S2 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



ing- surface of the iron at the toe, and this, on thin or flat 

 feet, may cause lameness. 



A very unsightly appearance and very defective 

 work resiilts from the fireman leaving his clip at right 

 angles to the line of the shoe. It should be inclined 

 backwards at about the same slope as the portion of wall 

 against which it is to rest. The two diagrams (Fig. 58) 

 illustrate what is meant. 



Well drawn clip. Fio. 58. Badly drawn clip. 



Hot and Cold Fitting. — When an engineer or a 

 carpenter has two surfaces to fit together with great 

 exactness he employs some coloring material to show 

 where they do come in contact and where they do not. 

 When a farrier fits a shoe to a horse's foot, he tests its 

 fidaption by applying it at a dull red heat to the horn. 

 This proceeding shows with precision the bearing-sur- 

 faces, as the horn is charred in proportion to the contact. 

 If the shoe be found not to fit exactly, it is taken back to 

 the anvil and altered. It is then again for a few seconds 

 iipplied to the horn and the surface of contact examined. 

 This proceeding is repeated until sufficient exactness is 

 arrived at, and then the shoe is cooled ready for nailing 

 on. As horn is a bad conductor of heat, this process of 

 " hot- fitting " does no harm to the sensitive structures 

 within the hoof, unless it be carried to an extreme. 

 When the horn is very thin, the heat of a shoe retained 

 too long in contact with it does serious mischief, and the 

 injury known as a burnt sole has often resulted from 

 careless work. If a shoe, whilst being altered to fit a 

 foot, were cooled each time it was laid on the hoof, it 

 would have to be re-heated before the necessary altera- 

 tions could be made, and this would cause great waste of 

 time. The abuse of hot-fitting may do harm without 

 any direct burning of the sole. An ill-fitting hot (shoe 

 may be held on the hoof until it beds itself into the horn, 

 and thus a complete correspondence between the surface 



