36 THE SHOEING OF HORSES. 



foot. One half of the foot surface (the outer half) is seated ; the 

 inside half of the shoe is bevelled, from its inner border to where 

 it rests upon the ground, to the utmost extent possible. The inner 

 surface of the shoe is so much bevelled as to give the shoe the 

 appearance of passing right under the foot. The ground border 

 of the shoe is made deeper at one part, as shown in Figure 2. 

 Sometimes this form of shoe will succeed when all other methods 

 may have failed. 



It is, perhaps, difficult to explain, how the shoe in question 

 prevents speedy cut ; the reason may be as follows : From the 

 fact of one part of the inside half of the shoe being deeper than the 

 other portions, the shoe, when nailed to the foot, will cause the 

 fore limb to rest, as it were, upon a mere point. This may give 

 the animal the impression of insecure foothold, the direct effect of 

 which will be to cause the horse to place the fore limbs wider 

 apart ; and thus the dangerous act of striking may be prevented. 



Plate XII. 



Hind Shoe to Prevent Forging. — There are two forms of 

 shoe, embodying the same principle, in frequent use to prevent 

 forging, either of which, if resorted to with care, may do much to 

 remove the disagreeable habit in question. First, the diamond- 

 toed shoe, as represented at Plate XII., Fig. i ; this shoe, from 

 the peculiar form in which the metal is worked, affords two things, 

 viz., the largest space for the toe of the foot to rest upon, and 

 also the least amount of surface to strike against the shoe of the 

 fore foot. 



