286 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



moving any sharpness or inequality on the extreme edge 

 of the wall that may have been caused in fitting. 



^'It is necessary to bear in mind that the shoe should 

 be fitted at a red heat. Its application then need only 

 be very brief; and it is far more effective in producing 

 a solid level surface. It ought not to be applied at a 

 hlack heat. Should the margin of the hoof not be suffi- 

 ciently levelled by the rasp before the application of 

 the hot shoe, a slight contact of the latter will show the 

 inequalities ; and these may then be removed by rasp or 

 knife. On no occasion ought the shoe to remain longer 

 on the hoof than is necessary to produce a solid, per- 

 fectly level surface." 



If, after reading this statement, the thoughtful horse- 

 man is not convinced touching the advantages of the 

 hot method, — and I will confess that I am not, — he will 

 doubtless remain unconvinced ; for no stronger state- 

 ment of its supposed advantages has ever been made. 



There is but one other point that I need touch upon 

 in this chapter: it is concerning the weight of shoes. 

 The two most desirable qualities in a shoe are lightness 

 and durability. To combine these qualities, skill is 

 requisite ; and that is one reason why so many heavy 

 shoes are forged out. Another reason is, because, when 

 so much .of the horse's foot has been cut away as is the 

 custom, it must be replaced in the form of metal. 

 Hence shoes of great width are made, — so wide, indeed, 

 that they resemble the earliest specimens found in the 

 provinces of Constantine, — the Syrian shoe, which was 



