THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 137 



I generally put on over the crack a thin plate of iron 

 held to place with about six screws, which enter the horn 

 about one-fourth of an inch. I weld on a calk in front of 

 the crack, do not let the shoe bear back of it, and generally 

 cover over with tar to keep out the dirt. A crack extending 

 up the toe of the hoof clear through the horn and up to the 

 hair is rather a serious matter, and requires careful treat- 

 ment by a man who understands his business. 



Let me say again, do not cut away the frog. It is a 

 cushion formed to give the horse ease on hard roads, 

 and perhaps it also supplies the hoof with moisture. 

 In the engraving annexed, Fig. 78, may be seen the 

 various parts of the foot to which I have alluded : 1 

 is the horn ; 2, the frog ; 3, the seat of corns, and 4 4 are 

 the braces. 



Contraction — Interfering. 



I will give 3^ou in brief my experience in shoeing con- 

 tracted feet. I shall not lay down any particular theor}^ 

 b}' which to shoe all horses, for I do not believe that all 

 horses can be shod alike Avith good success. Flat feet do 

 not generall}^ contract, but the reverse. 



Now, Avith regard to shoeing, the smith must use good 

 judgment in preparing the foot to be shod. Some feet 

 naturally want more paring than others. My method is 

 to fit the feet as nearly natural as possible. Make the 

 shoe level nearly two-thnxls the way round, and convex 

 the heels, commencing at or near the back nail hole of 

 the common shoe, but do not punch the nail holes so far 

 back as the common shoe, and onl3^' drive six nails in a 

 shoe. The shoes should be removed once in three or four 

 weeks, accoixling as tiie hoof spreads. Do not convex the 

 shoe too much or you may cause quarter cracks. Let the 

 shoe bear all around on the shell, but lightly on the heels, 



