DETAILS OP SHOEING. 473 



on the back. I am not aware of any means of showing practically what 

 is the difference of weight carried on the back and on the feet, but it is 

 certainly very considerable. 



Primd facie, therefore, shoes should be as thin as is compatible with 

 their wearing for a month. But practically there should be a week's 

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

 convenient to send a horse 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 long ride towards the end of the 

 month. 



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

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

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

 others ; 3rd, because some horses are called 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 maximum for ordinary riding horses. On very large cart 

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

 pounds each ; four pounds is a common weight for the shoes of such 

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

 really necessary. 



962. How often should a Horse be shod ? 



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

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

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

 shod 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- 

 placed. 



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 



