582 ' DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



outward bend. Care should be taken, however, that in fitting the 

 shoe " full " at the quarter the bearing surface of the hoof at the 

 quarter be not left unsupported or incompletely covered, to be 

 pinched and squeezed inward against the frog. This will be obviated 

 by making the outer branch of the shoe sufficiently wide and punch- 

 ing it so coarse that the nails will fall upon the white line. 



HOT FITTING. 



Few farriers have either the time or the skill necessary to so adjust 

 a cold shoe to the hoof that it will fit, as we say, " air-tight." Though 

 the opponents of hot fitting draw a lurid picture of the direful con- 

 sequences of applying a hot shoe to the hoof, it is only the abuse of 

 the practice that is to be condemned. If a heavy shoe at a yellow 

 heat be held tightly pressed against a hoof which has been pared too 

 thin, till it embeds itself, serious damage may be done. But a shoe at 

 a dark heat may be pressed against a properly dressed hoof long 

 enough to scorch, and thus indicate to the farrier the portions of horn 

 that should be lowered, without appreciable injury to the hoof, and 

 to the ultimate benefit of the animal. 



The horse owner should insist on the nails being driven low. They' 

 should pierce the wall not above an inch and five-eighths above the 

 shoe. A nail penetrating the white line and emerging low on the 

 wall destroys the least possible amount of horn, has a wide and 

 strong clinch, rather than a narrow one, which would be formed near 

 the jDoint of the nail, and, furthermore, has the strongest possible 

 hold on the wall, because its clinch is pulling more nearly at a right 

 angle to the grain (horn tubes) of the wall than if driven high. 

 Finally, do not allow the rasp to touch the wall above the clinches. 



THE BAR SHOE. 



The bar shoe (fig. 9) has a variety of uses. It enables us to give 

 the frog pressure, to restore it to its original state of activity and 

 development when by reason of disuse it has become atrophied. It 

 gives the hoof an increased surface of support and enables us to re- 

 lieve one or both quarters of undue pressure that may have induced 

 inflammation and soreness. The bar of the shoe should equal the 

 average width of the remainder of the shoe and should press but 

 lightly on the branches of the frog. The addition of a leather sole 

 with tar and oakum sole-packing allows us to distribute the weight 

 of the body over the entire ground surface of the hoof. 



THE RUBBER PAD. 



Various forms of rubber pads, rubber shoes, rope shoes, fiber shoes, 

 and other contrivances to diminish shock and prevent slipping on the 

 hard and slippery pavements of our large cities are in use in differ- 



