THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 



135 



toe well down and take nothing from the heel, while others 

 cut down both. For contracted feet some shoers use a shoe 

 veiy wide at the heei, reasoning' that the hoof will follow 

 the shoe, while others believe that such a shoe has a tend- 

 ency to contract the feet. 



I think there are general principles that ought to govern 

 all shoers. I do not claim to have gone to the bottom of 

 the matter, but I can give a few" points that will at least be 

 useful to beginners. In treating a case of contracted foot, 

 I first remove the old shoe by carefully- cutting all the 

 clinches, and if possible remove each nail separately. I 



Fig. 78— Bottom View of a Horse's Foot. Showing the Seat of Corns. 



then pare the hoof down to as near the natural form as 

 possible. A hoof is never pared enough if any dead matter 

 is left inside. 



One of the most important points in shoeing is to never 

 allow a shoe to remain on the foot too long. While a shoe 

 is on, the foot is prevented from wearing, the waste matter 

 remains and in time will spoil the foot by rotting some of 

 the essential parts, frog, braces, etc., and corns will be 

 caused by the direct pressure fi^om the bottom or by 

 the side pressure from the spoiling of the braces or bars. 



