shoe that will do the least mischief to the feet. A cut is subjoined of that which 

 is useful and valuable for general purposes. It is employed in many of our best 

 forges, and promises gradually to supersede the flat and the simple concave 

 shoe, although it must, in many respects, yield to the unilateral shoe. 



It presents a perfectly flat surface to the ground, in order to give as many 

 points of bearing as possible, except that, en the outer edge, there is a groove 

 or fuller, in which the nail-holes are punched, so that, sinking into the fuller, 



