THE horse's foot; SHOEING AND CARE. 107 



little beveling is needed on the upper surface of the shoe, where the 

 space thus formed serves as a lodging place for small stones and 

 other foreign bodies. In shape it should follow the exact outline of 

 the outer wall, being narrow at the heels, but continued of the same 

 thickness throughout. Lateral projections at the quarters, and 

 posterior ones at the heels are unsightly, and should never be allowed. 

 One of the highest authorities says on this point: " In fitting 

 the shoe to the back part of the foot, let the smith take care that it 

 is not longer or wider than the point where the crust and bars unite. 

 An eighth of an inch may be allowed to project backward beyond 

 this point, and not more, but there should not be the slightest over- 

 lapping sideways." In fine, the shoe should be accurately fitted to 

 the foot as previously prepared, and not the foot to the shoe. 



The use of calkins has its objections, but as yet no other contri- 

 vances have answered the same purpose as well. They should 

 never be employed, however, except when absolutely required, and 

 then they should be of equal length at toe and heels, otherwise an 

 unequal strain is thrown upon tendons and ligaments, terminating 

 sooner or later in serious injury to the extremities. Clips are useful 

 as a means of fastening the shoe more securely, and of diminishing 

 the number of nails. They are particularly desirable on heavy 

 draft horses employed on paved streets. But the toe must be cut 

 out as little as possible for the clip, and the latter must never be 

 hammered back into the hoof. A nail should never be driven in 

 the same part of a shoe where there is a clip. The shoe should 

 not be apphed hot to the foot and held there until it is burned 

 into place. But it may safely be touched momentarily to the hoof 

 to mark the points which need removal. 



The number and situation of the nails are points of great 

 importance, the determination of which depends upon the kind of 

 work expected of the horse. For fight work five in each forward 

 shoe and seven in each hind one have proved amply sufficient. 

 Draft horses will need more. Nails are to be driven in the toe and 

 outside quarter, leaving the heel free to expand. When it is remem- 

 bered that the introduction of every nail is so much injury to the 

 structures of the foot, it will readily be seen that the smaller the 

 number requisite for the purpose, the better for the animal. In 

 driving the nails, it is essential that a thick, short hold of the crust 

 should be had, rather than a long thin one. The points of the naila 

 should be shortened to just that length which will permit them to 

 be turned over and hammered down smoothly, with the least possi- 

 ble rasping. The common method of rasping notches for the 

 extremities of the nails is not advisable. In fact, the rasp should 



