THE HORSE A\T) ITS DISEASES. /O 



shoe best suited to a horse's foot, but none of these learned 

 men have ever made, or put on horses' shoes — not so 

 with me - 1 have had many years practical experience 

 in both these important branches of farriery, etc. I 

 have seen many horses that were shod by myself, and 

 under my superintendence, travel the road and perform 

 their work with evident ease, and to the great satisfac- 

 tion of the owners. 



The Concave Shoe 

 The proper form and construction of which, are matters 

 that require much consideration, as it is important to 

 ascertain the shoe least likely to injure the horse's feet. 



The general shoe that I would recommend for horses 

 standing straight in their fetlocks or pasterns is the 

 following : — 



The web should be the same thickness throughout, 

 from heel to toe, and sufficiently wide to prevent the 

 sole being bruised —the outer part accurately flat, and 

 designed to support the crust, and that (mly, for it has 

 been already proved, that by the crust alone, the whole 

 Aveight of the horse is sustained. It should be fastened 

 to the foot with seven nails, with holes not too large, 

 and great care taken that the nails fit the holes properly, 

 four nails outside and three inside the shoe — those 

 outside extending a little farther towards the heel, the 

 outside heel being thicker and stronger, and a better 

 hold for the nail — the last nail on the inner quarter 

 being farther from the heel on account of the weakness 

 of that quarter. 



The inside part of the web should be bevelled, or 

 rendered concave, so as not to press upon the sole ; m;my 

 of our horses, from too early and undue work, have the 

 natural concave flattened, and the disxDosition to ascend 

 and descend, is thereby increased. 



The concave shoe, even in this case, prevents the 

 possibility of injury, because the sole can never descend 

 to the degree in which the shoe is bevelled. A horse 



