434 TREATISE ON HORSESHOEING. 



upon by the smith, with all his skill. The ex- 

 pansion of the heels, and growth of the foot, 

 require that the shoe should be long enough, 

 and wide enough at the heels, to allow for the 

 natural growth of the foot in the time it is cal- 

 culated the shoe should be on before being 

 reset ; for as the foot enlarges, the shoe is 

 brought forward until it loses its original pro- 

 portion, and becomes too short and narrow. 

 The shoe may be about a quarter of an inch 

 wider and longer than the extreme bearing of 

 the heels ; and the nail-holes should be punched 

 coarse and in the center of the web. The man- 

 ner of fastening the shoe is what really affects 

 the foot, and what requires the most special 

 attention in shoeing ; for the foot, being elastic, 

 expands in the same proportion on the rough 

 as on the nicely-fitted shoe. It is the number 

 and position of the nails that really affect the 

 foot. If they are placed well back in the quar- 

 ters, four on a side, as is common, the crust is 

 held as firmly to this unyielding shoe as if in a 

 vice, which utterly prevents the free action neces- 



