553 



permitted to remain on more than a month or five weeks at the out- 

 side; many animals require to be resliod even more frequently. It is 

 only when an owner lets his parsimony overcome his reason that he 

 subscribes himself to a penny- wise and pound-foolish policy, which can 

 only result, as such policies invariably do, in a loss to their exponent 



NAILS. 



The fewest nails, and these of the smallest size, that will ensure the 

 shoe remaining on for the proper length of time, is a rule tliat should 

 never be departed from. The nail lioles should not be punched too 

 fine— that is, too near the outside edge of the web of the shoe (this is 

 a very common failing of "keg shoes"); if punched coarser the nails 

 will take a thicker and lower hold of the walls, and in this wav obviate 

 their having to be driven so high up as to approach dangerouslv near 

 the sensitive structures. Two of the commonest errors in shoeing are 

 using too many nails and these of an altogether unnecessary size and 

 then driving them too high up into the walls. If a perfectly level 

 bearing has been obtained-as ought to be the case-it is astoiiishino- 

 how few and how small nails will hold the slioe firmly in its place'^ 

 but let the fitting be carelessly done, then, no matter how the shoe 

 may be nailed on, but a short time elapses ere the clinches open 

 and the shoe works loose. When we bear in mind that the wall of 

 the hoof consists of a number of hair-like tubes cemented together 

 and that each tube is one of an infinite number of minute canals' 

 which diffuse throughout the horn a fluid that nourishes and pre- 

 serves It, It will be readily understood that each nail driven into the 

 wall deflects those little tubules, probably absolutely closing those 

 with which It comes into actual contact and hurtfullv compressino- 

 those lying half way between the nails, thus impairing if not destrov^ 

 ing their utility and cutting oif the supply of a material necessarv to 

 the foot s existence. If we could dispense ^vith nails altogether our 

 horses feet would be immeasurably better off. This, unfortunately 

 we apparently can not do, but we have it in our power to minimize an 

 evil which, at present, at all events, we can not entirely avoid There 

 1ms recently been patented in England a nailless horseshoe, for which 

 the patentees claim extraordinary excellence. I have not yet been 

 able to see one of these shoes, but if they will enable us to dispense 

 with the use of nails they will confer a priceless boon on horseflesh 

 generally. From the description given by the patentees I fail to see 

 however, how the shoes can be kept sufficiently firmly in place, nor 

 cun 1 glean from the same source that the new method of attachment 

 (by means of a metal band and studs) is equallv efficacious with the 

 old, or less injurious. 



There is, however, one shoe, without some allusion to which any 

 essay of this kind would be incomplete, namely, the "Charlier shoe," 

 5901 — iioR 18* 



