598 DISEASES OP THE HOBSE. 



Surfaces.— The surface that is turned toward the hoof is known as 

 the " upper," or " hoof surface," of the shoe. That part of the hoof 

 surface which is in actual contact with the horn is called the " bearing 

 surface " of the shoe. The " bearing surface " should be perfectly 

 horizontal from side to side, and wide enough to support the full 

 thickness of the wall, the white line, and about an eighth of an inch 

 of the margin of the sole. The bearing surface should also be pei- 

 fectly flat, except that it may be turned up at the toe ("rolling- 

 motion " shoe, fig. 5 0^ 6, c. ) The surface between the bearing surface 

 and the inner edge of the shoe is often beaten down or concaved to 

 prevent pressure too far inward upon the sole. This " concaving," or 

 " seating," should be deeper or shallower as the horny sole is less or 

 more concave. As a rule, strongly " cupped " soles require no con- 

 caving (hind hoofs, narrow fore hoofs). 



Borders. — The entire outer border should be beveled under the foot. 

 Such a shoe is not so readily loosened, nor is it so apt to lead to 

 interfering. 



Fullering. — This is a groove in the ground surface of the shoe. It 

 should pass through two-thirds of the thickness of the shoe, be clean, 

 and of uniform width. It is of advantage in that it makes the shoe 

 lighter in proportion to its width and, by making the ground surface 

 somewhat rough, tends to. prevent slipping. 



Nail holes. — The shoe must be so " punched " that the nail holes 

 will fall directly on the white line. They should be confined to the 

 fore half of front shoes, but may occupy the anterior two-thirds of 

 hind shoes. For a medium- weight shoe three nail holes in each 

 branch are sufficient, but for heavier shoes, especially those provided 

 with long calks, eight holes are about right, though three on the in- 

 side and four on the outside may do. 



Clips. — These are half -circular ears drawn up from the outer edge 

 of the shoe either at the toe or opposite the side wall. The height of 

 a clip should equal the thickness of the shoe, though they should be 

 even higher on hind shoes and when a leather sole is interposed be- 

 tween the shoe and hoof. Clips secure the shoe against shifting. A 

 side clip shoiild always be drawn up on that branch of the shoe that 

 first meets the ground in locomotion. 



SPECIAL FEATURES AND FITTING THE SHOES. 



A shoe for a regular hoof (figs. 7 and 8) fits when its outer border 

 follows the wall closely in the region of the nail holes and from the 

 last nail to the end of the branch gradually projects beyond the sur- 

 face of the wall to an eighth of an inch and extends back of the but- 

 tresses an amount equal to the thickness of the shoe. The shoe must 

 be straight, firm, air-tight, its nail holes directly over the white line. 



