154 Ma7iagement and Treatment of the Horse. 



Many methods are resorted to to prevent its oc- 

 currence, but in nine cases out of ten the horse 

 always cuts worse in new shoes ; indeed many 

 horses that are habitual cutters never cut them- 

 selves when the shoe is worn out. With horses 

 of this habit there is one general rule which is 

 very difficult to get the smith to follow, ^.e., get 

 the smith to make a shoe like the worn-out one, 

 let him place a piece of iron the thickness of a 

 shoe on the inside of the old worn-out shoe, and 

 then he has a pattern of a new shoe that the 

 horse can go comfortably in. He will find that 

 the nearer he makes the new shoe to the shape of 

 the old worn-out one (upon the ground surface) 

 the less a horse will cut. This rule is applicable 

 to horses of all gaits of going, and especially 

 with trippers or stumblers. The feather-edge 

 shoe is largely used for horses with a close gait 

 of action with their hind legs ; they are intended 

 to throw the weight of the horse more on the 

 outer splint bone, thereby causing a wider gait of 

 action, yet we find many smiths who are but im- 

 perfectly acquainted with their business will make 

 a feather-edge shoe, and absurdly make a caulk- 

 ing upon the outside heel to bring it to a level 

 with the hammered-up inside feather-edge, and 

 they are surprised to find that the horse cuts or 

 bruises as badly as before. If they had left the 

 heel on the outside the same thickness as the 

 shoe from the toe, they would have made, by the 

 propping up of the inside with a feather-edge, 

 the horse have a wider gait, and thereby pre- 

 vented its cutting. The seated shoe is the best 



