128 The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



shoes ; indeed many horses that are habitual cutters never 

 cut themselves when the shoe is worn out. With horses 

 of this habit there is one general rule which is very 

 difficult to get the smith to follow, i.e., get the smith to 

 make a shoe like the worn-out one, let him place a piece 

 of iron the thickness of a shoe on the inside of the 

 old worn-out shoe, and then he has a pattern of a new 

 shoe that the horse can go comfortably in. lie will find 

 that the nearer he makes the new shoe to the shape of 

 the old worn-out one (upon the ground surface) the less 

 the horse will cut. This rule is applicable to all horses 

 of all gaits of going, and especially with trippers or 

 stumblers. The feather-edge shoe is largely used for 

 horses with a close gait of action w r ith their hind legs ; 

 they are intended to throw the weight of the horse more 

 on the outer splint bone, thereby causing a wider gait of 

 action, yet we find many smiths who are but imperfectly 

 acquainted with their business will make a feather-edge 

 shoe, and absurdly make a caulking upon the outside 

 heel to bring it to a level with the hammered-up inside 

 feather-edge, and they are surprised to find that the horse 

 cuts or bruises as bad as before. If they had left the 

 heel on the outside the same thickness as the shoe from 

 the toe, they would have made, by the propping up of 

 the inside with a feather-edge, the horse have a wider 

 gait, and thereby prevented its cutting. The seated shoe 

 is the best of the common class of use for roadsters and 

 hackneys, and it is but seldom that we see one well 

 made. The seating of the shoe is generally un level, with 

 the outer edge the highest, whereas the seated shoe should 

 be of an equal thickness from toe to heel, perfectly flat 



