HORSE-SHOEING. 16£> 



itself is an evil of no trifling magnitude, as we shall see pre- 

 sently. 



The shoe, besides being heavy, may offer other serious defects. 

 It may be very uneven on its upper bearing surface-that on 

 which the hoof rests ; it may have too many clips, and these not 

 well formed or situated ; its ground surface may be unequal ; or 

 the holes for the nails may be badly placed, and improperly 

 stamped. 



An uneven upper surface is apt to produce lameness, from 

 the undue pressure it occasions on limited parts of the hoof, and 

 through these to the corresponding living textures ; or it may 

 cause the wall of the hoof to split, etc. 



Nails badly placed and improperly stamped are a prolific source 

 of injury to the foot, and the same may be said of nial-forined or 

 wrongly-situated clips; and much evil results from the ground- 

 face of the shoe being higher at one part than another. This 

 inequality is in nearly every case due to the presence of what are 

 termed " calkins" at the extremities of the branches of the shoe ; 

 or to one side of the plate being thicker than the other. 



Caifcms.-Calkins are injurious to the limb in proportion to 

 their height. When smallest they are an evil, as they have a 

 tendency, in raising the back part of the foot higher than the 

 front, to alter the natural direction of the limb, and throw undue 

 strain on the fore part. Intended to prevent slipping, their use 

 in this respect is but temporary, unless they are made high and 

 thick; when their unfavorable influence on the limb and foot is 

 increased. Added to this, from their throwing so much of the 

 weight and strain on the front of the foot, the shoe is more 

 rapidly worn away at the toe; so its thickness there must be 

 oreater, and the shoe in consequence heavier, or the animal will 

 have to be more frequently shod. From their only lasting for a 

 limited period, the horse, at first inclined to rely on them to 



