HORSE-SHOEING. 185 



Calkins demand the employment of additional nails, from their 

 liability to become fixed between stones, and also from the 

 strain they occasion. 



It must always be remembered that the retention of a shoe for 

 a sufficient period does not so much depend upon the number of 

 nails attaching it, as upon their disposition and upon its exact 

 fitting- and solid bearing on the wall and sole of the hoof. It 

 should also be borne in mind that where there is a clip there 

 ought to be no nail ; lameness is not unfrequently produced by a 

 tightly-adjusted clip making so much pressure upon the nail and 

 horn within it as to cause pain aud inflammation. 



We have alluded to the various patterns of shoes in use, and 

 pointed out their defects and recpaireinents. As, in preparing the 

 hoof, general principles were laid down which are applicable to 

 every kind of animal — from the race-horse to the mammoth 

 draught-beast employed in our large manufacturing cities — so in 

 the shape of the shoe and its essential characteristics general 

 principles must everywhere prevail. "Where speed is demanded, 

 as in the race-horse, hunter, etc., lightness and security of foot- 

 hold on soft or slippery land are the chief desiderata. ; with coach 

 and other draught animals of less speed, and which are prin- 

 cipally used on paved roads, heavier shoes are needed to sustain 

 wear, and they must also afford security ; but while, with the 

 racer, hunter, and other animals nearly always moving over soft 

 soil, calkins may be resorted to without much detriment to the 

 limb and foot, as they sink into the ground, on the shoes of 

 horses working on hard roads they are objectionable for the 

 reasons stated ; if they are resorted to, their injurious action 

 should be averted by employing a toe-piece of the same height. 



For the race-horse the narrowest iron rim is sufficient, provided 



