28 TREATISE ON HORSE-SHOEING. 



pose tliat a hot shoe injures the hoof: it does 

 nothing of the kind; and you cannot possibly fit 

 a shoe properly without making it hot. I would 

 not have you burn a shoe into its place on the 

 foot before you had taken care to make both the 

 foot and the shoe as level as you could; but when 

 you have done that, the small quantity of burning 

 that is necessary to make them come close together 

 can do no harm. I have said before that a weak, 

 thin crust will not bear as much heat as a strong 

 one, and that the shoe should be applied less hot 

 to it; nevertheless, it must be scorched, that you 

 may be sure the shoe fits properly. 



When you have cooled the shoe, you should 

 "back-hole" it, — that is, make a free opening on 

 the foot-surface for the nails to pass through; but 

 mind that in doing so you do not make the holes 

 incline inwards, by breaking down the inner edge 

 of the holes more than the outer edge. 



Before you "file up" the shoe, hold it firmly in 

 its place on the foot with both hands, and examine 

 carefully whether any light a23pears between the 



