38 



■p ^Q come off. Fig. 12 will show the effect 



....._ of this undue wear upon the nail 

 " ,■•' bettei% than words can describe it : a. 



represents the nail, as it appears, when 

 the shoe is first jDut on ; and the lines 

 al)ove and Ijelow it mark the thickness of the shoe itself 

 The dotted lines around h. show the portions of the nail 

 and slioe, that have been destroyed by wear: and c. shows 

 the thickness of the worn out shoe, with all, that remains 

 of the head of the nail, to hold it to the foot. 



The unsupported assertion, that this mode of shoeing 

 may answer for one sort of work, or one kind of ground, 

 but not for others of a different description, cannot stand 

 for a moment against the facts above cited; to which I 

 may add, that a leader in the fast mail worked for a 

 considerable time with only tliree nails in each of his fore 

 shoes ; but it is needless to multiply cases in proof of a 

 position, which is estabhshed beyond all dispute ; therefore, 

 whenever a shoe happens to be cast, we should use our 

 utmost endeavour to fix it upon the particular blunder, fault, 

 or carelessness, that may have caused it ; and not heedlessly 

 visit it upon the poor unoffending horse, when it clearly 

 attaches eitlier to the carelessness of the smith, or the neg- 

 ligence of the groom ; for to one or other of these causes 

 every cast shoe may be traced ; either it did not fit the foot, 

 or it was too long, or the clenches were cut off in rasping 

 the hoof, or it was not removed in proper time, or it was 

 entirely worn out. The barbarity of attempting to meet any 

 of these circumstances by placmg nails in a part of the shoe. 



