98 HORSESHOEING. 



hoof, because the latter grows and carries the shoe forward with 

 it, and because the quarters gradually become lowered by rub- 

 bing and wearing away upon the branches of the shoe. The 

 length of the shoe is of especial importance. For horses em- 

 ployed for slow, heavy-draught purposes the shoe supplied with 

 heel- and toe-calks should extend backward far enough to sup- 

 port the bulbs of the heels. On the contrary, horses used at a 

 trot or gallop, as coach- and saddle-horses, require shorter shoes. 

 (See Peculiarities of the Shoe, pages 90 to 96.) 



The weight of the shoe should be so adjusted to the demands 

 of the horse's work, the condition of the legs (whether used up 

 with work or not), and the nature of the ground that the shoeing 

 will last at least a month. Hard roads and a heavy, clumsy gait 

 require strong, durable shoes, which, under some conditions, are 

 to be rendered still more durable by welding in steel. For mod- 

 erate service upon soft roads we should use light shoes. Run- 

 ning horses require unusually thin and narrow shoes of steel. 



H. Shaping and fitting Shoes. General Considerations. 



This is one of the most important parts of horseshoeing. Its 

 object is to so fashion or shape the shoe which has been chosen 

 for a particular hoof that its circumference will exactly corre- 

 spond to the lower circumference of the previously prepared hoof, 

 and its bearing-surface will fit air-tight to the bearing-surface of 

 the hoof At this time all defects in the surfaces of hoof and 

 shoe and in the nail-holes must be remedied, the clips drawn up, 

 and the shoe made to fit perfectly. The bearing-surface of the 

 shoe, especially at the ends of the branches, must be kept hori- 

 zontal* and smooth, and its width regulated by the width of 

 the bearing-surface of the hoof (see page 84). Perfectly uniform 



* The horizontal bearing-surface is in accordance with nature, because the 

 changes of form of the hoof which take place at the plantar border of the 

 wall, on burdening and unburdening the foot, should not be interfered with. 

 A horizontal bearing-surface best fulfils this requirement. 



