SHOEING, AND DISEASES AND INJURIES OF THE FOOT. 201 



and all the work ought to be accomplished by means of the 

 rasp. Paring out and hacking at these parts with the drawing- 

 knife should be absolutely condemned as destructive to the 

 foot. 



In reducing the wall to a proper length, care should be 

 exercised in keeping both sides of the hoof of the same height ; 

 as, if one is left higher than the other, the foot, fetlock, and, 

 indeed, the whole limb, will be thrown out of the perpendi- 

 cular. This causes the horse to travel painfully, as it twists the 

 joints, and in time leads to disease. Nearly always the inside 

 of the foot is left higher than the outside, and this throws severe 

 strain on the outside of the foot and fetlock. Standing in 

 front of the horse when the foot is on the ground, one can 

 perceive at once whether this deviation is present. In a well- 

 formed foot and leg, a plumb-line should fall from the point of 

 the shoulder through the middle of the knee, shank, pastern, 

 and front of the hoof. 



The wall having been reduced sufficiently, the shoe should 

 fat full all round the circumference, and project slightly beyond 

 the heels. Heat is not absolutely necessary in fitting it, or 

 procuring accurate co-aptation between it and the hoof. The 

 nails should take a short, thick hold of the wall, so that, if 

 possible, the old nail holes may be obliterated when the excess 

 of horn is removed at the succeeding shoeing. In the fore-foot 

 the nails should be driven home more firmly at the toe than 

 the heels, particularly the inside heel. The clinches must be 

 laid down as smoothly as possible, and with only the most 

 trifling rasping. The front of the hoof or wall should on no 

 account be otherwise touched with the rasp, but ought to pass 

 in a straight line from the top, or coronet, to the shoe. 

 Hasping this part of the hoof is most injurious, and should not 

 be tolerated on any consideration. It removes the dense tough 

 fibres which are best adapted for holding the nails that retain 

 the shoe, and exposes the soft spongy horn beneath ; this soon 



