Among Horses in India. 41 



clumsy-looking nails ; yet they answer their purpose very 

 well if fitted under the eye of anyone who understands the 

 proper way to shoe a horse. 



The usual custom is to nail on the shoe considerably within 

 the edge of the toe, and then rasp away the projecting part 

 of the wall until it is even with the shoe. The nails in this 

 case pass too near to the sensitive laminte, and horses, as in 

 England, sometimes go in rather a tender manner for a few 

 days after being shod, until the hoof grows sufficiently to 

 relieve them. 



Indian shoes, being always fitted cold, are made of very 

 soft iron, which can be easily hammered narrower or wider 

 in order to adapt them to the shape of the foot. They are 

 so thin that after a few days' work upon rough ground the 

 inner edge of the web is bent upwards, and presses evenly 

 all round upon the sole. 



Contrary to what English shoeing- smiths would expect, 

 this does not cause the slightest tenderness, horses so shod 

 galloping over rocks without flinching. In this respect 

 native shoeing is better than that which is practised in 

 England, because when the sole bears a fair share of the 

 weight, the concussion to the wall and strain upon the 

 sensitive laminse must be diminished. I believe that a 

 great deal of the lameness from subacute laminitis, so very 

 prevalent in England, is caused by the custom of bevelling 

 shoes on the foot surface so as to take all pressure off the 

 sole and thus throw the whole weight of the horse upon the 

 wall alone. In India lameness from this cause is very rare 

 amongst native -shod horses. 



The practice of bevelling shoes arose from the custom of 

 cutting away the sound parts of the horny soles in order to 

 make them look neat. They were pared until too thin to 

 bear pressure, and then it was thought that they were not 

 intended by nature to bear any. 



Although native shoes have no clips, they are not cast 

 more frequently than those of English make, owing to their 

 thinness causing them to conform closely to the arch of the 

 sole. The thinness is advantageous in other respects. It 



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