104 



SHOEING. 



older the better, if only strong ; and wearing thin 

 at the toe is no disadvantage.* 



If this shoe is properly made ; the crust that 

 it rests upon evenly rasped; the sole properly 

 pared ; and the foot, during the intervals of shoe- 

 ing, always kept properly stopped and moist, you 

 will most likely be able to avoid contraction: 



* Some of the French shoes are bent up at the toes when 

 first put on, in the shape of men's wooden shoes ; but to be able 

 to judge of the comparative merits of different forms of shoes 

 and nails, requires great study and great practice. Whether 

 you adopt that which I have recommended or not, keep the 

 heels open. In France, my horse's heels never contracted, and 

 in England they never contracted : in the former country they 

 were generally shod under the superintendence of a government 



