52 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



a heavy shoe requires a greater number or a larger size of 

 nails to retain it securely in position, and this is a disad- 

 vantage. It has often been asserted that a horse "goes 

 better " in a heavy shoe than a light one, and that this is 

 due to the heavier shoe acting as a protection to the 

 foot and warding olt concussion. If the term "goes 

 better " merely means that he lifts his foot higher and 

 consequently bends his knee more, I do not deny the 

 assertion. The reason of this is not that the horse feels 

 less concussion and therefore goes freer. It is an exag- 

 geration of the natural movements, due simply to the 

 horse with weight imposed on his feet having to use the 

 muscles of his arms more to lift that weight. The same 

 thing can be brought about hj tying bags of shot on to 

 the hoof, which is done to cultivate "action." The 

 healthy foot requires no artificial aids against concussion, 

 but when a foot becomes tender from Dad shoeing it may 

 sometimes be relieved by adding to the substance and 

 weight of a shoe. 



The following are about the average weights, per 

 shoe, of horses standing 16 hands Li.'-h : 



Race Horses 2 to 4 ounces. 



Hacks and Hunters ., 15 to 18 " 



Carriage Horses 20 to 30 " 



Omnibus " 3 to o^ pounds. 



Dray '*' 4 to a " 



Thickness and V/idth of Shoes. — To obtain the 

 necessary amount of wear from shoes they must be 

 increased either in thickness or width, and it will assist 

 us in estimating the relative value of these conditions if 

 we shortly consider their advantages and disadv'antages. 

 I may say at once that no sound foot requires a wide shoe 

 merely as " cover" or protection for the sole. Defective 

 soles may sometimes require protection, but sound ones 

 never, and wo may therefore put aside entirely all claims 

 made for wid"^li of shoo under pretence that it gives a 

 valuable protection to tlie foot. A shoe should be as 

 wide as the natural bearing surface of the foot, so that 

 it may occupy the whole of the space offered by nature- 



