APPLYING THE SHOE. 81 



imprint of the nail-holes. Without being reheated, any 

 alteration can be readily and at once effected in moulding 

 the shoe to the shape of the two. 



The whole surface of the shoe intended to be in con- 

 tact with the horn should be distinctly impressed on the 

 contour of the hoof, so as to insure the closest and most 

 accurate intimacy between the two ; and this carbonized 

 surface should not be interfered with on any account, ex- 

 cept by the rasp, which is only to be employed in remov- 

 ing any sharpness or inequality on the extreme edge of 

 the wall that may have been caused in fitting. 



It is necessary to bear in mind that the shoe should 

 be fitted at a red heat. Its application then need only 

 be very brief, and it is far more effective in producing a 

 solid level surface ; it ought not to be applied at a black 

 heat. Should the margin of the hoof not be sufficiently 

 levelled by the rasp before the application of the hot shoe, 

 a slight contact of the latter will show the inequalities, 

 and these may then be removed by rasp or knife. On no 

 occasion ous;ht the shoe to remain longer on the hoof 

 • than is necessary to produce a solid, perfectly level sur- 

 face. 



The Nails. — The shoe having been made to fit the 

 hoof exactly, is cooled and finished with the file. It is 

 then ready to be attached to the hoof by nails. These 

 should not be unnecessarily large, as is too often the case, 

 but well proportioned to the size of the shoe. The heads 

 should only be sufficient to fill the nail-holes when sub- 

 jected to two or three smart blows of the hammer, and 

 the shanks thin. It is scarcely necessary to add that the 

 nails, like the shoe, should always be made of the best 

 iron. 



Driving the Nails. — In driving the nails into the hoof, 

 every one should be made to pass through sound horn. 

 It is a mistake to place them where the wall is broken or 



