928 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut III. 



great advantages of this seating are, first, that as the crust rests on a flat surface instead 

 of an inclined plane, as most of the common forged shoes present, so its position is 

 maintained entire, and the inclination to contraction is in a great degree avoided. The 

 nailing on of this shoe we would recommend to be after the French method, which 

 consists in conical nail holes, punched with a square countersink (d), into which arc 

 received conical nails (e), whicli exactly fill up the countersink; by which means so long 

 as any part of the base of the nail remains, the shoe must be held firmly on, and which 

 is not the only advantage gained ; for the nail holes being obliquely formed, and at some 

 distance from the outer rim, act less detrimentally on the crust of the foot. 



5930. To prepare the foot for the aj)j)licatio7i of the shoe is also an important con- 

 sideration. Avoid taking off more than one shoe at a time ; otherwise the edges of 

 the crust become broken away. Observe that the clinches are all carefully removed. 

 Let the rough edges of the crust be rasped away; after which, the sole should be pared 

 throughout until a strong pressure M'ith the thumb can produce some yielding : too 

 strong a sole tends to heat and contraction, too weak a one will not require paring. 

 In this paring imitate the natural arch of the sole as much as possible. The line of 

 concavity sliould not begin, as it usually is made to do, from the extreme margin of the 

 foot, but should begin from the inner line of the crust only ; by which means the crust, 

 or outer wall of the hoof, will have a firm bearing on the flat surface of the shoe. Let 

 no heated shoe be applied to correct the inequalities that may be left, unless it is for a 

 moment, only to observe, but not burn them ; but still more carefully avoid putting a 

 plane shoe on an uneven foot. The portion of sole between the bars and quarters 

 {Jig. 622 d) should be always pared out as the surest preventive against corns. The 

 heels also should be reduced to the general level of the foot, never allowing their hard- 

 ness to serve as an excuse for being left ; neither suffer the inner heel to be lowered 

 more than the outer. After all the rest has been done, the frog should be so trimmed 

 as to remain on an exact level with the returns of the heels, and no more. The custom 

 of taking away the point or angle of the horny inflexions of the heels, under the false 

 term of opening the heels, is to be carefully avoided. Let all these operations be per- 

 formed with a drawing knife. The butteris should never be allowed to come near the 

 foot of any horse but the largest and coarsest of the cart breed. 



5931. The shoes for the hind feet are someivhat different to the fore, being a little 

 squarer at the toe for about an inch ; to which squareness the hoof is to be also adapted 

 by rasping it slightly so, avoiding, however, to do it injuriously. By this mode a 

 steady point of bearing is affbrded to the hinder feet in the great exertions they are often 

 called upon to make in galloping, leaping, &c. They are, when thus formed, less 

 liable, also, to interfere with the fore shoes by clicking. When horses click or over-reach 

 very much, it is also common to square, or rather to shorten the toes of the hinder shoes ; 

 but not to do so by the horn ; by which, the hoof meets the middle of the fore shoe 

 instead of the shoe itself; and the unpleasant noise of the stroke or click of one foot 

 against the other is avoided. g2Y 



5932. Varieties which 7iecessarily occur in shoeing. The bar 

 shoe {.fig' 627.), is the most important variety, and it is to be 

 regretted that so much prejudice prevails against the use of this 

 hoe, which can only arise from its supposed unsightly appear- 

 ance as betokening unsoundness. As a defence to weak thin 

 feet it is invaluable, as it removes a part of the pressure from 

 the heels and quarters, which can ill bear it, to the frog which 

 can well bear it ; but a well formed bar shoe should not have 

 its barred part raised into an edge behind, but such part should 

 be of one uniform thickness throughout the web of the bar, 

 which, instead of being the narrowest, should be the widest part 

 of the shoe. The thickness of the bar should be greater or less (a), 

 so as to be adapted to take only a moderate pressure from the frog. When the frog 

 is altogether ulcerated away by thrush, the bar may be altogether plain ; but this form 

 of shoe is still the best for these cases, as it prevents the tender surface from being 

 wounded. In corns this shoe is invaluable, and may then be so made as to lie off" the 

 affected part, which is the great desideratum in corns. 



5933. The hunting shoe is made lighter than the common one, and it is of consequence, 

 that it is made to sit as flat to the foot as it can safely do without pressing on the sole : 

 by which the great suction in clayey grounds is much lessened. Hunting fore shoes 

 should also be as short at the heels as is consistent with safety to the foot, to avoid the 

 danger of being pulled off" by the hinder shoes : nor should the web project at all. It 

 is the custom to turn up the outer heel to prevent slipping ; which is done some- 

 times to both fore and hind feet, and sometimes only to the latter. As this precaution 

 can hardly be avoided in hilly slippery grounds, it should be rendered as little hurtful 



