Specimen Pag:e 
CHAPTER VII. 
Fitting and Application of Shoes. 
Having selected slices suitable for tbe feet and 
adapted to tbe special work of the horse, having also 
prepared the foot for shoeing, we arrive at another 
important part of the farrier’s art—fitting the shoe. Ho 
matter what form of shoe be used or how the foot be 
prepared for it, unless the two are properly fitted, the 
horse does not obtain all the advantages of good shoeing, 
and may be positively injured. The owner of horses 
seldom knows anything about the fitting of shoes, and 
therefore fails to appreciate how some of his directions 
•concerning feet and shoes are quite impracticable. 
I have, in a previous chapter, attempted to show 
how a foot should be prepared for shoeing, and what 
bearing surface should be left for the shoe. I have also 
described what I consider the best forms of shoe. The 
■object, at all times, should be to follow nature as closely 
as possible, but it often happens that we may, with 
benefit, depart from the exact indications given and still 
fulfil ^11 essential requirements. If we examine the 
unshod foot which has been worn down to proper pro¬ 
portions, we find the be^-ring surface is not level—it is 
Fig. 48.—Shoe fitted to a curved foot-surface. 
worn more at the toe and heels than elsewhere. If we 
examine the ground surface of an old shoe the same 
thing is noticed—the surface is not level, the toe and heel 
show most wear. The question then arises, should we 
make the artificial bearing surface of the foot on the 
same plan and adjust the shoe to it, as in Fig. 48, or 
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