HORSE SHOES. 155 



I would strongly advise the adoption of Mr. Flem- 

 ing's shoe, as described in his work Practical Horse- 

 shoeing, to which I beg to refer my readers. 



The narrow heeled shoe advocated by "Mr. Thacker 

 and Professor Williams, on account of its accurately 

 conforming to the shape of the ground surface of the 

 crust, is not applicable to use in India, because it 

 requires very careful fitting, unattainable when horses 

 are shod cold, moreover the iron used in India is 

 so soft that there is always danger of the heels of 

 the shoe getting shifted in position during wear. 

 Such an eventuality would cause the heels of the 

 foot to become knocked to pieces by the edge of the 

 heels of the shoe. Hence it is advisable to have the 

 shoe moderately broad at the heel, so as to allow for 

 a possible change of position. In this case the " seat 

 of corn" should be eased off before shoeing. 



For ordinary saddle horses, shoes, weighing J Ib. 

 each, will be quite heavy enough. 



For fast road-work, I would advise that moderately 

 thick shoes be used, so as to diminish the effects of 

 concussion, for on metalled roads it is almost impos- 

 sible, with the ordinary system of shoeing, to obtain 

 sufficient bearing on the frog to make that part 

 adequately perform its office as a buffer. 



The inside edge of the ground surface of hind shoes 

 should be rounded off, so that the horse may injure 

 himself as little as possible, in case he happens to 

 over-reach. 



Fore shoes may have clips in front. Hind shoes 

 should have side clips, while the toes should be square 



