THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 27 



shoe enoug-li to see where to cut to make a good, tight, level 

 fit. I never burn the shoe into the hoof. 



When a horse interferes, I pare the foot a Uttle the low- 

 est on the outside, turn the inside calk just as usual, weld a 

 long* calk on the outside line of the shoe, leaving it the full 

 length, and place the toe calk a little to the inside of the 

 center. This seldom fails to jprevent striking where the leg- 

 is not swollen. 



I have never made the shoeing of race horses a study as I 

 have the shoeing of draught, livery, and stage horses. — By 

 B. N. S. 



Horseshoeing. 



I have found, in my twenty-five 3^ears' experience in black- 

 smithing and horseshoeing, that no work comes in the shop 

 that requires more care, thought, and investigation than 

 horseshoeing. 



The first thing to consider is preparing the foot for the 

 shoe. I think there can be more harm done by doing too 

 much at this stage of the job than in doing too little. But 

 it is impossible to frame an^" rules that would be applicable 

 to all feet, for the upright or arched foot requires very 

 different treatment from that necessary for a flat foot with 

 a low heel. In the arched foot the horn grows very fast, 

 especially on the sole and towards the toe, and if the shoe 

 has been on the foot for a considei^able length of time it 

 will be necessary to use the knife and rasp quite freel3\ 

 But in the flat foot the horn grows very sparingly, and con- 

 sequently the knife and rasp should be used Avith caution. 

 In preparing- the upright foot for tlie shoe, the dead horn 

 should be removed from the sole first. It will usually come 

 off in flakes and scales. When it has been removed, 3^ou 

 will have a fair idea of how much should be taken from the 

 wall. In all cases I think it best not to interfere much with 



