428 THE HORSE. 



email, smoothed off with the hammer, and ilightly he\ /lied on one 

 side of the point; the position of the holes in the shoe brings 

 the nails out low down on the surface of the crust, but care must 

 be taken to start them in the centre of the holes, that the foot 

 may not be cramped or forced out of its natural shape. The pro- 

 jecting nail points are filed close to the hoof, that they may be 

 broken off without twisting the nail, or enlarging the hole in the 

 crust; the nails are then driven up, and the clenches turned over 

 and hammered down. 



No rasp has been used, no crust wasted by mutilation for clips, 

 and but little injury by nail holes; if the nails be of good iron, 

 they are sufficient in number, and the light clenches on a sound 

 foot, will hold the shoe perfectly tight, and will not cause abrasion 

 of the legs in travelling. 



The foot presents what we might call a beautiful fit, the tender 

 part of the frog is protected by the thickness of the shoe, while as 

 it is renewed from within, the outside will be worn off by friction, 

 and nature will keep it exactly low enough to obtain its necessary 

 exercise ; moreover, by driving the nails straight through the mid- 

 dle of the hole in the shoe, the foot will be free from that dis- 

 agreeable, cramped feeling, we have imagined a horse to experience, 

 when the nails are started at either side of the hole in the iron, 

 forcing the more yielding fibres of horn to its centre. 



There have been many forms of shoes recommended by different 

 authors, but few of which are used in this country. The French 

 shoe has a convex ground surface, and the foot is fashioned to it, 

 by leaving the quarters full, and the crust sloped off" "towards the 

 toe and heels. Why the bearing should be taken off the heels we 

 cannot imagine, and forcing the quarters to bear an undue amount 

 of concussion would apparently induce quarter crack, but having 

 had no experience with this shoe we may be wrong in our 

 conclusions. 



Another fashion imitates an old shoe worn off at the toe, which 

 is certainly an advantage to roadsters, as it would be to us, if we 

 could buy new shoes to fit our feet exactly like the old ones. Some 

 writers advocate nailing the shoe only upon the outside quarter, or 

 with but two nails on the inside, toward the toe, with the idea of 

 allowing unimpeded expansion of the crust when the foot strikes 

 the ground. Inasmuch as nails injure the crust, the practice of using 

 as few as possible is wi.se, but we have been unable to discover any 

 expansion of the anterior half of the ground surface in hoofs that 

 have never been shod. A careful examination will convince any one 

 that there is no mechanical necessity for such spreading, and from 

 the nature of the organization of the foot, it is simply impossible; all 

 the spring needful to the front of the crust is gained by the elasticity 

 of its fibres. The line of bearing of the lower part of the fore leg, 



