THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. Ill 



horse for the time quite useless, being- g-enerall^^ pronounced 

 foundered by those who think they know whereof they 

 speak. 



Its causes are numerous and various ; but, in m^^ opinion, 

 which is founded upon practical observation, the chief 

 cause is in fa ult}^ shoeing-. Sufficient attention is not paid 

 to the nature of the hoof to be shod ; a thin shell hoof re- 

 quires a light shoe ; the nails should be small, and not too 

 tightly clinched. This last point is very important indeed, 

 in all shoeing, yet a horse with a strong, thick hoof, may 

 take a much heavier shoe and larger nails, and the}^ may 

 be a little more tightly clinched. 



Another very important point for which the blacksmith 

 is not answerable, is that some persons, farmers especially, 

 allow the shoes to be worn just as long as they will stay on, 

 often letting a poor horse do hard work with three, two, or 

 even one shoe on. By this means horses are quite apt to 

 have one hoof larger than the other, from the fact that the 

 bare foot, or feet, wear down, while the ones shod retain 

 all the hoof, hence the cause for the remark so common, 

 ''3^our horse has odd feet." It is a good plan to allow 

 horses to go barefoot a few daj^s occasionally . by so doing 

 the hoof expands, and so far is a preventive of contraction. 

 Foul, dirt\^ stables, or other manure heaps, occasion the dis- 

 ease by the action of ammonia upon the horn^^ portion of 

 the feet. 



Standing constantl}^ upon a hard, dry floor is another 

 source of this evil also. Such horses should have woolen 

 pads or cloths of several thicknesses tied loosely around, just 

 above and overhanging the hoof, which are to be kept con- 

 stantly wet with water. Finally, if the feet are very bad, 

 takeoff all the shoes, open the heels on each side of the 

 rlcft of the frog, pare until you can see the quick, and, if 

 -rass time, turn him out in a damp pasture ; if not grass 



