THE PRACTICAI. HORSESHOER. 217 



ments are free, g-reatly depends on the state of his hind feet. 

 An animal crippled on his fore feet falls and breaks his 

 knees; but if a sound horse, free on his limbs — say an un- 

 shod colt, galloping- in th« field — falls, it is always through 

 his hind feet giving* wa^^ by their slipping mider him, in 

 which case he comes down on his quarters or on his side, 

 but not on his knees. 



A little artificial aid answers the purpose of giving secur- 

 ity to the horse in almost all emergencies. The thick-heeled 

 shoes both jar the horse and act like skates on his feet, and 

 when one limb of the shoe is made thick and the other 

 turned up, on the supposition that the horse stands level, 

 the opposite effect follows; for although the foot may ap- 

 pear level whilst the animal stands on flag-stones or boards, 

 yet the case is reversed as soon as he is put to work, 

 whether on common roads, paved streets, or ground more 

 or less yielding; the heel that is turned up will find or make 

 depressions, whilst the solid, thick, inside half of the shoe 

 remains above ground and jars the horse's limbs, becoming 

 a source of inconvenience without one redeeming advantage. 

 —By F. I. G. 



To Shoe a Horse Injured by Calking. 



It is very surprising to me that the mechanics in cities 

 are, as a rule, infei'ior to those in the countr3^ 1 do not 

 say this because I have anything against the city mechan- 

 ics, for I think they are more brotherly than the country 

 workmen, who are always running one another down. 



But let that be as it may, what I Wish to speak of now is 

 the art of horseshoeing in particular. It seems strange 

 that shoers have so many dilferent ideas about shoeing the 

 same kinds of feet. I have seen some especially bad work 

 in some of the Western cities. For example: I saw a horse 



