SHOEING. 179 



sire to promote general improvemeiit, will 

 eoincide with me in opinion, and assist the re- 

 commendation by the force of example ; in 

 having the groov^ in the web of the shoe^ for 

 the reception of the nails, formed sufficiently 

 wide and deep to admit the heads nearly or 

 quite equal with the flat surface of the shoe, 

 by which effectual insei^:ion the shoe firmly 

 retains its situation, and the nails their 

 clinches, till a repetition of the operation be- 

 comes necessary. 



There are (as I have before hinted an in- 

 tention of explaining) some general rules to 

 be remembered, as invariably applicable to 

 all kinds of feet without exception. The 

 shoe should be uniformly supported by the 

 hoof only, entirely round the foot, and brought 

 so regularly into contact, tlmt it should not 

 press move upon one pail than another ; it 

 should also be formed with a concave inner 

 surface, to keep it perfectly clear of the 5o/e, 

 that the point of the picker may occasionally 

 pass under the inner part of the v/eb, to fi-ee 

 it from every extraneous or injurious sub- 

 stance. The shoe should not be made too 

 wide in the web, or too weighty in metal^ 



