466 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



" the sides remain unattached and separate, and form the channels 

 " called the ' Commissures.' " 



The principles on which Miles bases his directions for shoeing 

 are, that, as at every step of the horse the crust or wall of the 

 hoof expands and contracts, this alternate movement being neces- 

 sary to the natural performance of the act, the shoeing should be 

 so done as in nowise to prevent it ; that, as the bars of the hoof 

 are naturally intended to receive a very large proportion of the 

 burden in the stepping of the horse, the shoe should be broad at 

 the heel and should rest well upon them, they not having been cut 

 away, as is the too frequent custom, so as not to touch it ; that, 

 as the sole of the hoof inside of the wall is much subject to injury 

 if constantly pressed, the inner* surface of the shoe should be so 

 beveled off as to allow it to be easily cleaned out and to render it 

 little likely that pebble-stones or other matters will lodge inside of 

 it ; and that the shoeing should be so done that there will be little 

 danger of the hoof working forward off of the shoe. 



Mr. Miles' system of shoeing, which is only a modification of 

 the commonest practices, requires that the hoof be exactly fitted by 

 the shoe, and that no effort be made to fit it to an improperly 

 shaped shoe, the assumption being that nature understands, better 

 than the blacksmith does, what is necessary in this respect. The 

 manner in which the shoe supports the wall and bars of the hoof 

 is shown in Fig. no. The shoe itself, with its beveled upper 

 surface, the projecting point in front to prevent the hoof from slip- 

 ping forward, and the broad heel, are shown in Fig. in. It will 

 be seen that this shoe has but six nail-holes, only two of which 

 are upon the inside, and none of which reach farther back than 

 the center of the hoof. This is the chief improvement that Mr. 

 Miles introduced, and it has come into quite general use among 

 all good horsemen. So far fro'm the security of the shoe being 

 lessened by this apparent insufficiency of nailing, it is found in 

 practice that it is actually increased. I have had my own horses 

 (some of them saddle-horses, doing hard work over rough, moun- 

 tainous roads) shod in strict accordance with this principle, for 

 more than ten years past ; and the shoes have almost invariably 



I 



