ON PLATING RACE-HORSES. 333 



liorses that are ready to start at the time fixed should 

 wait or not. 



Now, as the crust or wall of horses' feet which may 

 have been often plated, is more or less broken, the 

 groom should direct the smith as he is measuring the 

 feet, to make his observations on the most sound parts 

 of the crust, and as the nail holes of plates are placed 

 further apart than those of shoes, it sometimes gives 

 the smith the advantage of driving his nails into the 

 more sound parts of the foot. The groom, on such 

 occasions, cannot too strongly point out the necessity 

 of punching the nail holes in such parts of the plate as 

 will immediately correspond with the sound part of the 

 horn, provided those parts are so situated as to admit 

 of the nails being driven into them, and the plate ren- 

 dered secure without driving the nails too far back 

 from the end of the heels of the plates ; or if, to pre- 

 serve the hoof, the smith can safely drive a nail occa- 

 sionally into an old hole, it may be done. 



From what has been already said, it will appear 

 pretty evident, that the making of plates must vary 

 according to circumstances. As plates are narrow, they 

 cannot well come in contact with the sole, so as to 

 occasion pressure there ; they may therefore be made 

 flat on both sides. Whether the horses' plates should 

 be made to come home to the heels of his fore-feet, 

 (and which I shall call full plates) or whether they are 

 to be made short, (which 1 shall call the three-quarter 

 plates) will depend o.n circumstances. I shall first 

 describe how the former should be made. The smith 

 is to observe in the making and fitting of this plate, 



