450 HORSESHOEING 



portion of wall against which they are to rest. Too often a large piece 

 of horn is dug out of the toe to make room for the clip. This is altogether 

 unnecessary, as all that is required is to form a level surface on the horn 

 with a rasp, so that the clip may lie evenly and not project. When the 

 shoe is nailed on the foot a few taps with the hammer are required to 

 leave the clip close, but the violent hammering too often seen is dangerous, 

 and usually due to the clip having been badly drawn. 



When two side clips are used and both excessively hammered, lameness 

 results from the pressure on the wall. 



NAILING ON THE SHOE 



Nearly all horse-shoe nails are now made by machinery. They are 

 well made, sound in structure, properly pointed, and with heads of a 

 uniform size and shape. The machine - made nails are certainly better 

 than the hand-made, and no fault can be found with them so long as 

 the iron from which they are manufactured is good. A horse-shoe nail 

 must be made of the very best iron, or it will break and cause shoes 

 to be lost. According to the size of a foot so is the thickness of horn, 

 and nails are cho.sen to suit this. Too large a nail breaks the horn, too 

 small a one fails to hold the shoe on. The direction in which a nail 

 is driven is very much controlled by the form of the nail-holes in the 

 shoe. When a farrier finds that he cannot drive a nail with safety he 

 should either have the shoe altered or decline to drive the nail. The 

 direction which a nail takes in the horn is recognized by the sound and 

 " feel " elijcited by the hammer. In a thin foot it is a delicate operation, 

 but in a strong hoof there is no risk whatever. The heads of nails when 

 driven should fit the holes or fullering of the shoe. A small portion of 

 the head should be visible when the nail is driven home. When the 

 head is only flush with the surfece of the shoe, and visibly does not fill 

 the hole, the shoe is likely soon to be loose. 



When a nail is driven through the hoof, its point is turned down 

 and wrung off", so that a protruding portion is left. This is called a 

 clinch. Just under it a notch is made in the wall with a rasp, and the 

 clinch gently hammered down into it. A stroke or two of the rasp levels 

 the whole and leaves the clinches smooth. Excessive rasping weakens 

 the clinches and destroys the security of the shoe. AVhen the shoeing 

 is finished the clinches should be seen about equidistant from each other, 

 with a good hold of the wall, and rather higher at the toe than at the heel. 



