HORSESHOEING. 127 



the outer quarter and heel-calk of hind shoes. From the manner 

 in which a horse travels and the wear of the old shoe, we esti- 

 mate the distance that the branches of the shoe should be set 

 from the middle line of the hoof. If in following out this plan 

 the bearing-surface of the outer quarter of the wall is not com- 

 pletely covered, the quarter will be pinched and squeezed in- 

 wai'd ; this should be prevented by a broader branch punched so 

 deeply that the holes will fall upon the white line (Fig. 129). 



When the shoer has satisfied himself that the shoe fulfils 

 every requirement and fits perfectly, it is to be cooled, tlie holes 

 opened with an oiled pritchel, and the shoe brightened with a 

 file. In filing, all sharp edges should be removed. If a shoe 

 is to be filed upon the outer border, to give it a neater appear- 

 ance, the filing should be done lengthways of the shoe, and not 

 crossways; of course, the shoe must not be bent by being im- 

 properly clamped in the vise. 



It indicates much greater skill in making and fitting shoes 

 when they look clean and finished with little or no filing. 



In the preceding remarks I have insisted upon a horizontal bear- 

 ing-surface for all shoes, with the single exception of shoes provided 

 with the rolled toe (rolling motion). As far as I can judge from the 

 literature of shoeing, and from what I have seen with my own eyes in 

 many countries, this is the most wide-spread practice. In Germany, 

 on the other hand, there is another method, followed in the militaiy 

 shoeing-shops, which consists in placing the bearing -surf ace of the shoe 

 as nearly as possible at right angles to the slant of the ivall. Accord- 

 ing to this method the bearing-surface of the shoe, depending upon 

 the direction of the wall (viewed from in front, from behind, and 

 from the side), should incline more or less, now backward, now in- 

 ward, now horizontal, and now outward. Shoes for wide hoofs are 

 given a bearing-surface which inclines inward, while for narrow hoofs 

 the shoes have a horizontal bearing-surface. Shoes for wry hoofs 

 have a bearing-surface which inclines downward and inward for the 

 slanting wall, and for the steeper wall a horizontal bearing-surface, 

 which towards the end of the branch may incline slightly downward 

 and outward. Besides, the bearing-surface of the ends of the branches, 

 viewed from the side, has a backward and downward inclination. This 

 method is practicable only in part. 



