120 HORSESHOEING. 



5. Shoeing with Peg Toe-Calks. — Unnecessary for saddle- 

 horses. For coach horses the following dimensions are recom- 

 mended (hole, I I ): The head of a sharp toe-calk, five- 

 eighths by one and three-eighths inches (fifteen by thirty-five 

 millimetres) ; height, ten-sixteenths to eleven-sixteenths inch 

 (sixteen by seventeen millimetres) ; tap or shank close to the 

 head, six-sixteenths by ten-sixteenths inch (ten by eighteen 

 millimetres) ; length, seven-sixteenths of an inch (twelve milli- 

 metres) ; thickness of the shoe at the toe, nine-sixteenths of an 

 inch (fourteen millimetres). For heavy draught-horses (more 

 suitable than for cab or coach horses) the head of the calk 

 should be exactly five-eighths by one and thirteen-sixteenths 

 inches (fifteen by forty-six millimetres) ; height, thirteen-six- 

 teenths of an inch (twenty millimetres) ; tap or shank of the calk 

 close to the head, three-eighths by one and three-eighths inches 

 (ten by thirty-four millimetres) ; length, eleven-sixteenths inch 

 (sixteen millimetres). The tap or shank of the toe-calk should 

 diminish one-twenty-flfth of an inch in thickness for every 

 five-sixteenths of an inch of its length. "When the toe-calk is 

 set in place, a space one-twenty -fifth of an inch wide should 

 reraain between the head of the calk and the shoe. Should 

 the head of the calk rest upon the lower surface of the shoe, 

 it would soon become loose and fall out. 



Instead of a long four-cornered hole for the tap of the toe- 

 calk, we may use an elliptical hole with a tap of corresponding 

 shape. 



Many experiments have been made to find a suitable, remova- 

 ble peg toe-calk, but thus far without complete success. 



6. Removable Heel-Calks that do not require Sharpening, 

 — The undeniable fact that all chisel- shaped or pyramid- shaped 

 sharp calks become dull in time, and must then either be sharp- 

 ened or replaced by new calks, renders shoeing not only costly, 

 but injurious to the hoofs and annoying to the owner. This 

 drawback is most pronounced in large cities, where the snow 

 never lies long upon the streets, and the horse just sharp-shod is 



