THE SHOEING OF THE HORSE 207 



give it a proper direction for driving, is called by the smiths 

 "pitching the nail " ; this is done with the finger and thumb, 

 and on its being judiciously chosen, the success of driving 

 the nail, it is obvious, will much depend. In giving the 

 first strokes of the hammer, they strike, not on the flat part 

 of the head of the nail, but on its exterior edge ; and when 

 safe in the hoof, or nearly home, upon the flat head. The 

 smith is led to judge by the sound, as also by the resistance 

 the nail makes to the hammer, whether it be in its right 

 course or not, and he aims to bring out the nails as nearly 

 at equal distances round the hoof as may be, and at equal 

 heights up the hoof, the accuracy of which exhibts the skill 

 of the workman. On the first entering of the nail, he pro- 

 ceeds with caution ; but when the point is felt by the finger, 

 or makes its actual appearance, he strikes more boldly till 

 the head is driven home to the shoe. The nail having 

 passed through the hoof, the shank or extremity of it is 

 turned down and bent against the side of the hoof, so that 

 the horse, in struggling or suddenly withdrawing his foot, 

 should not tear the clothes or wound the thigh of the 

 workman. 



The nails being driven and turned down, the smith next 

 proceeds to give them all round a smart hammering upon the 

 head, to fix them more firmly ; and by holding the pincers 

 to the shank of the nail, he draws the shoe tighter against 

 the hoof. This done, he wrings ofi the shank or point of 

 the nail, and files the clenches with a rasp to a uniform 

 length, tiling away, also, a little of the hoof, that they may 

 lie the more closely. He should not use too much force, as 

 that may draw the sole too strongly against the coffin- 

 bone, and distress, stun, and benumb the sensitive sole. 

 Now, by reversing the situation of his pincers and hammer, 

 and holding the former against the head of the nail, which 

 prevents its return, he beats down the clenches with his 

 hammer, and forces them into the hoof. The clench is in 

 part embedded in the hoof ; but if any part projects, or if 

 there should be any irregularities, they are removed with 

 the rasp, and the process is completed. 



Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot, the 

 owner can scarcely be a competent judge ; he can only take 

 care that the shoe itself shall not be heavier than the work 

 requires — that for work a little hard the shoe shall still be 

 liffht, with a bit of steel welded into the toe — that the nail« 



