FAULTY CONFORMATION 133 



one of Captain Smith's shoes in a case where the hoof was 

 badly contracted, and where the frog had entirely disap- 

 peared, there being also slight lameness. The hoof rapidly 

 expanded, and every other day the nut was moved on a bit 

 to keep the cross-piece tight. I then had the cross-piece 

 bent downwards a little to prevent the nut pressing on the 

 >• a p idly-growing frog-* After another fortnight or so, I 

 had a shoe made with clips resting against the inside of the 

 bars,f and the next time he w r as shod these were also dis • 

 pensed with. It is now a year ago since the animal re- 

 covered his frog, and he still has the largest frog in the 

 stable, and the hoof shows no sign of contraction.' 



(b) De Fay's. — Among other shoes of the expansion 

 class may be mentioned that of De Fay- Like the pre- 

 ceding, it is a shoe with a flat bearing surface, and pro- 

 vided with bar-clips. It is, however, wnhinged. The re- 

 quisite degree of periodic expansion is in this case arrived 

 at by a forcible widening of the heels of the shoe, accom- 

 plished by bending the substance of which it is made, and 

 for this purpose the instrument illustrated in Fig. 75 is 

 employed. 



The foot is first properly trimmed by levelling the heels 

 and thinning the sole on each side of the frog. The shoe 

 is then fixed by nails in the ordinary manner, taking care 

 that the last nails come not too far back, and that the clips 

 rest evenly and firmly on the inside of the bars. 



The dilator, hoof-spreader, or vice, as it is variously 

 called, is then applied, its two jaws (a and b) fitting agains 

 the inner edge of the shoe at the heels. Careful note ii. 

 taken of the width of the hoof as measured on the gradu- 

 ated scale {e, e), and the double screw (g, h) revolved by 

 means of the wrench (k), until the opening of the jaw. 

 thus obtained registers an expansion of 1/12 to -J inch. 



The dilatation is repeated at intervals of from eight to 

 ten days, until, at the expiration of a month or six weeks. 



* The italics are mine (H. C. R.) 



t The expanding shoe itself was here evidently dispensed with, 

 and an ordinary shoe with bar-clips used in its stead (H. C. R.). 



