The Charlier Shoe and Tip. 153 



a clip at the toe wHch is put upon the horse with 

 only four nails ; the foot is lowered at the bed of 

 the shoe and the toe shortened ; the sole and frog 

 are never touched with the knife. The lowering 

 of the sole at the bed of the shoe is to bring the 

 surface of the shoe flush with the sole, so that 

 the animal has a level bearing upon the whole of 

 its foot, and brings it as near to its natural forma- 

 tion as possible. This system of shoeing with 

 tips has all the advantages of the '' Charlier" 

 without its drawbacks ; they can be made and 

 put on by any smith of ordinary skill, and there 

 is not the danger of drawing the shoe too close to 

 the sensitive lamellae and setting up inflammation. 

 That horses can do ordinary work in them is 

 certain, and horses shod with the '^ Charlier" or 

 tips are seldom known to sprain their back 

 sinews, and never become afflicted with navicular 

 disease. The horses of one of the coaches run- 

 ning from the White Horse Cellar used to be 

 shod with tips, and many gentlemen use them 

 exclusively for horses for all purposes, yet in the 

 hunting field they have the same fault as the 

 *' Charlier" — want of grip at a bank. Of the 

 ordinary hunting shoe I need scarcely speak, as 

 it is a given fact that they require to be light, 

 made short with the heels bevelled to prevent 

 them being torn off when jumping into deep land. 

 The hind shoe of the hunter should always be 

 rounded at the toe both inside and outside, to 

 prevent the horse cutting its heels off should he 

 over-reach. Many horses injure themselves when 

 running, which is called cutting, or brushing. 



