84 THE HORSE ow:ner's 



vent the dirt and grit working in. Very little is ever 

 wanted on the sole in front of the frog. The use of the 

 oakum is to protect the foot, but more especially the 

 maricular joint, which lies above and across the frog, from 

 being jarred by stones on a hard road ; and the best way 

 of doing this is to fill the space on each side of the frog 

 with oakum, in such a manner that it shall share the 

 pressure with the frog, and prevent the full force of the 

 shock from falling on the maricular joint. You must now 

 nail on the shoe exactly as you would do if there was 

 nothing under it; and, if you have attended to the fitting, 

 there will be no fear of the shoe's liftino: or comino^ off. 

 THE HIND SHOE. 

 The hind shoe, like the fore shoe, should be brought in 

 at the heels and be made to follow the exact shape of the 

 hoof; but, as the weight of the horse falls differently on 

 the hind feet from what it does on the fore feet, and as the 

 rider often obliges the horse to stop suddenly and without 

 warning, when he is least prepared to do so, it becomes 

 necessary to guard against strains of the hock and back 

 sinews by raising the heels of the shoe; but this should 

 be done in such a manner as will give both heels an even 

 bearing on the ground. Calkins may be, and I believe 

 are useful to heavy draught horses, but they are objection- 

 able to fast work. And turning down the outside heel 

 alone ^should never be done ; it throws the weight upon 

 the inner quarter, which is the least able to bear it, and 

 strains the fetlock joint. The plan I have adopted for 

 many years is to have the last inch-and-a-half toward 

 the heel forged deeper and thicker than any other part 

 of the shoe. The heels are then made red-hot, and 

 the shoe is put in a vise with the hot heels projecting, 



