50 ON SHOEING. 



sary. It is also sometimes advisable to put in nails 

 at the toe, and the practice is not objectionable in 

 feet of this formation, because such horses always 

 go on their heels, and therefore there is not the 

 ordinary degree of wear and leverage at the toes. 



Form and 54. Nail-holes should be punched " coarse," as it is 



naii-lides. technically termed, ?'. e. nearly in the centre of the 



web ; and they should be punched straight through, 



i. e. brought out nearly in the centre of the web on 



the other side. 



Farriers very generally punch the holes much too 

 near the outside. The nails, of course, do not get 

 so firm a hold of the crust, but farriers are fearful of 

 pricking the horse, and with feet rasped, as they 

 usually are, they are right. If, however, a crust of 

 ordinary quality and thickness be not rasped, the 

 farrier can afford to drive his nails " coarse," and 

 with infinite advantage to their holding power. 



In saying that nail-holes should be punched nearly 

 in the centre of the web, it must be borne in mind 

 that the width of the shoe recommended is one- 

 fourth less than that of the shoe in ordinary use. 



Nail-holes should be made of evenly diminishing 

 size from the under to the upper side of the shoe. 

 If otherwise, the nail will get play where the hole is 

 too large for it, and so break ; on the other hand, if 

 the hole is too small, the neck of the nail will be 

 injured in driving it home. 



