THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 149 



ing* the shoe to the extent advocated by some, cutting* away 

 the hoof at the quarters, or spnngmg the shoe off, msteaclof 

 being curative is injui'ious, in that it aggravates the real 

 difficulty — i.e., transverse pressure caused by contraction. 

 Nature's own cure for which is vertical pressure in a proper 

 way with every step the horse takes, tending to expand the 

 foot. 



It is possible, of course, that there may be some hidden 

 meaning, some mysterious knowledge not vouchsafed to 

 ordinar^^ mortals back of the statement of the smith who, as 

 he fits the shoe to a slightly contracted hoof, the inner 

 quarter slightly wired in, says : '*' I want to give all the 

 room I can on that inner quarter." 



What does he do ? Spreads the heels of the shoe apart. 

 Puts the narrowed, pinched heel between rather than 

 squarel}^ on top of the heels of the shoe, and the chances 

 are that the top surface of the shoe at the heels upon which 

 this slight bearing is made will be beveled inward. Per- 

 haps there is a reason why a foot shod this way, '^with a 

 good, broad, open heel," as it is called, should find relief; 

 but there are those who don't see it, and such contend that 

 the hoof should rest upon a level surface, and that the heels 

 of the shoes should be kept in where all of the back part of 

 the hoof which would bear upon a level surface shall be, on 

 the shoe, never between to hold the foot from expanding at 

 every step, as it inevitably Avould if it rested upon a level 

 surface. There are those who advocate beveling the top of 

 the shoe at the quarters and heels outward to increase the 

 tendency to expand from vertical pressure. In moderation 

 tliis may be, for some feet, a good thing, but to bevel them 

 inward, as hundreds of them are, must put the horse to 

 excruciating torment at every step. I have in mind a pair 

 of forward shoes which were taken from a lame horse and 

 replaced with a pair the top surfaces of which were made 



