TilE IIOESE. 51 



each shoe, at the bcgiiniing of the quarters, will give security to it. 

 Clips are likewise necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all 

 others who are disposed to stamp, or violently paw with their feet, and 

 thus incur the danger of displacing the shoe ; but they are evils, inas- 

 much as they press upon the crust as it grows down, and they sliould 

 only be used when circumstances absolutely require them. In the hunt- 

 er's shoe they are not required at the sides. One at the toe is suffi- 

 cient. 



The Hinder Shoe, — In forming the hinder shoes, it should be remem- 

 bered that the hind limbs are the principal instruments in progression, 

 and that in ewery act of progression, except the walk, the toe is the 

 point on which the v.iiole frame of the animal turns, and from which it 

 is propelled. This part, then, should be strengthened as much as pos- 

 sible; and therefore the hinder shoes are made broader at the toe than 

 the fore ones. Another good effect is produced by this — that, the hinder 

 foot being shortened, there is less danger of overreaching, forging, or 

 clinking, and especially if the shoe is wider on the foot surface than on 

 the ground one. The shoe is thus made to slope inward, and is a little 

 within the toe of the crust. 



The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of the 

 fore foot. It is straighter in the quarters, and the shoe must have the 

 same form. For carriage and draught-horses generally, calkins may be 

 put on the heels, because the animal w-ill be thus enabled to dig his toe 

 more firmly into the ground, and urge himself forward, and throw his 

 weip'ht into the collar with o-reater advanta^re : but the calkins must not 

 be too high, and they must be of an equal height on each heel, other- 

 wise, as has been stated w^ith regard to the fore feet, the w^eight will not 

 be fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the foot or the leg 

 will materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be placed 

 nearer to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparative- 

 ly little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not 

 so much danger of contraction. 



Different Kinds of Shoes. — The shoe must vary in substance and weight 

 with the kind of foot, and the nature of the work. A weak foot should 

 never wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that will last longer than 

 a month. Here, perhaps, we may be permitted to caution the horse- 

 proprietor against having his cattle shod by contract, unless he binds 

 his farrier or veterinary surgeon to remove the shoes- once at least in 

 every month ; for, if the contractor, by a heavy shoe, and a little steel, 

 can cause five or six weeks to intervene between the shoeings, he will 

 do so, although the feet of the horse must necessarily suffer. The shoe 

 should never be heavier than the work requires, for an ounce or two in 

 the weight of the shoe will sadly tell at the end of a hard day's work. 

 This is acknowledged in the hunting-shoe, which is narrower and lighter 

 than that of the hackney, although the foot of the hackney is smaller 

 than that of the hunter. It is more decidedly acknowledged in the 

 racer, wdio wears a shoe only sufficiently thick to prevent it from bend- 

 ing when it is used. 



The Concave-Seated Shoe. — An illustration is subjoined of a shoe which 

 is useful and valuable for general purposes. It is employed in many of 



