446 



THE WIDTH OF SHOES. 



inconvenient to be liable to the risk of a shoe breaking, if the owner hap- 

 pened to take an extra long ride towards the end of the month. . . . 



" Nine ounces may be taken as the minimum, and fourteen ounces as 

 the maximum for ordinary riding horses." Sir F. Fitzwygram, "Horses 

 and Stables" p. 482. 



THE WIDTH OF SHOES. 



" For ordinary riding horses, hunters and carriage horses it is usual to 

 make the shoe about one inch wide. I believe that three-quarters of an 

 inch is sufficient. 



" There are, however, some points of difference between the hind and 

 fore feet. The crust or wall of the hind foot is more upright than that of 



FIG. 212. 



FIG. 213. 



fore foot. It is also thinner, /. e., narrower. The web of the shoe must also 

 be narrower. It should not much exceed half an inch, which is the width 

 of the crust. 



" The upper surface of the shoe should be flat so that it may rest on the 

 whole surface of the crust. . . . The under or ground surface should be 

 concave. A concave ground surface has a great practical advantage, inas- 

 much as the shoe gets a much greater hold on the ground, and the horse 

 is therefore less liable to slip or pick up stones." Sir F. Fitzwygram y 

 " Horses and Stables," p. 482. 



