ZUZ HORSE-SHOEING. 



other requires but little attention. The reason of this is due to 

 the fact that the horizontal body, and long, heavy neck and head 

 of the horse, cause the largest proportion of the weight to fall 

 upon the front pair of supporting columns, and, through them, 

 upon the feet ; the fore-limbs are those most concerned in sup- 

 porting weight, the hind ones in propelling the body forward. 

 Hence the necessity for allowing as much of the lower face of the 

 fore-foot as possible to come in contact with the ground ; and 

 hence the prevalence of disease in it when improper shoeing 

 limits its points of contact to the narrowest dimensions. 



Various Methods of Shoeing. — Another form of shoe is that 

 commonly known as the " bar shoe" — a ring or annular plate of 

 metal which increases the surface of contact by resting, to a 

 large extent, on the frog, and allowing that important body to 

 participate in weight-bearing ; in this way it also relieves the 

 heels when these are weak or injured. It is a very useful shoe, 

 but the additional weight given to it by the bar, and the extra 

 strain on the nails retaining it to the hoof, are drawbacks. 



To apply a shoe in such a manner as to allow the frog to receive 

 a due amount of pressure has always been the aim of those who 

 have made the horse's foot an object of careful study. Even with 

 the ordinary shoe, if it be not too thick nor garnished with 

 calkins, the frog, if unmutilated, in the majority of cases will 

 rest upon the ground for nearly the whole of its length, and 

 sustain beneficial wear. Nearly every one of the horses at 

 present in my charge, though shod with the army regulation shoe 

 — a very defective model — have their frogs in this condition ; 

 while all the private horses wearing the modified shoe I have 

 described, exhibit the frog resting for the whole of its length and 

 breadth on the ground. 



