110 SHOEING. 



need not fear that this will be a cause of cutting : 

 a horse cuts with the quarter, sometimes with the 

 coronet ; his legs must be very faultily placed to 

 cut with the heel. The natural well-formed foot, 

 also, is a smaller half circle on the inside than 

 the outside, as shown at page 39 ; and this 

 form is, of course, to be preserved. 



THREE-QUARTER SHOES AND TIPS. 



Three-quarter shoes I dislike, for I think they 

 lame as many horses as they cure of contraction : 

 they lame, because they are rarely put on good 

 feet, but on those that have contracted heels, 

 in the hope that the heels will open without 

 the horse being taken out of work ; but it is 

 only strong black heels that are tough enough 

 to stand hunting, or battering on a hard road, 

 when the shoe does not come well home. They 

 seldom Jiave much beneficial effect on contrac- 

 tion, because the heels are never sufficiently 

 lowered when a three-quarter shoe is worn ; and 

 if the heels, when the pasterns are long, were 

 to be sufficiently lowered, too great stress would 

 be thrown on the back sinews, unless more horn 

 at the toe is pared away, as I am about to ex- 

 plain, under Tips. 



