388 
MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY. 
various diseases, most of which we have already noticed in 
the preceding part of the work. 
Much attention has been devoted by eminent veterina¬ 
rians to the best form of shoe for the prevention of contrac¬ 
tion, and the consequent destruction of the expansion of the 
hoof; but no means have yet been devised to obviate this 
completely. 
There cannot be a greater error than the possessors of 
horses exercising parsimonious economy in having their 
horses shod by those smiths who will perform the office 
cheapest. The first object with every one should be to get 
the work well done, because it is being “ penny wise and 
pound foolish 99 to have the shoes of a horse ill fitted, for the 
saving of a few pence. 
PREPARATION OF THE FOOT FOR SHOEING 
The first thing to be done by the smith is to remove the 
old shoe, and it is of importance to see that this is per¬ 
formed in a careful and proper manner. Some smiths are 
very careless and rash in removing the shoe, and instead of 
turning up the points of the nails, tear off the shoe by force. 
The shoe is fixed to the foot by nails which penetrate from 
the sole to the upper surface of the hoof; these are broken 
off, allowing sufficient length remaining to turn down and 
be clenched into the horny substance. These clenches 
should be carefully raised and rendered as straight as 
possible, so that the nails may be pulled without injuring 
the hoof or increasing the dimensions of the nail-holes. 
By thus wrenching off the shoe, there is danger that some of 
the stubs may be left in the crust and cause future lameness, 
or portions of the crust itself may be torn off. In most 
cases, where such violent treatment is practised, the horse 
exhibits by his flinching that he suffers pain from it, and 
