THE HOUSE. 
each shoe, at the beginning of the quarters, will give security to it. 
Clips are likewise necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all 
others who are disposed to stamp, or violently paw with their feet, and 
thus incur the danger of displacing the shoe; but they are evils, ’inas- 
much as they press upon the crust as it grows down, and they should 
only be used when circumstances absolutely require them. In the hunt- 
er’s shoe they are not required at the sides. One at the toe is suffi- 
cient. 
The Hinder Shoe— In forming the hinder shoes, it should be remem- 
bered that the hind limbs are the principal instruments in progression, 
and that in every act of progression, except the walk, the toe is the 
point on which the whole frame of the animal turns, and from which it 
is piopelled. This part, then, should be strengthened as much as pos- 
sible; and therefore the hinder shoes are made broader at the toe than 
the fore ones. Another good effect is produced by this — that, the hinder 
foot being shortened, there is less danger of overreaching, forging, or 
clinking, and especially if the shoe is wider on the foot surface than on 
the ground one. The shoe is thus made to slope inward, and is a little 
within the toe of the crust. 
The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different from that of the 
fore foot. It is straightcr in the quarters, and the shoe must have the 
same form. For carriage and draught-horses generally, calkins may be 
put on the heels, because the animal will be thus enabled to dig his toe 
more firmly into the ground, and urge himself forward, and throw his 
weight into the collar with greater advantage ; but the calkins must not 
be too high, and they must be of an equal height on each heel, other- 
wise, as has been stated with regard to the fore feet, the weight will not 
be fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the foot or the le-r 
will materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe mav be placed 
nearer to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparative- 
ly little weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not 
so much danger of contraction. 
Different Kinds of Shoes. — The shoe must vary in substance and weight 
with the kind of foot, and the nature of the work. A weak foot should 
never wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that will last longer than 
a month. Here, perhaps, we may be permitted to caution the horse- 
proprietor against having his cattle shod by contract, unless lie binds 
his tamer or veterinary surgeon to remove the shoes once at least in 
every month ; for, if the contractor, by a heavy shoe, and a little steel, 
can cause five or six weeks to intervene between the shoeings, he will 
, so, although the feet of the horse must necessarily suffer. The shoe 
siould never be heavier than the work requires, for an ounce or two in 
the weight of the shoe will sadly tell at the end of a hard day’s work, 
this is acknowledged in the hunting-shoe, which is narrower and lighter 
than that ot the hackney, although the foot of the hackney is smaller 
than that of the hunter. It is more decidedly acknowledged in the 
racer, who wears a shoe only sufficiently thick to prevent it from bend- 
ing when it is used. 
The Loucave-Seated Shoe. — An illustration is subjoined of a shoe which 
is useful and valuable for general purposes. It is employed in many of 
