HORSESHOEING. 147 



to the bearing-surface of the wall ; that is, if the bearing-surface 

 of the wall is below the margin of the sole (the sole of the foot 

 being uppermost), then the bearing-surface of the shoe should 

 inchne downward and inward (Fig. 129, b). The bearing-surface 

 of the branches, however, must always remain horizontal. The 

 shoe always requires deep concaving, especially along the inner 

 branch of the sole. If the quarters are weak, the walls defective, 

 or there are corns, cracks, loose walls, or other diseases of the 

 hoof, a bar-shoe should be selected. 



(6) Full Hoof (Dropped Sole).— A full hoof is one whose sole 

 instead of being concave is convex, — that is, bulges beyond the 

 bearing-surface of the wall. It either arises gradually from a flat 

 hoof or is the result of laminitis (founder). In full hoofs the lower 

 surface of the os pedis is of the same shape as the horny sole. 



The preparation of a full hoof for the shoe consists merely in 

 removing all loose horn. In case the dropping of the sole is very 

 pronounced, the bearing surface of the wall should be built up 

 artificially with Defay's hoof cement. The shoe should be light, 

 but broad in the web, and furnished with a more or less deep 

 concaving, which extends from the inner edge of the web to the 

 outer edge of the shoe, and corresponds in shape to the bulging 

 of the sole. By reason of the deficiency of the wall, the bar- 

 shoe deserves the preference over an open shoe. It is fre- 

 quently necessary to apply toe- and heel-calks to remove the hoof 

 from contact with the ground. The nails should be thinner and 

 longer than usual, and a more secure position of the shoe may be 

 secured without injury to the hoof by drawing up two side-clips. 



Flat and full hoofs are incurable. Shoeing is of benefit only 

 in rendering such horses serviceable. Soles that are soft and 

 sensitive should be smeared with crude turpentine or pine-tar, 

 though unusual sensitiveness calls for a leather sole. Horses 

 with full hoofs should not be driven faster than a walk over hard 

 roads. During long-continued spells of wet weather softening 

 of these hoofs should be prevented by smearing the soles with a 

 hoof-ointment containing resin. 



