164 HORSESHOEING. 



flat shoe, except that it requires a somewhat longer piece of 

 iron; the ends of the branches are bent inward over a dull 

 corner of the anvil, bevelled, laid one over the other, and 

 welded together to fonn the bar. The width and thickness of 

 the bar should be the same as of the rest of the shoe, and its 

 frog-surface should be slightly concave. 



The har-slioe is valuable, because it protects from pressure 

 diseased sections of the wall which have been laid free, allows 

 part of the body-weight to be borne by the frog, and restores 

 normal activity to the disturbed physiological movements of the 

 foot. By using it we can either gain a more extensive bearing- 

 surface for the hoof, or can make it easier for the surface that 

 bears the weight to do the work. If on account of weakness 

 of the bearing-surface of the hoof, or from any other cause, we 

 wish to distribute the body-weight over the entire plantar sur- 

 face of the foot with the exception of the painful region, we 

 add a leather sole to the bar-shoe. 



In this case it is necessary to place holes in the ends of 

 the branches of the shoe, so that we may rivet the leather 

 firmly to the shoe with small nails. The shoe should be made 

 somewhat wider than the hoof, and the clips somewhat higher 

 than usual. After fitting the shoe the grooves for the clips are 

 cut in the leather, the latter is riveted to the shoe, and all 

 leather projecting beyond the outer edge of the shoe is trimmed 

 away. The lacunae of the frog and other concavities of the sole 

 are then thickly smeared with wood-tar and afterwards filled 

 up with oakum to such a degree that the packing will bear 

 some of the body-weight when the shoe and leather sole are in 

 position. This packing is of great importance, because it pre- 

 vents the filtering in from behind of sand and slime, preserves 

 the toughness and pliability of the horn, breaks shock, and 

 produces a gradual expansion of the posterior half of the hoof. 

 Before nailing the shoe to the foot the leather sole should be 

 soaked in water. 



