92 THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



been done, the foot is ready to receive the finishing- touches, 

 which should be performed in a neat manner by filing" the; 

 clinch thin and turning down, care being taken not to file 

 a gutter under the clinches. I have often seen a foot that 

 deep gutters have been filed in crack open and shell oil". 

 After the clinches have been turned down, rasp ofl' the 

 superfluous hoof even with the shoe, but be careful not to 

 rasp above the nail. — By Toe Knife. 



Preparing the Foot for Shoeing — Interfering — Forging — 

 Hot and Cold Fitting — Split Hoofs. 



I am a practical horseshoer and not a writer. What I 

 have to offer is from experience. 



In an article like this I cannot enter into the anatomy' of 

 the horse's foot, even if I had a profound knowledge of it, 

 which I confess I have not. 



On a foot that is about to be shod it is necessar^^ to re- 

 move the horn to a level with the sole at its outer margin 

 at the toe, and at the heels low enough to obtain the de- 

 sired angle, which varies considerably^ in different horses. 

 It should be kept as near the natural condition as possible. 

 Tlie sole should not be touched with knife or rasp as a 

 general practice, and it may be made to support a part of 

 the horse's weight by having the shoe rest on a portion of 

 the sole equal to the thickness of the wall. The frog should 

 never be touched with a knife, except to remove pieces that 

 ma^^ have become partly detached by exfoliation and remain 

 flapping on the foot. In such cases, it is better to remove 

 these loose pieces, as the foot is very sensitive to the 

 touch. 



A shoe adapted to the foct should be selected, and it 

 must be fitted as accurately as i)Ossible, and not, as is often 

 practised by shoers, fitted by making the shoe a little small- 



