448 NAILS AND APPLYING THE SHOE. 



" Five nails are sufficient : therefore there must be three on one side 

 and two on the other. The inside is chosen for the omission of the third 

 nail. Six nails, viz., three on each side, are needed to hold a hind shoe in 

 place." 



"Fullering [see Fig. 212] is objectionable because the groove 

 weakens the shoe. Again, nails never fit so well or so tightly into the 

 groove of the fuller as into countersunk holes [see Fig. 213]." Sir F. 

 Fitzwygram, "Horses and Stables" p. 486 et seq. 



NAILS. 



" Nails must be made of the best and toughest iron, for none other can 

 stand the strain and jar of fast work. The quality of the nail may be easily 

 tested by fastening it in a vise. It should not break before pointing under 

 five bendings." 



" The size of the nail must be varied according to the size of the foot 

 and the weight of the shoe. The dimensions of the head must, of course, 

 be proportionate to the size of the nail." 



" Rose-headed nails cannot exactly fit and fill the nail-holes. A portion 

 of the neck of the nail must be in the shoe, and at that point it will be apt 

 to break. Again, a portion of the head generally projects below the shoe, 

 and that portion must be soon lost by friction with the ground." Sir F. 

 Fitzwygram, " Horses and Stables" p. 485. 



APPLYING THE SHOE. 



"The shoe may be tried on warm enough to mark the crust. It is 

 difficult to fit the shoe accurately without such marking. There is no real 

 objection to the practice, as the horn is quite insensitive. But this permis- 

 sion must not be made an excuse for burning down the crust." 



" The crust having been lowered by the rasp, aided as little as possible 

 by the knife, and rendered smooth by the rasp, and its sharp edge having 

 been rounded off, the shoe must then be so fitted that its outer edge cor- 

 responds exactly with the crust. It must not be smaller than the crust, nor 

 overlap it in the slightest degree. If a shoe be applied smaller than the 

 crust, and such is the usual practice, the crust must be rasped down to it. 

 If, on the other hand, the shoe be larger than the crust, treads and other 

 injuries may be the result, and in deep ground the shoe may be pulled off. 



