'38 



is done, the slioe ought to he tried and fitted 

 to the foot. If the horse be narrow or close- 

 heeied, the shoe must also be close. In heels 

 tKat are narrow and sound by nature, the shoe 

 must be formed exactly to the foot ; but if 

 heels are contracted by disease, the shoes must 

 he made wider, in order to give the heels 

 liberty to expand again to their original form. 

 The shoe should be so formed on the inside as 

 that the principal part of the pressure might 

 fall upon the circumference of the hoof, which 

 is naturrliy the hardest and strongest. It 

 should fall av/ny from the outward to the in- 

 ward edge with a gentle descent, so that when 

 the foot is taken up after being shod, there may 

 be a very small space between the sole of the 

 foot and the shoe. There are two objects to 

 be attained by the shoe falling away in this 

 manner ; the first is, that the shoe may not 

 press too close to the inward part of the sole, 

 which is the more tender as it approaches the 

 centre of the foot , and another no less impor- 

 t,)nt reason for the shoe slanting downwards is, 

 that if any gravel happen to accumulate be- 

 tween the sole and the shoe it will not remain 

 tliere, but by the motion of the foot will slide 



