AND MALFORMATIONS OF THE FEET. 105 



advisable in the first instance to try the effect of 

 makino^ the shoe thinner on the outside than on the 

 inside, as recommended above. In other cases, in 

 addition to this, it may be necessary to ease off the 

 hoof at the point of contact. But, whenever the 

 crust is rasped for this purpose, the nail, which 

 would be ordinarily in the neighbourhood, must be 

 omitted, and one substituted for it in some other 

 part. The absence of the nail will lessen the risk 

 of the crust splitting, even though rasped. 



In those cases which arise from really defective 

 action, or from collision with the opposite fetlock, 

 it will be advisable to try the effect of making the 

 shoe thinner on the outside than on the inside, and 

 if that fails, to apply a three-quarter shoe. 



Another common cause of cutting is leg weari- 

 ness, arising from weakness, want of condition, or 

 over-work. For instance, how often does a horse 

 cut in coming home from hunting. From similar 

 causes cutting is common in young horses, but 

 disappears with age and increased strength. 



In the hind leg, cutting is in most cases to be 

 prevented by thickening the inside heel of the 

 shoe, or, which amounts to much the same, by 

 using a three-quarter shoe on the outside ; and in 

 bad cases by combining both alterations. The 

 object of thickening the inside heel is to throw out 

 the fetlock, and so lessen the chances of collision. 



The heel, which is raised, should be of substan- 



