NAIL-HOLES. 157 



or when the foot has been mutilated ; even then they 

 should be used only as a temporary measure. The 

 practice of applying shoes considerably thinner at the 

 heels than at the toes with the view of obtaining 

 increased frog pressure is now almost obsolete. They 

 cause an abnormal amount of strain to be thrown on 

 the suspensory ligaments and back tendons. 



When the ground is slippery, calkins may be used 

 on the hind feet. For ordinary saddle work, they 

 should not be more than one-third of an inch high. 

 They should never be put on the fore-feet. 



A set of shoes of good iron will generally bear two 

 removings. 



A bar shoe for a fore-foot to be used when the horse 

 is at work should not be made circular, but heart-shaped, 

 so that it may not get caught by the hind shoe. 



Nail-holes. Shoes should not be fullered, but the nail 

 holes should be punched square and to narrow down- 

 wards. " The square cavity, wide at the top, and taper- 

 ing to the bottom, gives a secure and solid lodgment 

 to the nail-head, which of course should be of the 

 same shape ; it does not weaken the shoe, is easily 

 made, can be placed nearer the outer or inner margin 

 as required, and when filled with the nail is as capable 

 of resisting wear as any other part." (Fleming.) 



Except for road work, the nail-heads, after the nails 

 are driven, should not be filed level with the shoe. 



Shoeing-smiths, in India, almost always make the 

 mistake of punching the nail holes too near the 

 outside edge, which necessitates the baneful practice 

 of fixing the shoe within the circumference of the 



