994 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paht III. 



to be impressed on the mind of every agriculturist, and guarded against by every one who possesses a 

 horse. It is too frequently observed that the ground side of their shoe is convex, and that the inward 

 rnii. when the foot is on the ground, is the lowest part ; on which it is evident the weight must first press 

 and by wiiich pressure, the crust will be forcibly thrust on the extreme edge of the shoe; and the only 

 resistance offered to its being forced from it, depends on the nails and clinches, instead of its just appli. 

 cation to the ground, and the sujjport derived from the uniform pressure of the whole. Every shoe should 

 thereiore be perfectly level on its ground surface : nor should any shoe be put on that has not been tried 

 on a plane iron purposely made for such trial ; which irons are kept in some smithies, but are absent from 

 too many. The substance of the shoe should be the same throughout, forming two parallel lines of upper 

 and under surface ; in plain language, the heels, instead of being clubbed as is too frequent, should be the 

 exact thickness of the toe. Neither snould the width at the heels diminish in the proportion it 

 usually does ; on the contrary, for a perfectly formed foot, the web should present a uniform width 

 throughout. 



6597. Varieties in fortn of foot, differences in size, weight, and uses of horses, will necessarily make 

 deviations in the form and substance of shoes. The very shoe recommended may be considered as a 

 variation from what would be immediately necessary, were the feet generally perfect ; but it is to be con. 

 sidered that there are but very few feet but what have undergone some unfavourable alteration in their 

 form, which makes them very sensible to concussion. It is for this reason, therefore, that it is recom- 

 mended that a shoe be used, for general purposes, somewhat wider and thicker than the common one. In 

 weak, tender, flexible feet, it will be found particularly advantageous ; and here the benefit of wide heels 

 to the shoe will be most apparent. Good as the roads now are, yet most horses are occasionally subjected 

 to travel on bad ones ; some know no other : to these the addition of one, or at the most, two ounces to 

 each shoe is nothing ; but the ease to the horse, and its superior covering, as well as suijport, is incalcu. 

 lable. In very young, very light, and very firm feet, the width and substance may be somewhat diminished 

 at pleasure, and particularly in situations where the roads are uniformly good ; but a very long and ex- 

 tensive experience has assured us, that the shoe portrayed is one well calculated to meet the ordinary 

 purposes of travelling, and the present state of the art of horse-shoeing. 



6598. An improved shoe on the present plan {fin. 841.), would be found to unite all the perfections of the 



841 modern English improvements, with some derived from our neigh- 



bours the French. Wiiat has since been called a seated shoe was 

 introduced by Osmer ; but from the obstinacy and ignorance of smiths, 

 as it could not be brought into general use, it became little thought of, 

 until revived by Clark of Edinburgh ; by whom it was patronised and 

 recommended. It finally was taken up by Moorcroft, and has ever 

 since attracted some attention, and continues to be forged in some 

 shops where the work is superiorly done ; and where the employers 

 have liberality enough to pay for such work, and judgment enough to 

 discriminate between its advantages and those of the common shoe. 

 If to this shoe were added the French mode of fastening it to the foot, 

 we think the improvement would almost shut out all others. On ex- 

 amining the figure it will be seen that this shoe presents a flat surface 

 opposed to the ground (a), but a concave one towards the sole (b) ; but 

 that this concavity does not begin, as in some seated shoes, near the 

 outer edge, but embraces two thirds only of the web, leaving by this 

 X ^^^^ means a sufficient surface for the crust: but this bevelling is not 



^ ^W intended to reach the heels ; it stops short of them (c), leaving the web 



at this part plain for the heels to rest upon. The great advantages of this seating are, first, that as the crust 

 rests on a flat surface instead of an inclined plane, as most of the common forged shoes present, so its 

 position is maintained entire, and the inclination to contraction is in a great degree avoided. The nailing 

 on of this shoe we would recommend to be after the French method, which consists in conical nail holes, 

 punched with a square countersink {d), into which are received conical nails {e); which exactly fill up the 

 countersink; by which means so long as any part of the base of the nail remains, the shoe must be held 

 firmly on, and which is not the only advantage gained; for the nail holes beiftg obliquely formed, and at 

 some distance from the outer rim, act less detrimentally on the crust of the foot. 



6599. To prepare the foot for the application of the shoe is also an important consideration. Avoid 

 taking off more than one shoe at a time; otherwise the edges of the crust become broken away. Observe 

 that the clinches are all carefully removed. Let the rough edges of the crust be rasped away ; after which, 

 the sole should be pared throughout until a strong pressure with the thumb can produce some yielding : 

 too strong a sole tends to heat and contraction, too weak a one will not require paring. In this paring 

 imitate the natural arch of the sole as much as possible. The line of concavity should not begin, as it 

 usually is made to do, from the extreme margin of the foot, but should begin from the inner line of the 

 crust only ; by which means the crust, or outer wall of the hoof, will have a firm bearing on the flat surface 

 of the shoe. Let no heated shoe be applied to correct the inequalities that may be left, unless it is for a 

 moment, only to observe, but not burn them; but still more carefully avoid putting a plane shoe on an 

 uneven foot. The portion of sole between the bars and quarters {fig. 836. d) should be always pared out as 

 the surest preventive against corns. The heels also should be reduced to the general level of the foot, 

 never allowing their hardness to serve as an excuse for being left ; neither suffer the inner heel to be 

 lowered more than the outer. After all the rest has been done, the frog should be so trimmed as to re- 

 main on an exact level with the returns of the heels, and no more. The custom of taking away the point or 

 angle of the horny inflexions of theheels, under the false term of opening the heels, is to be carefully avoided. 

 Let all these operations be performed with the drawing knife. The butteris should never be allowed to 

 come near the foot of any horse but the largest and coarsest of the cart breed. 



6600. The shoes for the hind feet are someivhat different to the fore, being a little squarer at the toe for 

 about an inch ; to which squareness the hoof is to be also adapted by rasping it slightly so, avoiding, how- 

 ever, to do it injuriously. By this mode a steady point of bearing is afforded to the hinder feet in the 

 great exertions they are often called upon to make in galloping, leaping, &c. They are, when thus formed, 

 less liable, also, to interfere with the fore shoes by clicking. \Vhen horses click or over-reach very much, 

 it is also common to square, or rather to shorten the toes of the hinder shoes ; but not to do so by the horn ; 

 by which, the hoof meets the middle of the fore shoe instead of the shoe itself; and the unpleasant noise 

 of the stroke or click of one foot against the other is avoided. 



6601. Varieties which necessarily occur in shoeing. The bar shoe {fig. 842.) is the most important 

 variety; and it is to be regretted that so much prejudice prevails against the use of this shoe, which can 

 only arise from its supposed unsightly appearance as betokening unsoundness. As a defence to weak thin 

 feet it is invaluable, as it removes a part of the pressure from the heels and quarters, which can ill bear 

 it, to the frog which can well bear it ; but a well formed bar shoe should not have its barred part raised 

 into an edge behind, but such part should be of one uniform thickness throughout the web of the bar, 

 which, instead of being the narrowest, should be the widest part of the shoe. The thickness of the bar 

 should be greater or less (o), so as to be adapted to take only a moderate pressure from the frog. When 

 the frog is altogether ulcerated away by thrush, the bar may be altogether plain; but this form of shoe 

 is still the best for these cases, as it prevents the tender surface from being wounded. In corns this 

 shoe is invaluable, and may then be so made as to lie off" the affected part, which is the great desideratum 

 in corns. 



6602. The hunting shoe is made lighter than the common one, and it is of consequence that it is 



