264 THE PRACTICE OF SHOEING. 



They are widely used in the large towns of Germany, especially 

 as front shoes. 



They have the further disadvantages of being difficult to 

 nail on (the nails can only be driven home by means of a 

 punch), and the fact that the thickness of the shoe prevents 

 the frog touching the ground. They are apt to crack and 

 readily bend when half worn through, to prevent whicli they 

 are now frequently made in the form of bar shoes. 



Steel bars with wood inlaid are made in Copenhagen. A 

 groove on the ground surface contains a firmly compressed ring 

 of wood. They are exceedingly light and correct in construc- 

 tion, but are very noisy, and as they cannot be warmed, their 

 use is confined to cases where they exactly fit the hoof. 



Shoes with rubber inlaid are made by a number of firms. 

 In certain cases the shoe is cast, in others it is rolled. In the 

 latter the nails are driven through the rubber ; in the former, 

 however, the rubber is inserted after the shoe is nailed on. 

 Eubber is neither so cheap nor so lasting as rope. 



8. Changing from one Style of Shoein(j to Another. 



It is sometimes found desirable to vary the style of shoeing, 

 a horse which has been accustomed to flat shoes, for instance, 

 being shod with tips, or with calkins, or again with toe-pieces. 

 In making such cliange it is of great importance to note the 

 way in whicli the foot is brought to the ground, and the 

 direction of its axis. Whatever the form of the new shoe, 

 the horse should tread level. Horses working on hard streets 

 require the greatest care under such circumstances, for even a 

 slight change, if continued, may seriously injure the action. 

 Throwing the horse on its toe seems to be more serious than 

 the opposite condition. The direction of the foot axis is of 

 equal importance with the tread. Where the foot grows rather 

 oblique (fig. 202), as happens when the shoe becomes worn, the 

 animal has difficulty both in standing and going on hard ground, 

 but when the opposite condition occurs this difficulty is want- 

 ing. It is, however, best to always seek a normal tread and a 

 normal position of the foot axis. 



