288 HOW TO SHOE A HORSE. 



from this plan, in the total disappearance of two very trou- 

 blesome corns : they had existed in his feet for ten years, 

 during seven of which I tried every plan that I had ever 

 heard of as likely to effect a cure, — ^both in form of shoe 

 and local application, — without, however, any decided ad- 

 vantage ; but the adoption of this plan of fastening the 

 shoe to the foot, by removing all restraint and pressure 

 from the part, has accidentally achieved that which I had 

 so long sought in vain. 



The hind foot certainly does not demand the same meas- 

 ure of attention as the fore foot, inasmuch as its position 

 and the nature of its ofl&ce render it less liable to in- 

 jury, and consequently it is less frequently lame. It is, 

 however, by no means entirely exempt, nor does it always 

 escape disease of its navicular joint ; for I have myself found 

 disease in a navicular bone taken from a hind foot. This 

 being the case, then, we should endeavor to guard against it 

 by interfering as little as possible with its expansive power ; 

 and that will be best done by keeping the nails on the in- 

 side as far removed from the heel as we conveniently can, 

 to which end I recommend the employment of seven nails 

 only, — four to be placed in the outer and three in the inner 

 side of the shoe. The holes in the inner side are to be 

 punched closer together, and kept more towards the toe 

 than those on the outside, which need to be more spread 

 out, as affording greater security of hold to the foot. The 

 shoe should be carefully fitted to the hoof all I'ound, par- 

 ticularly at the heels, which are too commonly left without 

 any support whatever; and the mischievous custom of 

 turning down the outer heel only must be avoided, because 

 it throws the weight entirely upon the inner quarter, which 

 is the part the least able to bear it, and causes much un- 

 comfortable strain to the fetlock joint above. Calkins, 

 even though they may be turned down of perfectly even 



