THE CHARLIER SHOE. 127 



as well as lie ever did with the old shoe, and in all 

 probability better. Where the frog is unsound it is 

 another matter, as it has a good deal of work to do ; 

 but there is nothing like pressure and heel freedom for 

 thrushes, &c. 



M. Charlier's fore shoe extends to the heels, but this 

 idea has been improved upon. Since I last inflicted this 

 subject upon my readers, I have seen a pattern of a 

 short Charlier shoe, as used at Melton, and its advan- 

 tages are pretty apparent. It extends only to the bars 

 of the foot on each side — in fact, about the length of a 

 '^three-quarter shoe^-' — and five nails are plenty to secure 

 it. It wears much longer than the full shoe, as the wear 

 is divided between the shoe and the heels, which are left 

 in a state of nature. M. Charlier's shoe takes away, or 

 rather replaces, a portion of the bars, which with the 

 short shoe are left in their entirety; and, as they are 

 the strongest and quickest -growing part of the foot, this 

 seems but reasonable. In fact, in M. Charlier^s book 

 (which appears to be about the most inaccessible work 

 extant) a passage to the following effect occurs : '^ If 

 after a few shoeings the bars, which grow very fast 

 project below the level of the shoe at the heels, they may 

 be cut off flat.-" Now it is surely better that the shoe 

 should not meddle with these parts, which replace their 

 own wear so speedily, and a short shoe puts corns out of 

 the bounds of possibility. The great mistake smiths 

 make in this shoeing is to cut too deep a groove. The 

 sole need not be absolutely flush with the shoe, and a 

 too near approach to the sensitive parts of the foot lames 

 the horse to a certainty. And failing this, if the groove 

 be a little too deep, his action is much impaired, and does 

 not visibly improve, and the traditions of the smith 



