132 
THE ART OF SHOEING SIMPLIFIED. 
in London and its vicinity, under the appellation of the seated 
shoe , of equal thickness toe and heel. The flat margin of the 
foot surface of this shoe, on which the crust rests, should be 
strictly level, particularly on the inside quarter, as any burr or 
edge would tend to impede the expansion of the hoof. Clips, 
judiciously employed, are important auxiliaries to this mode of 
nailing: in fact, they are indispensable; but two only are ne¬ 
cessary to each shoe; the clip in front I prefer in the centre of 
the shoe, rather than the inside toe; the other on the outside 
quarter, immediately anterior to the heel nail. The number of 
nails not to be less than eight, nor to exceed nine, and to be thus 
disposed of; six in the outside quarter and toe of the foot, and 
two in the inside toe: no nail-hole to be punched immediately 
in the centre of the toe of the shoe, thereby avoiding' any in¬ 
convenience ^hich might arise from the joint pressure of the 
clip and nail at this part; but the first nail-liole to be punched 
close to it, at the outside toe; and the remaining five as far 
distant from each other as possible, without the last nail ap¬ 
proaching nearer the outside heel than is consistent with the 
safety of its insertion; the first nail in the inside toe to be 
punched full an inch from the inside edge of the clip. 
In regard to the 'paring of the soles with this method of shoe¬ 
ing, I seldom deviate from the usual mode with those horses 
which are old enough to have been shod several years; but 
with colts, and young horses recently brought into work, I am 
just now prosecuting some experiments, not yet concluded, but 
which have already afforded me good grounds for hoping that 
the shoeing art will admit of a still further simplification by the 
side-nailing. 
In the experiments in question with the colts’ feet, I never 
suffer the hoofs to exceed three weeks' growth without removing 
the shoes, and moderately shortening the toes with the rasp, 
and slightly lowering the crust with the same instrument; but 
as to a drawing-knife, or knife of any description, their hoofs 
have not yet experienced either the use or abuse of any such 
instruments. One end of the rasp has been ground to a blunt 
chisel edge, with which a few' flakes of sole have occasionally 
been lifted off, and the colts have, as yet, gone on well in work 
for several months. Their frogs have never yet suffered any 
diminution, except from natural detrition in meeting the gTOund, 
or other hard bodies. The importance of this improved system 
of shoeing in racing establishments, among the two-year-old 
candidates in particular, must, I conceive, prove above all 
comment. 
From attentively watching the feet of young horses which 
