SHOEING AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. 319 



\n prejmring the foot for the shoe, the Joose parts only of the 

 sole may be removed with the drawing knife ; the ragged parts 

 of the frog should be cut away, as they may serve to harbour 

 dirt or gravel. If the toe of tiie frog is very hard and more pro- 

 minent than the other parts, it should be pared down moderately. 

 The heel of the shoe should have a perfectly flat and level bearing 

 upon the junction of the bar and crust, which should be rasped 

 to a flat surface for receiving it. The shoe should never extend 

 beyond this part. The whole bottom of the foot, indeed, should 

 be rasped so as to be perfectly flat and level all around ; so that 

 when the horse stands on a plane surface, every part of the crust 

 should bear on that surfiice. The shoe should be made level 

 also on both surfaces, by the same criterion, and then it must 

 of necessity be fitted to the foot. When this is the case, there 

 will not be that motion in the shoe in travelling by which so 

 many shining surfaces are often worn in it, and by which the 

 nails are loosened, and if they are made of indifferent iron, or 

 badly made, often broken. 



The hind shoes should be narrower than the fore ones, and 

 made square, as it is termed, at the toe, for the space of one inch. 

 By making the shoe, as well as the hoof, square at the toe, a 

 steady point of bearing is afforded to that part which is the last 

 to leave the ground. "We may readily conceive that as this is 

 the part from which those amazing bounds are made, in galloj)- 

 ing and leaping, a more steady and firm point of bearing will 



ping, or wearing it in undue proportion. In contracted feet, the application 

 of this shoe has materially enlarged the foot, quite as much as it is desirable 

 to do ; indeed, I believe, if it were applied early, contracted feet would be 

 altogether avoided. It is also calculated, iu great measure, to prevent corns, 

 from bearing so easy on the inside heel. 



In wide tlat feet, side nailing is unnecessary ; there is no danger of con- 

 traction taking place in this description of feet, for they have rather a ten- 

 dency to expand too much. 



For hunting, the shoe must be narrower than for the road, and an additional 

 nail may be placed on the inside ; no evil will result from this, because iu the 

 field the pressure on the crust is, in a great degree, relieved by the sole and 

 frog. There nmst be space for a picker to pass between the foot and inner 

 rin^of the shoe, but no more, as the foot can then be withdrawn from heavy 

 soil with less difficulty than when the usual space is permitted. To avoid 

 overreaching, the heels of the fore shoes should scarcely project beyond the 

 heels of the crust, and they should be rounded otf, instead of being left 

 square, as is usually the case. The liind shoes should also, where there is 

 any disposition to overreach, be square at the toe, set a little within the 

 crust; and the inner rim at the toe should have a piece cut out, so that, in- 

 stead of a sharp edge, there should be a rounded surface, which, of course, is 

 not so likely to catch the heels of the fore feet. — Spooncr on the Foot, S^-c. 



Mr. ]\liles has of late called the attention of the jJublic to theadvantage of 

 employing a lesser number of nails in connection with side nailing : he has 

 exercised much zeal in advocating the system, but it would not have de- 

 tracted from his just merits if he had rendered justice to those who had 

 preceded him in the matter. — Ed. 



