HORSE-SHOEING. 193 



The whole surface of the shoe intended to be in contact with 

 the horn should be distinctly impressed on the contour of the 

 hoof, so as to insure the closest and most accurate intimacy be- 

 tween the two ; and this carbonized surface should not be inter- 

 fered with on any account, except by the rasp, which is only to be 

 employed in removing any sharpness or inequality on the extreme 

 edge of the wall that may have been caused in fittino-. 



It is necessary to bear in mind that the shoe should be fitted at 

 a red heat. Its application then need only be very brief, and it is 

 far more effective in producing a solid, level surface ; it ought not 

 to be applied at a black heat. Should the margin of the hoof not 

 be sufficiently levelled by the rasp before the application of the 

 hot shoe, a slight contact of the latter will show the inequalities, 

 and these may then be removed by rasp or knife. On no occasion 

 ought the shoe to remain longer on the hoof than is necessary to 

 produce a solid, perfectly level surface. 



The Nails.— The shoe having been made to fit the hoof exactly, 

 is cooled and finished with the file. It is then ready to be at- 

 tached to the hoof by nails. These should not be unnecessarily 

 large, as is too often the case, but well proportioned to the size of 

 the shoe. The heads should only be sufficient to fill the nail- 

 holes when subjected to two or three smart blows of the hammer, 

 and the shanks thin. It is scarcely necessary to add that the 

 nails, like the shoe, should always be made of the best iron. 



Driving the Nails.— In driving the nails into the hoof, every one 



should be made to pass through sound horn. It is a mistake to 



place them where the wall is broken or perforated by previous 



nails, as this only makes bad worse ; and care should be taken to 



direct each nail so accurately that it may make its exit at the 



desired point in the face of the wall at once. Careless or unskillful 

 M 



