THE HORSE. 
53 
the horse, four nails on the outside and three on the injide will be suffi- 
cient ; and the last nail, being far from the heels, will allow more ex- 
pansion there. 
The inside part of the web is beveled off, or rendered concave, that 
it may not press upon the sole. Notwithstanding the shoe, the sole does, 
although to a very inconsiderable extent, descend when the foot of the 
horse is put on the ground. It is unable to bear constant or even oc- 
casional pressure, and if it came in contact with the shoe, the sensible 
6ole between it and the coffin-bone would be bruised, and lameness would 
ensue. Many of our horses, from too early and undue work, have the 
natural concave sole flattened, and the disposition to descend, and the 
degree of descent, are thereby increased. The concave shoe prevents, 
even in this case, the possibility of much injury, because the sole can 
never descend in the degree in which the shoe is or may be beveled. A 
shoe beveled still farther is necessary to protect the projecting or pum- 
iced foot. 
TIIK UNILATERAL 81IOE. 
The Unilateral or One-Side Nailed Shoe. — This is a material improve- 
ment in the art of shoeing, for which we are indebted to Mr. Turner. 
What was the state of the foot of the horse a few years ago ? An un- 
yielding iron hoof was attached to it by four nails in each quarter, and 
the consequence was, that in nine cases out of ten the foot underwent a 
very considerable alteration in its form and in its usefulness. Before it 
had attained its full development — before the animal was five years old, 
there was, in a great many cases, an evident contraction of the hoof. 
There was an alteration in the manner of going. The step was short- 
ened, the sole was hollowed, the frog was diseased, the general elasticity 
of the foot was destroyed — there was a disorganization of the whole 
horny cavity, and the value of the horse was materially diminished. 
What was the grand cause of this? It was the restraint of the shoe. 
The firm attachment of it to the foot by nails in each quarter, and the 
consequent strain to which the quarters and every part of the foot were 
exposed, produced a necessary tendency to contraction, from which 
