WINTER SHOEING. 95 



Since its introduction by M. Charlier, I have tried this 

 method on a large number of horses of various sizes, and 

 which have been employed for hunting, road, carriage, 



t draught, and am perfectly satisfied that it is a valua- 

 ble accessory mode of defending and preserving the hoofs 

 and remedying their diseases or defects. It cannot be ap- 

 plied indiscriminately to every foot, and to make the 

 groove in the hoof and fit the shoe accurately, requires 

 some care. When the horn and metal are combined in this 

 way, it is somewhat astonishing for how long a period a 

 very light rim will sustain wear even on hard roads. 



I have not tried the shoe on the hind-feet, because I 

 do not think it so well adapted for them ; as before men- 

 tioned, the front-feet only demand all our attention. 



WINTER SHOEING. 



In such a variable climate as ours, it is not an easy 

 matter to provide, economically and successfully for the 

 occurrence of frost and snow during the winter months, so 

 far as shoeing is concerned. Some winters are so mild, 

 that there is no necessity for making any difference in the 

 shoe, while others are so severe, and the roads are cov- 

 ered with ice for such a long period, that special appli- 

 ances must be resorted to if the services of horses are to 

 be made at all available 



To be generally useful, these appliances must be cheap 

 and simple. 



The quickest, cheapest, but at the same time least 

 durable of these, is the "frost-nail." This is nothing 

 more than the ordinary horseshoe nail, with its head flat- 

 tened gradually to a thin edge. Two or three of the nails 

 are withdrawn from each side of the shoe, and replaced 

 by the frost-nails. The heads may be flattened in differ- 



