SHOELVG, 



191 



SO that the ground rim of the metal is level with the horny 

 sole. If, however, these desirable conditions be not present 

 then it is better, at first, to cut the channel so shallow that 

 half the thickness of the shoe protrudes below the ground 

 surface of the foot. 

 The shoe is shorter 

 than the foot to pre- 

 vent the possibility of 

 its being wrenched 

 off. 



To insure a perfect 

 fit and level bearing 

 the shoe must, in 

 the first instance, be 

 placed in the groove 

 hot. The application 



of a hot burning shoe is, I am aware, strongly condemned 

 by many whose opinions are entitled to respect, but my 

 experience is that, provided the hot metal be kept in con- 

 tact with the horn for a few seconds only, no more harm is 

 done than by the process of singeing to the horse's coat or 

 to the human hair. And here a word of warning will be in 

 place. If the shoe be plunged into cold water and cooled 

 too rapidly when hot, the nature of the metal is changed ; 

 it becomes brittle, and is liable to fracture. When shoeing 

 cold a small rasp may be used to secure for the shoes that 

 perfectly level bearing which is essential. The foot, when 

 shod, presents the following appearance, the diagram No. 2 

 representing the Charlier tip. 



On large, flat, platter-shaped feet, with low heels and high 

 frogs, it is necessary to put on shoes thicker at the quarters, 

 allowing them to come down, as in the case of the ordinary 

 racing plate, below the surface of the sole, and this will be 



