iDIFFERENT KINDS OY SHOES. 317 



CLIPS. 



These are portions of the upper edge of the shoe, hammered out, and 

 turned up so as to embrace the lower part of the crust, and which is usually 

 pared out a little to receive the clip. They are very useful, as more securely 

 attachiniv the shoe to the foot, and relieving the crust from that stress upon the 

 nails whkh would otherwise be injurious. A clip at the toe is almost necessary 

 in every draught horse, and absolutely so in the horse of heavy draught, to 

 prevent the shoe from being loosened or torn off by the stress which is thrown 

 upon the toe in the act of drawing. A clip on the outside of each shoe at 

 the beginning of the quarters will give ^security to it. Clips are likewise 

 necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all others who are dis- 

 posed to stamp, or violently paw with their feet, and thus incur the danger 

 of displacing the shoe ; but they are evils, in that they press upon the crust 

 as it grows down, and should only be used when circumstances absolutely 

 require them. 



THE HINDER SHOE. 



In forming the hinder shoes it should be remembered that the hind limbs are 

 the principal instruments in progression, and that in every act of progres- 

 sion, except the walk, the toe is the point on which the whole frame of the 

 animal turns, and from which it is propelled. This part, then, should be 

 strengthened as much as possible ; and, therefore, the hinder shoes are 

 made broader at the toe than the fore ones, and the toe of the foot, which 

 is naturally broader than that of the fore-foot, is still further widened by 

 rasping. Another good effect is produced by this, that the hinder foot being 

 shortened there isless danger of overreaching or forging, and especially 

 if the shoe be wider on the foot surface than on the ground one ; and thus 

 the shoe is made to slope inward, and is a little within the toe of the crust. 

 The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of the fore 

 foot ; it is straighter in the quarters, and the shoe must have the same 

 shape. For carriage and draught horses generally, calkins may be put 

 on the heels, because the animal will be thus enabled to dig his toe more 

 firmly into the ground, and urge himself forward, and throw his weight 

 into the collar with greater advantage. But the calkins must not be too 

 high, and they must be of an equal height on each heel ; otherwise, as has 

 been stated with regard to the fore feet, the weight will not be fairly distri- 

 buted over the foot, and some part of the foot or of the leg will materially 

 suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be placed nearer to the heel than 

 in the fore shoe, because, from the comparative little weight and concus- 

 sion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not so much danger of contraction. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES. 



The shoe will vary in substance and weight with the kind of foot, and the 

 nature of the work. A weak foot should never wear a heavy shoe, nor any 

 foot a shoe that will last longer than a month. Here, perhaps, we may be 

 permitted to caution the horse-proprietor against ha^/ing his cattle shod 

 too much by contract, unless he binds down his farrier or surgeon to 

 remove the shoes once at least in every month ; for if the contractor, by a 

 heavy shoe, and a little steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene 

 between the shoeings, he will do so, although the feet of the horse must 

 necessarily suffer. The shoe should never be heavier than the work re- 

 quires. An ounce or two in the weight of the shoe will sadly tell before 



