CHAPTER IV. 

 SHOEING AND CARE OF THE FEET, 



I. WHAT A SHOER CAN DO. II. HOW TO PREPARE THE FOOT FOR THE SHOE. III. 



WHERE THE BEARING SHOULD REST. IV. WEIGHT OF SHOES AND HOW TO FIT 



THEM. V. CARE OF THE FEET IN THE STABLE. VI. THE FLOOR OF THE 



STALL. 



I. What a Shoer Can Do. 



Horse shoeing is a trade in which a great deal of skill can be exhibited. 

 A good shoer can keep the feet in the very best condition as far as shoe- 

 ing is concerned, and a poor one can ruin a set of feet in a very short 

 time. 



n. How to Prepare the Foot for the Shoe. 



The foot should be carefully prepared by being rasped down to its 

 proper size and all superfluous growth of wall and sole removed. To do 

 this requires judgment, for there are scarcely two feet alike. Some grow 

 faster than others ; some are high-heeled and some low, some have thick 

 soles and are very concave, while others have thin soles and are flat. Flat- 

 footed horses have the latter, and the extreme in the other direction is 

 seen in the club-foot. In flat feet the toes are long and thin and are 

 spread out, the heels low and soles thin. In club-feet the toe is short, 

 the wall straight, almost pei-pendicular, the heels high and strong., and 

 the soles thick. The flat foot needs very little paring and is seldom 

 afiiicted with contraction, while the strong foot is very prone to contrac- 

 tion and needs considerable trimming to prepare it for the shoe. The 

 flat foot is more subject to laminitis, bruises, pricking and gravel ; the 

 strong one to corns, quittor, contraction and navicular disease. Both the 

 flat foot and the strong foot are objectionable ; the medium is the best 

 foot. 



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