476 



THE HORSE. 



may be shod with three nails on eacli side ; but no foot requires 

 more than seven altogether. 



The two cuts, on this page, represent a near hind shoe. Fig. 



14 shows a level sur- 

 face for the foot to 

 rest upon, the raised 

 heels and the thick- 

 ened toe, with a 

 small clip in the cen- 

 tre. 



Fig. 15 shows the 

 toe rather pointed, the back edge rounded, and the nail holes 

 properly placed. 



Cutting. — Horses strike 

 their feet against the oppo- 

 site leg in such a variety 

 of ways, both before and 

 behind, that it is impossi- 

 ble to form a shoe that 

 would suit every case of 

 " cutting." I therefore ad- 

 |,':jj ^ise you, whether the horse 

 cuts before or behind, to 

 fasten something like a 

 boot covered thickly with 

 wetted pipeclay over the 

 jilace where he strikes the 

 leg, and then trot him along 

 the road ; he will soon pick 

 off some of the pipeclay 

 with the opposite foot, and show you the exact part of the shoe 

 he strikes with, which you can easily alter in the new shoe ; and 

 you will often be surprised to see how small a matter causes 

 the mischief. 



Ekmoving. — The time at which a horse's shoes should be 

 removed must depend very much upon circumstances. If a 

 horse wears his shoes out in less than a month, they had better 

 not be removed ; and horses with thin, weak horn, which grows 

 slowly, are likewise better left alone between each shoeing, un- 



