THE SHOE, 459 



where the nails should be, than it is on the inner quarter, where a 

 nail must never be driven ; and jou will also see that the hoof 

 is not a circle, as some suppose, but is straighter on the inside 

 than it is on the outside. D marks the sole ; E shows the up- 

 per part of the bars, pared down nearly level with the sole. F 

 shows that part of the bars which must never be touched by a 

 knife ; G marks the frog, and is placed just over the situation 

 of the navicular joint. I would advise you to examine this 

 frog well, because it is what every horse's frog should look 

 like,— plump, and full, and even, with a broad, shallow cleft, 

 not split through at the back part ; and, if you shoe your horses 

 properly, and never pare the frog, it is what their frogs will 

 come to in time. 



The Shoe.— Before I talk about the shoe, I must settle 

 names for the upper and under surfaces ; because I fear I should 

 mislead those who are not smiths, if I call the part that rests 

 upon the ground " the upper surface," as smiths do ; I shall 

 therefore call that part of the shoe " the ground surface ; " and 

 the part which goes next the foot I shall call " the foot surface ; " 

 and then there can be no mistake as to which surface I mean. 



In turning your store shoes " in the rough,"' you should leave 

 them longer at the heels than smiths generally do ; we shall see 

 the reason for it when we come to " fitting the shoe ; " and you 

 should make the web as wade at the heels as it is 

 at the toe, and of the same thickness throughout, Figure a. 

 from the toe back to the heels. The "fuller" 

 should be carried quite round the shoe to the 

 heels, and the fullering-iron should have both 

 sides alike. It is a far better tool than the one- 

 sided iron in common use, which is generally so 

 narrow and sharp that it not only makes the 

 groove too small for the heads of the nails to sink 

 into, but it often splits the shoe. A narrow 

 groove may look neater than a wide one ; but you 

 will find a wide one much more useful. 



Choosing a Shoe. — The first thing to look to 

 in choosing a shoe is the kind of foot you have to 

 deal with. If the foot is a strong, good-shaped 

 one, it will be an easy matter to find a shoe for 



