SHOEING HOESBS. 329 



the burning process would deaden the hoof and tend to con- 

 tract it. 



Fit the shoe to the foot, and not the foot to the shoe by 

 burning. If one doubts the effect of a red-hot shoe on the hoof, 

 let him apply a hot poker to his own finger nail. 



Nearly all writers on the subject have looked upon the foot 

 as a wonderful and complex piece of mechanism, and seemingly 

 have forgotten or have not known that, no matter how com- 

 plex it may be within, it is enclosed within a simple horny 

 box; that all the effects of shoeing should be directed to pre- 

 serve that box in a natural condition, and that its position in 

 relation to the limb should not be altered by the shape or form 

 of the shoe. 



If our blacksmiths would use their knives less and their 

 heads more in the execution of their important and by no 

 means easy duty, our horses would be better for it, and so 

 would their owners. 



There is no great mystery surrounding the subject, and the 

 application of ordinary common-sense, in lieu of the barbarous 

 routine which has been so long handed down from generation 

 to generation until it has actually become a portion of the 

 blacksmith's creed, would go a long way toward pbviating 

 many, if not most, of the cruel wrongs to which our horses' feet 

 are day by day needlessly subjected. 



One common error in shoeing is in using the clip or upper 

 projection on the toe of the shoe, so common in many parts of 

 the country. The only advantage claimed for this extra piece 

 of work is that it is necessary in assisting the nails to hold the 

 shoe solid, a claim that I am not ready to admit. The hoof is 

 injured by the notch cut to receive it and the burning to fit it 

 in. After it has been lodged in the toe the powerful bearing 

 of all the nails against it prevents the expansion so necessary to 

 the healthy growth of the foot. 



It is necessary for the hoof to expand in its growth while 

 shod, and its natural action should not be impeded at any 

 point. The shoe should be set level with no other fastenings 



