80 THE HORSE OWNER's 



to make both the foot and the shoe as level, but when 

 you have done that, the small quantity of burning that 

 is necessary, to make them come close together can do no 

 harm. T have said before that a weak, thin crust will 

 not bear as much heat as a strong one, and that the shoe 

 should be applied less hot to it; nevertheless, it must be 

 scorched, that you may be sure the shoe fits properly. 

 When you have cooled the shoe, you should " buck-hole " 

 it ; that is, make free openings on the foot surface for the 

 nails to pass through, and these openings should be 

 made large enough to take the shanks of the nails, and 

 not merely the thin part toward these points ; and mind 

 that in opening them you do not make the holes incline 

 inward, but take great care to make them pass straight 

 through the f=hoes. Before you ''file up " the shoe, hold 

 it firmly in its place on the foot with both hands, and ex- 

 amine carefully whether any light appears between the 

 foot and the shoe, and if you should perceive any, alter 

 the shoe at once, for the crust must bear upon the shoe 

 all round, before you can say the shoe fits the foot 

 as it ought to do. 



NAILS, AND FILING UP THE SHOE. 



I must say a few words about the nails before we come 

 to filing up the shoe and nailing it on, because the nails 

 in common use are as badly formed as they well can be. 

 Their short, wedge-shaped heads, wide at the top and nar- 

 row at the bottom, with shanks springing suddenly from 

 the head and ending in a long narrow point, are most un- 

 safe to trust a shoe to. The head of such a nail can nev- 

 er perfectly fill the hole in the shoe, for the wide top gets 

 tied either on the fuller or tlie upper of the hole before 

 the lower part has reached the bottom; and when the 



