124 HOW TO EDUCATE HORSES. 



face convex. Four nails are then placed in each 

 quarter. The high heels of the shoe prevent the frogs 

 from embracing the ground, and the concavity of the 

 shoe at the quarters, with the nails that are placed 

 nearest the heels, will confine the growth of the crust 

 and contract the hoof. After a horse has been shod 

 in this way for a little while, you will discover that the 

 heels are beginning to crack, and a roughness will 

 show itself around the feet. The horse will walk 

 lame, and you will wonder what the cause is. You 

 ask the nearest veterinary surgeon, and he tells 

 you the horse is lame in the shoulder or has swinney, 

 or perhaps shoulder-jam. He will undertake to pre- 

 scribe and apply remedies for the same; but of course 

 none of these will do any good, as the real affliction is 

 passed by without any attention whatever. 

 , Now, the proper way to shoe a horse is to first take 

 away the part of the sole between the whole length of 

 the bars and crust with the drawing-knife, making 

 the foot perfectly level. The heels can now re- 

 ceive the pressure of the shoe without causing corns. 

 The sole must be made concave and not allowed to 

 come in contact with the shoe. The heels of the shoe 

 should be made to rest on the angles of the bars with 

 the crust; but if the bars are removed, then the shoe 

 is supported by the crust only, and not by the solid, 

 broad piece of crust and bars needed. The shoe 

 should be made no thicker at the heel than at the toe, 

 leaving the frog to come down even with the shoe, so 

 that when the shoe strikes the ground the frog strikes 

 with the shoe at the same time, giving what is called 

 frog pressure. When the shoe is applied, the cavity 

 between the sole and the shoe should be large enough 

 at every point to admit a large horse-picker, particu- 

 larly between the bars and crust. If the picker can- 



