SHOES AND SHOEING 99 



shod with great regularity, irregularity in shoeing being 

 very bad for their feet, but what is still worse, bad for 

 ligaments, tendons, and joints, owing to the unequal 

 distribution of pressure which arises from shoes more 

 worn at one part than another. Moreover it is just as 

 easy to fix a particular date for a horse to be shod, and 

 for the proprietor to see that the animal is shod on the date 

 specified. No time can be fixed as to hov\^ long a horse will 

 carry its shoes, or rather when it should be shod, as horses 

 differ in a remarkable manner. For instance, some horses 

 will wear a set of shoes out in ten days, whereas others will 

 carry them very well for three weeks or a month or even 

 longer. The average time is three weeks. Again, in- 

 equahty on the wearing surface is another matter to be 

 considered. A horse may wear its shoes as thin as a 

 sixpence at the toe or at the heel, whilst the rest of the 

 shoe shows very little signs of wear. In most forges 

 machine-made shoes are now extensively employed, 

 and these can be obtained from the manufacturers in a 

 large variety of sizes. The old-time prejudice against 

 machine-made shoes is an affair of the past. New shoes 

 made from old are certainly more durable and may last 

 a week or two longer than new ones. In some forges, 

 especially where business is rather slow, the farrier often 

 makes up the old material into new shoes, but whether 

 it is more economical to do so is very questionable. The 

 preparation of the foot for the shoe is always an important 

 matter and, unless this is properly done, trouble will 

 sooner or later follow. The sole and the frog should be 

 left alone, unless there is any loose horn (exfohation). 

 If so, this should be removed. On no account must the 

 sole or the frog be pared except in the case just stated. 

 The wall grov/s at the average rate of an inch in three 

 months, and this growth is mainly at the toe, so that if a 

 shoe were left on too long, the growth of the horn would 

 carry the shoe with it, the result being that the animal 

 would be inclined to stumble during progression. The 



