SPECIAL AND GENERAL SHOEING. 129 



doing the work is so frequently destructive, that we seldom meet 

 with a horse whose feet have not in some degree lost their natu- 

 ral form, and this deviation from their original shape is gener- 

 ally proportioned to the length of time he has worn shoes. We 

 may learn from this that the horse in a state of bondage is a 

 subject fit for our gravest consideration and worthy of every care 

 and attention that we can bestow. Certainly it is true that this 

 applies with particular directness to the matter of shoeing, where 

 extra precaution should be adopted and intelligent observation 

 maintained, in order to guard against unnecessary punishment, 

 and secure the best results. 



Resetting the Shoes. — It not infrequently happens that 

 horses go lame from an overgrowth of hoof by allowing the 

 shoes to remain on too long. A false economy about shoeing 

 bills on the part of the owner — by persisting in the continuance 

 of shoes on his horse after they have been outgrown by the 

 hoof — is wrong and unreasonable, as the infliction of an unnec- 

 essary punishment. Under ordinary circumstances and condi- 

 tions of hoof growth the general purpose and draft horse should 

 have his feet adjusted and shoes reset every four weeks, and on 

 the track or speed horse, every two weeks to preserve the nec- 

 essary harmony of action and balance in the foot. 



Owing to the fact that the hind feet differ from the front 

 ones in shape, operation, and mode of growth, a different method 

 of shoeing should be applied to them. The action of the hind 

 limbs, as previously outlined, carries the sweep of the feet nearer 

 the ground, and the lighter force of weight in these parts gives 

 less fixity to the tread ; hence, it follows, that calks are less ob- 

 jectionable on the hind shoes, as they tend to keep a horse from 

 sliding on a descent, and secure the footing by a deeper clutch 

 on the ground. Calks, however, should be rather flat and the 

 shoes generally narrower in the web than the front ones (though 

 stiflf enough to insure substantial form) as a better grip is thus se- 



