DETAfT.S OF SllOKINfl. 473 



ou (lie lnnk. I Hill iu>( awart' of any iiicans of sliowin;^ I>rrt( t'ually wlint 

 itt (he (lifiViiiii e Iff Weight laiiit-d on (In- liarlc and on the feet, )iut it is 

 fer(ainly very fonsiderahh?. 



Prima facie, therefore, slioes slioukl l>e iis thin as is eoini>atiltle with 

 their wearinf:j for a inontli. ]{ut practically tliere 8hould Ije a week's 

 wear to spare at the end of the month ; both because it is not always 

 convenient to send a liorse to be shod on any particular day, and because 

 it would be inconvenient to be liable to the risk of a shoe breaking', if 

 the owner happened to take an extra lon;^ ride towards the end of the 

 month. 



No absolute rule can be laid down as rejjards the weight of shoes, 1st, 

 because horses' feet vary very nuuli in size ; 2nd, because some horses, 

 from peculiarity of action, wear out their shoes nuich quicker than 

 others ; 3rd, l>ecause some horses are callfd upon to do much more work 

 than other horses ; and lastly, much will depend on the nature of the 

 ground or roads on which the horses are worked. 



However, nine ounces may be taken as the minimum, and fourteen 

 ounces as the maxinuun for ordinary riding horses. On very large cart 

 horses in London I have seen shoes whicli weighed as much as seven 

 ])0unds each ; four ]>ounds is a common weight for the shoes of such 

 horses. I cannot say froui my own experience whether such weights are 

 really necessary. 



962. Hoif often gJiouhl a Horse he shod? 



The growth of the foot renders it necessaiy to refit every shoe at the 

 end of the month. For reasons given above, it is undesiraljle to burden a 

 horse with heavier shoes than necessary. Therefore the horse should bo 

 sliod with new shoes every month. 



963. Of removing Shoes. 



Shoes, if properly fitted, and if resting on a sound unrasped crust, 

 should not require to be removed during a month. The nails, however, 

 should be frequently examined, and any that are faulty should be re- 

 j)laced. 



964. Upper surface of the Shoe. 



The upper surface of the shoe should be flat, so that it may rest on 

 the whole surface of the crust. Nature has intended the whole of this 

 width to be employed in sustaining the weight of the horse ; and in 

 moulding a shoe we should endeavour to follow as nearly as possible the 

 arrangements and structures of nature (Plate 50, a, Fig'. 7). 



Shoes, however, are generally " seated out " on their upper surface in 

 such a manner that only one half of their width rests on the crust. At 

 first sight it may seem curious, that an arrangement so obviously incor- 

 rect and opposed to nature should so extensively, indeed almost uni- 

 versally prevail in our forges. There is, however, a good reason for it. 

 The crust is usually weakened by rasping, and then it gives way under 



