CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 807 



socket for the neck of the nail. The hole must be thoroughly- 

 cleaned before the nail is inserted — no easy matter when 

 tightly packed with gravel — and a process of back-pritehel- 

 ling is frequently required to drive out the gravel plug. If 

 the inside nail rises it will probably injure the opposite leg, 

 especially if the horse ' goes close.' 



Undoubtedly the best, though most expensive, method is 

 by means of screw cogs, the heels of the shoe being 

 previously ' tapped,' while the thread is protected either by 

 wearing a ' blank ' or by a piece of cork carefully inserted. 

 If the ' blanks ' get worn they are difficult to remove ; if the 

 corks are not carefully inserted dirt gets in and refuses to 

 allow the cog to be put in its place. Unless well screwed 

 home the cogs work loose and get lost ; if the cog is very 

 hard it may break off close to the shoe, and the thread left 

 behind is most difficult to remove. 



In fact, there is no method known to us which is without 

 its objections ; perhaps the nail is the simplest for ordinary 

 use, and certainly the least expensive. 



Whatever method is adopted the inside ' sharp ' of each 

 foot is liable to damage the opposite coronet, especially when 

 the animal is turning, and wounds of the coronet from this 

 cause may produce deep-seated mischief. In order to 

 prevent this accident the inside sharp is placed with its 

 chisel head in the length of the shoe instead of across it. 

 Where sharp-pointed studs are used this precaution is not 

 possible, but a blunt cog is sometimes placed in the inside 

 heel, of corresponding height to the sharp cog in the outside. 



Brushing. — In the section dealing with work, mention was 

 made of brushing and other forms of interference. 



The prevention of brushing may be considered an 

 hygienic necessity, though it cannot be dealt with in 

 detail. 



The causes of brushing with horses not possessing mal- 

 formed limbs, are overwork and shoes fitted too full. 

 Horses brush when they get tired in spite of well shaped 

 limbs. Brushing from malformation is the most frequent 

 and difficult to deal with. 



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