128 



HORSESHOEING. 



Fig. 130. 



I. Nailing the Shoe. 



This is that act of horseshoeing by which the shoe is fastened 

 to the hoof by special nails called hoof-nails or horseshoe-nails, 

 which are driven through the shoe and horny wall. 



At present there are hand-made and machine-made horse- 

 shoe-nails. Both kinds should be made of the best wrought 

 iron. The nails must be slender, wedge-shaped, and twice as 

 wide as they are thick. Thickness and length must be in proper 

 relation to each other. We should never choose a nail which 

 is longer than is absolutely necessary to 

 hold the shoe; six to eight sizes are suffi- 

 cient for aJl purposes. 



The rough nails (hand-made), before 

 being used, must undergo a special shaping 

 to prepare them to pass through the wall 

 easily and in the desired direction. This 

 preparation is called shaping and bevelling. 

 In doing this we should see to it that the 

 nails are made smooth, and even, but are not 

 hammered harder than is absolutely neces- 

 sary, because the lighter one can hammer 

 the nails the better they will be. 



Furthermore, we must give the nail that 

 form which will insure its passing through 

 the horn straight and not in a curve; with 

 this object in view, the nail is to be slightly 

 curved so that the side which is turned towards the frog in 

 driving (inside) will be a little concave, the opposite side 

 convex (Eigs. 130, 3, and 131, No. 10), since it is known that 

 a straight nail always passes through the horn in a curve, and 

 not only does not long remain tight, but is quite likely to press 

 upon and injure the soft tissues of the foot. ( See, also, Nailing. ) 

 At the point of the nail the bevel is to be so placed that it 

 will form a short one-sided wedge with the slanting side 



Hand-made horseshoe- 

 nails, natural size, for ful- 

 lered shoes ( 1 ,not bevelled) 



