232 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



that whatever the original pattern of the ground surface, it usually becomes 

 a flat one some time before the shoe is worn out, and the horse nevertheless 

 continues to work satisfactorily. 

 Nails. Nails. — The use of machine-made nails for horse-shoes is now so 



universal that the hand-made variety need not be alluded to. Frost nails 

 are, however, still made by hand. The size of nails is denoted by numbers 

 which correspond to the number of pounds per thousand which the parti- 

 cular nail weighs ; e.g.., i,ooo No. 6 are supposed to weigh six pounds. As 

 a matter of fact, the actual weight is always greater than inferred by the 



Fig. 50. 

 A feather-edged shoe. 



Fig. 50A. 



Diagram to show feather-edged shoe 



applied. Back view of foot. 



number. The back of the nail is flat from head to point ; on the face, the 

 head, shaped like an inverted cone, slopes to the " neck," where it joins 

 the " shank." The " point " is really a bevel on the face of the nail, and 

 its direction helps to bring the nail out of the hoof when driven. 



Good nails, which are made of the best Swedish iron, must be stiff .ind 

 solid enough to drive without buckling or splitting, and yet ductile enough 

 to prevent the possibility of their snapping short when the points are being 

 wrung off. This last is a very serious fault, for if the shank breaks too 

 short, there is not sufficient left to clench up, and the nail must be with- 



