108 



HORSESHOEING. 



hind and right and left shoes should be sharply defined and 

 easily distinguishable. Front shoes mu'st, above all else, be 

 circular round at the toe. Hind shoes, on the contrary, should 

 be round pointed at the toe, yet not too much so, but as in 

 Eig. 116. 



2. Width. — All shoes should be wider Avebbed (more cov- 

 ered) at tlie toe than at the ends of the branches. The medium 

 width should be about twice the thickness of the wall. 



3. Thickness. — Each shoe should, in general terms, be so 

 thick that it need not be renewed under four weeks. Lungwitz 



Fig. 107. 



Fig. 108. 



Right front shoe, ground-surface. 



Right front shoe, hoof-surface: a, bearing-sur- 

 face; 6, concaving, or "seating." 



found that the average required thickness is about seven-six- 

 teenths of an inch. Of course, this thickness must be dimin- 

 ished or increased according to the rapidity of wear of the shoe. 

 Shoes without calks should he of uniform thichness, unless there 

 are special reasons for making them otherwise. 



4. Length. — ^For draft-horses they should be long enough 

 to reach the bulbs of the heel, otherwise shorter, though i^ other 

 respects they may differ (see " special properties "), but should 

 in all ca'ses completely cover the bearing-surface of the hoof. 



5. Surfaces. — That part of the hoof -surf ace of the shoe 

 which is in contact with the hoof (bearing-surface of the shoe, 



