272 



THE PEACTICE OF SHOEING. 



10. The Nails. 



Of late years great progress has been made in the manu- 

 facture of horse nails by machinery. The first requisite 

 for making a good nail is iron of the best quality. In 

 form, the nail should resemble a slender wedge, its width 

 being twice its thickness. 



To meet the requirements of everyday work ten sizes are 

 required. The nail should never be thicker or longer than is 

 absolutely necessary, and more than one size is often required 



Fig. 268. 

 Hand-made nails. 



Fig. 269. Fig. 270. Fig. 271. 



Badly-=formed 

 French nails. Machine-made nail; head and 



nail. shank defective. 



in the same hoof. Every nail makes a hole, and the smaller 

 the hole the better for the hoof. Although it is indis- 

 pensable to secure the shoe firmly to the hoof, this does not 

 depend on the use of large nails alone, and should a strong 

 nail split the w^all it becomes less secure than a weak nail in a 

 sound wall. It is rare that the loss of a shoe can be referred 

 to the use of weak nails. Much more frequently the shoe 

 does not fit or the nail holes are faulty in form, direction, or 

 size. 



Hand-made nails require preparation to enable them to 

 penetrate easily and in the proper direction through the horn 

 wall. This preparation, termed ' pointing,' can only be satis- 



