26 TREATISE ON HORSE-SHOEING. 



injury, more than any otlier, is tlie "navicular joint," 

 wliicli rests upon tlie frog about an inch or an inch 

 and a quarter behind its point; and the only way 

 to protect it is to keep the web of the shoe as wide 

 at the heels as it is at the toe, and to bring in the 

 heels until they nearly touch the frog. By so doing 

 you lessen the opening of the shoe, and the web of 

 one side or the other will strike upon the stones 

 in the road and save the frog frora coming with full 

 force upon them. But open-heeled shoes leave the 

 frog entirely exposed to very large stones, and cause 

 many a bruise to the navicular joint which lays the 

 foundation of future incurable lameness. 



I have often seen shoes so wide at the heels that 

 I have placed my clenched hand within the opening 

 of the shoe without touching either side of it; and 

 where my fist could go a stone as large could go. 



Another great advantage of bringing in the heels 

 and fitting the shoe close, is the certainty that the 

 horse will not cast his shoe: you leave nothing for 

 stiff ground to lay hold of, and, if you slightly 

 bevel the inside-quarter and heel of the shoe from 



