86 ARTISTIC HORSE-SHOEING. 



T, shows the hoofs, or it may be said the nails of the foot, 

 as the lioof correspond to the nails in the human hand. 



K, in the hind leg*, represents the stifle, which is the joint 

 of the knee and contains the knee-pan. This corresponds 

 to the knee in man. It is situated below the haunch on a 

 level with the flank and shifts its place when the horse 

 walks. 



M', shows the. thig-h, which corresponds to the leg in man. 

 It extends from the stifle down to the hock. The hock is 

 the joint which is below the thigh and bends forward. This 

 thigh- joint corresponds to the instep in man. The hinder 

 part of the hock, which is called the point of the hock, is the 

 heel. Below the hock are the shank, the fetlock-joints, the 

 pastern and the foot, as in the fore-legs. 



iV', shows the upper portion of the hind leg. 



THE CORRECT ANGLE OF THE FOOT. 



Very few horse-shoers, comparatively, understand that 

 there is a correct and incorrect angle for the foot to assume 

 when it is placed flat upon the ground. 'Some shoers cut 

 ' too much from the toe, throwing the foot too far over in 

 front, while others cut down the heel too low, necessarily^ 

 throwing the foot too far back. 



Fig. 50 shows an illustration of a foot with the angle 

 properly indicated. Of course this angle will vary a little 

 in different horses and here is where judgment is required 

 in the horse-shoer. About 53 degrees may be considered 

 the right thing for the front foot, while 58 or 60 will be the 

 average angle for the hind foot. Almost any horse-shoer 



