f HOEING. 191 



is certain to enlarge the size of the holes ; and this mischief is 

 often increased by the violent wrenching from side to side which 

 the shoe undergoes in the process of removal by the smith. As 

 these holes cannot possibly grow down and be removed under 

 three shoeings, it will be found that even with seven nails the 

 crust must always have twenty-one of these separations existing 

 in it at the same time ; and as they are often from various causes 

 extended into each other, they necessarily keep it in a brittle, 

 unhealthy state, and materially interfere with the security of 

 the future nail-hold. 



By the mode of fastening above advocated the struggle be- 

 tween the expansion of the foot and the resistance of the shoe 

 is entirely overcome ; the outer side of the foot, being the only 

 part nailed to the shoe, carries the whole shoe with it at every 

 expansion ; while the inner side, being unattached, expands in- 

 dependently of it, whereby all strain upon the nails is avoided, 

 and the foot is left, with respect to its power of expansion, as 

 nearly as possible in a state of nature. 



The position of the hind foot and the nature of its office 

 render it less liable to injury than the fore foot, and conse- 

 quently it less frequently lames. As, however, disease of the 

 navicular bone of this foot is by no means impossible, care 

 should be taken to guard against its contraction by interfering 

 as little as possible. with the expansive power of the foot; and 

 this is best done by keeping the nails on the inside as far re- 

 moved from the heel as convenient, placing four nails in the 

 outer and three in the inner side of the shoe. The holes in the 

 inner side should be punched closer together, and kept more 

 towards the toe than those on the outside, which should be 

 more spread out, as affording greater security of hold to 



