254 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



sensitive ought to be shod as short as possible, and with 

 thin branches, — eponrjes^ — so that the frog comes in con- 

 tact with the ground ; because the heels, having nothing 

 beneath them, are benefited and relieved (Fig. 2). 



" Crescent shoes are all the 

 more needful for a horse which 

 has weak, incurvated quarters, 

 as they not only relieve them, 

 but also restore them to their 

 natural condition. Horses which 

 have contusions at the heels — 

 hleimes^ corns — should also be 

 shod in this manner; and for 

 cracks — seimes^ sand-cracks — 

 ^*«f* 2- at the quarter it is also advan- 



tageous. The sole^ or frocj^ slioidcl never he pared : the 

 wall alone should be cut down, if it is too long. When 

 a horse cuts himself with the opposite foot, the inner 

 branch of the shoe ous^ht to be shorter and thinner than 

 the outer. In order that the shoe wear a long time, I 

 have used a nail of my invention, the head of which is 

 in the form of a cone, and the aperture in the shoe of 

 the same shape, and exactly filled by the nail. How- 

 ever much the shoe may be worn, it is always retained 

 in its place. This kind of nail (Fig. 2) possesses three 

 other advantages : one, that it is less liable to be broken 

 at the neck, because it exactly fits the stamped hole ; the 

 other, that it is smaller, and, in consequence, not likely 

 to press on the sensitive part of the foot ; and, lastly, 

 that it does less damage to the horn. 



