AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND. 5SJ 



become united again, but continue asunder and unclosed, 

 until by degrees they grow down with the rest of the hoof, 

 and are ultimately, after repeated shoeings, removed by the 

 knife. 



If the clinches should happen to rise, they must be re- 

 placed without delay ; as such rising imparts to the nails a 

 freedom of motion which is sure to enlarge the size of the 

 holes, — and this mischief is often increased by the violent 

 wrenching which the shoe undergoes from side to side in the 

 process of removal by the smith. 



Now as these holes cannot possibly grow down, and be re- 

 moved under three shoeings, it will be found that even with 

 seven nails, the crust must always have twenty-one of these 

 separations existing in it at the same time ; and as they are 

 often from a variety of causes extended into each other, they 

 necessarily keep it in a brittle unhealthy state, and materially 

 interfere with the security of the future nail-hold-. Un- 

 luckily the common practice under such circumstances is to 

 increase the number of nails, with the view of ensuring the 

 security of the shoe, while on the contrary it increases the 

 evil. My object is to show that these shaky places, as they 

 are called, may be relieved by the omission of one or two 

 of the nails, without endangering the security of the shoe. 

 Suppose the number employed to be seven, — to gain such an 

 end they may be safely reduced to five, which is the largest 

 number I have employed for more than two years ; and until 

 I discover some good reason for increasing it, it is the largest 

 I intend to employ. But I am far from advising the general 

 adoption of this number ; for if from imperfect fitting of the 

 shoe, misplacement of the nails, neglect of removing in proper 

 time, or from any other cause, the horse should chance to 

 cast a shoe, the whole blame would be attributed to the five 

 nails, and the poor beast in all probability be doomed to 

 eight or nine for the remainder of his life. I do, however 

 very strongly advise the adoption of six, knowing them to be 

 fully sufficient for retaining the shoes of all pleasure horsea 

 under all circumstances, except perhaps hunters. Since the 

 foregoing was published. Colonel Luttrell, master of the 

 Somersetshire fox-hounds, has informed me that the horse 

 which he rode most frequently last season was shod with 

 six nails only, — not one of which, in consequence of his cut- 

 ting a good deal, was placed in the inner quarter, — and thai 

 he experienced no inconvenience whatever from the plan. 

 If I had entertained the smallest doubt about their efficiency, 



3 



