SHOEING. 79 



crust at the spot ivhere they occnr. If the crnst and 

 bars are in the slightest degi-ee weakened, they will yield 

 under the weight of the horse, and thus press so in- 

 juriously on the intervening sole that corns are nearly 

 certain to result. Mr. J. Gamgee, who is a high author- 

 ity on these matters, objects in the strongest terms to 

 paring the sole in the angle between the bars and crust. 

 I therefore at once yield to his good practical judgment, 

 and expunge the sentence, on this head, which I pub- 

 lished in the first edition. 



After the operation of paring has been completed, 

 the shoe ought to be carefully adapted to the foot. 

 This cannot be done without a great deal of time and 

 trouble. Hence it is seldom properly done at all. If 

 the shoe does not sit perfectly level all round, and if it 

 extends so far outside the hoof that the nails are pre- 

 vented from entering the crust in the exact spot, and 

 in the very direction, which they should, there will be 

 a constant straining on the nails, which is injurious to 

 the foot, and will be liable to chip pieces oif the hoof. 

 The shoe ought to be made wide across the foot, at the 

 point where the two front nails are situated. The 

 greatest mistake, I think, frequently lies here. In place of 

 turning the shoe, at the toe, very carefully on the horn of 

 the anvil, the smith generally sets it up on its side, and 

 then strikes it with his hammer. The consequence is, 

 it yields at the centre of the arch, and, instead of being 

 nicely and regularly rounded in front, whilst the breadth 



