SHOEING. 
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Tux object in shoeing horses is to prevent the hoofs 
from being broken or otherwise injured, as would natu- 
rally result from driving over our hard roads unpro- 
tected in this manner. It has often been remarked, 
and truly so, that ‘No foot, no horse,” which literally 
means, a horse without sound feet is of but little value. 
The feet are the basis upon which the whole superstruc- 
ture rests, a beautiful and complicated piece of mechan- 
ism, and, like all complicated machinery, easily deranged; 
hence the necessity of preserving it in a healthy state, 
to accomplish which, shoeing has been instituted, which, 
when properly done, has the desired effect. The shoe 
has two very important offices to perform: Ist, to pre- 
serve the hoof in its natural shape; 2d, to protect it 
from injury. In order to properly understand the prin- 
ciples of shoeing, it is necessary that we should under- 
stand the structure of the horse’s foot, and with this 
view we will briefly consider its anatomical relations. 
The hoof, or horny case, is the first object claiming our 
attention, which, for convenience of description, has 
been divided thus: the crust or wall, the sole, and the 
bars. The crust or wall is that part which covers the 
anterior or front part of the foot, attached above to the 
skin at the termination of the hairs. This upper mar- 
gin is termed the coronet. The crust or wall, internally, 
