GUIDING PPJNCIPLES IN CHOICE OF SHOE. 



211 



to secure greater durability by inserting a piece of steel at the 

 point of greatest wear. 



In order to allow of frog pressure the shoe must be formed 

 as thin as is consistent with durability and with the preserva- 

 tion of its form. Excessive weight injures the action and 

 exhausts the animal. This, of course, does not apply to the 

 training of horses, where heavy shoes are often used to teach 

 the animal to lift his feet and thus increase his ' action.' 

 When we remember that during fast work the foot is lifted 

 about sixty times per minute, the amount of energy wasted 

 in ten to twelve hours will be seen to be very great. 



Flat or ' dropped ' soles require more * cover * than strong 

 feet with well-arched soles, but a certain amount must always 

 be given. In Paris the cover is usually reduced to a minimum 

 — and with the worst possible results to the feet. As wear 

 is rapid in large towns some compromise must be made 

 between thickness and cover, because were both given the shoe 



Fig. 202. 



Fig. 203. 



Fig. 204. 



would be too heavy. Very broad shoes increase the risk of 

 slipping. 



Special attention must be given to the length of the shoe. 

 All shoes become too short after a time, and should, therefore 

 be selected of sufficient length to convpletely cover the bearino- 

 surface of the wall and in most cases to project a little.* 

 The exact excess of length depends both on the form of the 

 hoof when viewed laterally and the style of shoe, but as a 

 general rule oblique hoofs require longer shoes than upright. 

 When the foot is upright and the shoe flat, ^ inch is quite 



* An exception may perhaps be made in favour of hunting shoes, but even 

 here the heel is often prolonged, being narrowed and turned upwards, so that 

 the point is embedded in the wall of the heel. 



