238 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Too short. 



Nailing on 



and 



finishing. 



Driving 

 nails. 



Too short a shoe is equally faulty, as it fails to take a bearing on the 

 bars, and so increases the liability to bruising of the heels (corns). 



Nailing on ajid finis/n?ig.— Whtn the shoe is ready for nailing on, 

 the man takes the foot on his lap, holding it squarely and firmly ; and 

 laying the shoe accurately in position, drives one of the toe nails. He 

 then readjusts the position if necessary, drives the opposite toe nail, which 

 prevents any further chance movement, and drives the remaining nails in 

 succession from toe to heel on each side. 



Driving nails. — In driving, the smith begins with the toe nails first, 

 because they serve to fix the shoe firmly in the position he intends it to 

 occupy, and also, because the horn at this point is thicker than 



Fig. 51. 

 Dumped " toe, sprung heel, heel of shoe too long and not bevelled off. 



"Coarse " 

 and "fine 

 nails. 



elsewhere, and he can therefore plant the first nail with confidence. As 

 the heel is approached the horn becomes thinner, and greater care is 

 required to avoid injury. The point of the nail is entered in the 

 neighbourhood of the white line, and it is " pitched," or sloped at such an 

 angle as is calculated to bring it out high enough up the wall to give a 

 secure hold. At the same time, it must not be driven so close to the 

 fleshy leaves as to " prick" or "press" (bruise) them. Nails are termed 

 " coarse " when driven too close to the flesh, and " fine " when they start 

 very near the edge of the wall. Those which make their exit far up the 

 wall are "high," and those which come out very near the ground, 

 " shallow." 



