SHOES 



445 



Tou iit-ar inner edge Tuu near outer edge 



Fig. 639. — Wrongly-placed Nail-holes 



fully correspond to the head of the proper sized nail. Nearly all hind 

 shoes and some front ones are provided with nail - holes by stamping 

 through them a series of four-sided tapered holes of the size required. 

 Most fore-shoes are "fullered", i.e. a groove is sunk round the shoe 

 close to the outer edge, and 

 throuo;h this the holes for nails 

 are afterwards punched. Both 

 methods admit of nails being 

 easily driven with safety. The 

 number of nail-holes really re- 

 quired to retain a shoe should 

 vary with the size of shoe. 

 Never more than eight are re- 

 quired. Usually seven are suffi- 

 cient for the largest shoe. Small 

 shoes are safely retained by six. 

 The position of nail-holes is im- 

 portant. The wall at the heels is thin, and therefore if good hold 

 of the front portion of the foot can be taken it is unwise to drive any 

 nails at the back part. Nail-holes should not be too near to the outer 

 edge of a shoe, as when the nail is driven insufficient hold is affijrded 

 it, and the hoof is likely to be split. 



Still more important is it that nail-holes should not be placed too 

 far from the outer edge of a shoe, as then a nail is forced to a|3proach 

 too near the sensitive structures within the hoof The nail-holes at the 

 toe may be a little " coarse", but the holes at the heels 

 must be "fine". The "pitch" or direction 

 of a nail-hole is important, because it 

 controls to a great extent the direction 

 in which a nail can be driven through 

 it. The safest "pitch" for a nail-hole 

 Nail-holes for Qiiarter-s is straight through the slioc, but the 

 holes at the toe should have a little 

 inclination inwards, as the wall at the corresponding part of the hoof 

 slopes considerably, and the nail must follow its direction. 



Prepared Bar-iron. — Formerly only plain four-sided bars were 

 supplied for farriers. Now manufacturei's roll bars with fiat or seated 

 foot surfaces, and with various forms of ground surface. These prepared 

 bars only require to be cut into proper lengths, turned round, and holes 

 punched for nails to form a very good shoe. For harness horses the 

 double-grooved (Rodway) bar is very handy and very serviceable. For 



I 



Fig. 640. — Pitch for 



Fig. 641.- Pitch for 

 Nail-hole for Toe 



Vol. hi. 



94 



