CORRESPONDENCE. 
599 
Blacksmith and Wheelwright , I would say, experience shows 
that in the present state of the domestication of our faithful 
friend, the horse, and the condition of our macadamized public 
highways, it has become necessary to look about us for some 
mechanical protection for the horse’s foot. In studying the foot 
we perceive the lower border of the wall is the part most deeply 
concerned in resisting wear and strain in the unshod state, as on 
it the stress chiefly falls. It is, consequently, the portion of the 
hoof that suffers most severely from undue wear, and that which 
alone requires protection. What we should strive to do is to 
imitate nature in trying to supply this want. In my opinion, a 
light, narrow band perfectly fitted to the wall, leaving the sole 
and frog in contact with the ground (where nature intended 
them to be), comes the nearest to filling all the requirements of 
a perfect shoe. 
In answering the first question as to relative value of iron 
and steel, I would say that my experience goes to strengthen 
the assertion of Prof. George Fleming in his work on “ Practical 
Horseshoeing,” where he says : “There can scarcely be a doubt 
that anything more simple and efficient, and at the same time 
less expensive than a well-devised iron shoe can at present be 
produced.” I am in favor of iron for the reason that it is less 
expensive, does not become so smooth by wear, therefore to 
a certain extent does away with one of the greatest curses of the 
present age (toe and heel calkings) ; wears as long as any horse 
ought to carry a shoe, say three or four weeks, and in my experi¬ 
ence fills every requirement. 
In regard to the second question, “ Should horses be shod 
with same weight shoes fore and hind ? ” my answer would be, 
yes. As I have said in answering the first question, the wall of 
the hoof should be encircled by a firm, iron band, no wider and 
no heavier than will protect the wall of the hoof for a period of 
three or four weeks. The fore shoe should be no heavier than 
the hind shoe, only that the fore foot, being larger than the hind 
one, it takes more iron to go around it and necessarily weighs 
more. The axiom, “ An ounce on the foot weighs a pound at 
the shoulder,” is undoubtedly practically correct, and many 
young animals are annually ruined by carrying burdensome 
chunks of iron on their feet, instead of being intelligently shod. 
As to the third question, “ Is the wide-web front shoe of any 
advantage to the foot?” In my opinion the answer must be, 
no; not if the narrow web is sufficiently thick and strong to 
protect the wall, which I have endeavored to show is all that 
