THE PRACTICAL HORSESHOER. 163 



brought on by careless driving". Over-driving-, causing- tlie 

 horse to become leg* weary, is a common cause of the dilfi- 

 ciilty. Allowing- the shoes to remain on too long- until the 

 clinches Avork out, or the animal becomes smooth in the 

 winter, or on icy roads, is also a cause. Some horses 

 strike v/hen they become poor or thin in flesh. 



Bv attention to the sore ankles thus caused without 

 chang'ing- the shoeing-, they g-et entirely over the habit 

 when they are ag-ain in g-ood condition. The first thing-, 

 theiefore, necessar^^ to be done is to find out what partic- 

 ular part of the shoe the horse strikes with. My plan is 

 to straig'hten out that part and clinch down smooth, 

 rasping- away the shell. If the horse is poor, I prescribe 

 more feed and careful attention to the sore ankles. If 

 he strikes from over-driving-; I straig'hten a little and 

 prescribe more careful handling-. In the worst cases in win- 

 ter time, I turn the outside heel calk, not the inside one, as 

 some shoers recommend, in order to keep the foot from 

 working in after it is placed on the g-round. I shoe often 

 enough to keep the horse from slipping. I think if these 

 rules are intelligentl3^ followed by any shoer, he will have 

 no difficulty with cases of this kind. It often requires two, 

 and sometimes three, trials, especially if the horse has sore 

 ankles, before a cure is effected. Some owners think that 

 the smith should stop the worst cases and heal up the sore 

 ankles b}^ the first shoeing. This is unreasonable, as many 

 readers will doubtless agree. — By F. H. S. 



Interfering. 



There are many ways to lessen, tb some extent, the in- 

 terfering of a horse, but what is applicable to one is not al- 

 ways good for another, and the more methods we are ac- 

 quainted with the more likely we are to select one which 

 will prove serviceable. 



