HORSE-SHOEING. 189 



farrier should so mould the shoe that it be an exact reproduction 

 in outline of the circumference of the hoof. To make it appear 

 so when applied, it may be necessary to remove a little of the 

 wall at the part corresponding to the clip, merely to make the fit 

 more accurate and not allow any portion of the shoe to project 

 unduly beyond the horn. 



The length of the shoe will vary with the uses to which the 

 horse is put. For racing, hunting, and other purposes in which 

 the hind limbs are carried forward to an extreme degree in pro- 

 pelling the body, the branches of the fore-shoe must on no account 

 extend beyond the inflection of the wall, otherwise the shoe is 

 liable to be torn off by the hind-foot, and the horse thrown down. 

 The end of the branch should also be carefully rounded off and 

 beveled (as in Fig. 13), so as to leave nothing whatever by which 

 the hind shoe might catch it. 



With harness and draught horses this extreme care in shorten- 

 ing and beveling the heels is not so necessary ; indeed, in the 

 heavier and slower paced animals, it is frequently advantageous 

 to allow the shoes to be rather longer at the heels than the hoof 

 itself. 



As a rule, then, the shoe ought to be wide enough at the toe, 

 quarters and heels to support the entire thickness of the wall, but 

 yet not so wide or long as to endanger the opposite limbs by 

 striking them, or run the chance of being torn off by the other 

 feet treading upon it ; and it should not interfere with the frog, 

 or prevent that organ from playing its part in the physiology of 

 the foot. 



The adjustment of the shoe to the exact circumference of the 

 hoof is usually effected at the same time as the fitting together 

 of the two surfaces of iron and horn which are to remain in 

 contact. To render both accurate, the horse should always be 

 shod at a forge. A hammer and anvil are necessary to mould the 



