100 



HORSESHOEING. 



fitting bed lias been made upon the bearing-surface of the hoof. 

 From the bearing-surface of the shoe to the inner border of the 

 web the iron must be free from the sole around its entire cir- 

 cumference. The horn sole should not be burnt, because the 



velvety tissue of the sole lies 

 immediately above it. In the 

 region of the nail-holes the 

 outer borders of shoe and 

 wall should correspond. The 

 nail-holes must under all 

 conditions cover the ■white 

 line. From the last nail- 

 hole back to the ends of the 

 branches, for hoofs of the 

 regular standing position of 

 the limbs, the shoe should 

 gradually widen until it pro- 

 jects at each quarter from a 

 twenty-fifth to a twelfth of an 

 inch beyond the edge of the 

 wall. The posterior half of 

 the shoe should, therefore, be somewhat wider than the hoof 

 The effect of this will be to prolong the usefulness of the shoes. 

 With respect to the width of the branches, an exception arises in 

 the case of hind shoes, in which the inner branch, with few excep- 

 tions, should closely follow the border of the wall ; this will 

 prevent interfering and tearing off the shoe by the opposite foot. 

 Between the ends of the branches and the frog there should 

 be enough room, with few exceptions, to pass a foot-pick. 



In order to judge of the width of a shoe which has been fitted 



to the hoof, it is of advantage to seize the hoof in the left hand 



and, extending it towards the ground, to observe from behind and 



above the outer border of the shoe and the surfaces of the wall. 



Furthermore, the most important rule is that the shoe should always 



^have the form of the hoof, so long as the form of the hoof remains un- 



Left fore-hoof of normal position shod. 



