152 ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



"SPECIAL PECULIARITIES OF THE CHIEF CLASSES 

 OF SHOES. 



" 1. A shoe for a regular hoof fits when its outer border follows 

 the wall closely in the region of the nail-holes, and from the last nail 

 to the end of the branch gradually projects beyond the surface of the 

 wall to an eighth of an inch, and extends back of the buttresses an 

 amount equal to the thickness of the shoe. The shoe must be straight, 

 firm, air-tight, its nail-holes directly over the white line, and its 

 branches far enough from the branches of the frog to permit the 

 passage of a foot-pick. Branches of the shoe must be of equal length. 



" In fitting a shoe to a hoof of regular form, we follow the form 

 of the hoof; but in base-wide and in base-narrow hoofs, which are of 

 irregular form, we must pay attention not only to the form of the 

 hoof, but also to the direction of the pasterns and the consequent dis- 

 tribution of weight on the hoof, because where the most weight falls 

 the surface of support of the foot must be widened, and where the 

 least weight falls (opposite side of the hoof) the surface of support 

 should be narrowed. In this way the improper distribution of weight 

 within the hoof is evenly distributed over the surface of support. 



"2. A shoe for a base-wide hoof should be fitted full on the 

 inner side of the foot and fitted close on the outer side, because the 

 inner side bears the most weight. The nails in the outer branch are 

 placed well back, but in the inner branch are crowded forward toward 

 the toe. 



"3. A shoe for a base-narrow hoof should be just the reverse of 

 the preceding. The outer branch should be somewhat longer than 

 the inner. 



"4. A shoe for an acute-angled hoof should be long in the branch- 

 es, because most of the weight falls in the posterior half of the foot. 

 The support in front should be diminished either by turning the shoe 

 up at the toe or by beveling it under the toe. 



"5. A shoe for a stumpy hoof should be short in the branches, 

 and, for pronounced cases, should increase the support of the toe , 

 where the most of the weight falls, by being bevelled downward 

 and forward. 



" In many cases, especially in draft-horses, where the hoofs stand 

 very close together, the coronet of the outer quarter is found to stand 

 out beyond the lower border of the quarter. In such cases the outer 



