avery's own farrier. 67 



Shoeing. — A few hints on shoeing may possibly be of 

 some use. Some horses, that are otherwise very good 

 ones, have flat feet (which is very objectionable), and 

 others with very thin and tender hoofs, are oftentimes 

 materially injured by bad shoeing. The smiths frequently 

 pare too much off from the heel and frog of the foot, 

 which are the natural braces and support of the foot. 

 By paring this part of the foot away it lets it nearer the 

 grounil (that is the sensitive part thereof), and makes it 

 more liable to get bruised on stones and other hard sub- 

 stances, causing corns and thrush; besides this, when it 

 is taken off too much in proportion to the toe, it is very 

 straining to the pasterns, often causing lameness there. 



Interfering is another fault that some horses are very lia- 

 ble to, especially young ones, before they get spread in the 

 quarters, because they tire quicker and do not travel so 

 wide, and the smiths often make them worse by the man- 

 ner in which they are in the habit of shoeing them, in 

 paring too much off the heel and inside of the hoof, and 

 making the inside cork of the shoe the shortest. This 

 certainly throws the foot in when they take it up, instead 

 of out, which causes them to cut the more. The hoof 

 should be pared off most on the outside and toe, and have 

 the inside cork quite as long, or longer than the other. 

 This throws the foot out, and they are not so likely to 

 strike the other with it while traveling; they seldom 

 strike \vith the cork, but generally with the spern, or side 

 of the shoe; although the paring on the outside should 

 not be done to that extent as to turn the foot so much as 

 to strain or otherwise injure the joints above. Much has 

 been said and written about the form of the shoe, but 



