550 HORSE-SHOES AND HORSE-SHOEING. 



side, and two or three on the inside ; the latter near the 

 toe, according to Mr Turner's method. 



Indeed, for many years this gentleman's own horses 

 were only shod with three nails in each fore-shoe (of which 

 alone I am now speaking). This was certainly a great 

 improvement on the absurd fashion of studding the shoes 

 all round with nails ; and so long as the armature could be 

 retained with safety, there was no reason why more than 

 three, four, or five should be used. If Mr Miles could 

 retain a heavy shoe with a wide cover, unsupported by the 

 sole, which we have seen was removed altogether from it 

 by paring, in addition to the bevelling of the iron, surely 

 a light shoe resting on an unpared sole, in addition to the 

 crust, would be still easier retained ! The great secret of 

 this retention of the shoe in Mr Miles's application of the 

 one-sided nailing, lay in the excellent and careful method 

 he adopted of fitting it accurately to the foot. The 

 iron had a perfectly level and solid bearing on the crust, 

 and this was accomplished without much trouble. An- 

 other curious circumstance to be remarked in his teaching 

 is, that though he believed in the expansion of the heels 

 to a very exaggerated degree, the shoe when fitted was to 

 follow as closely as possible, and not project in the slightest 

 degree beyond, the crust in this region. Consequently, it 

 must have happened, that when the foot v/as put on the 

 ground, and the asserted expansion took place, the hoof 

 must have hung over the shoe to the amount of that 

 dilatation, without receiving any support from it ! 



It was always a favourite theme with people who did 

 not understand much about shoeing, or the nature of the 

 horse's foot, to dwell upon the injury done to the hoof by 



