HORSE-SHOEING. The ordinary system of horse-shoeing is rude and irrational, and is the main cause of most lameuesses and of the majority of falls in riding and driving. Chief amongst its faults are the attempts to tit the foot to the shoe, instead of the shoe to the foot, and the wholesale cutting and rasping. and consequent injury of the several parts of the foot. After the cautious removal of the old shoe, the crust on which it rested generally requires to be pared down with a drawing-knife, and its edge after wards rounded with the rasp. Any ragged portions of the frog may also be taken off, and this includes the whole of the allowable paring or dressing of the horse's foot. The horny sole intended as a covering and protection of the sensitive parts beneath; the tough elastic frog, an insensible pad which obviates concussion, and preserves the foot wide and free from contraction; the bars, an involution of the crust, which help it to support weight, and give it lateral support, are all too valuable to be ruthlessly cut away, and in all ordinary cases must be scrupulously preserved from both knife and rasp. Fur sound healthy feet treated as advised, a plain shoe is preferable for saddle or harness horses; the web need not exceed three-fourths of an inch, must fit the crust closely and accurately all the way round to the heels, where its inner edge will rest upon the strong and uncut bars. Nowhere must there be any overlapping, which only renders the shoe more apt to cut the opposite limb, and be" torn off in heavy ground. To lessen the chances of tripping, and make the shoe wear equally, it should for the fore-feet be turned up slightly, and its ground surface hollowed out a little at the toe, so as to present the appearance of an ordinary shoe which had been worn for a fortnight or three weeks: and which. as every one •knowS. Is therefore rendereffimore safe and comfortable. By turning up at the toe, these advantages are secured at once. For saddle or light harness work three nails on the out- and two on the inside will firmly secure any well-made, well-fitting shoe. The nail-holes should be countersunk, be nearly in the center of the web, and pass straight through it, thus giving the nails a firmer bold of the stout unrasped crust. The points of the nails when driven home should be broken over and laid down with the hammer, but not touched with the rasp. The rasp ing of the crust which smiths fondly regard as their finishing and polishing stroke, is very injurious, removes the 'unctuous protecting portion of the crust, and renders it weak, brittle, and liable to crack. Shoes should be replaced every three weeks, or a
month at furthest. Iiishoeing the hind-feet the outside web is generally turned slightly down behind, whilst to give an equal bearing the inside heel is thickened. For heavy draught, both hind and fore shoes should have moderate tips and heels, which enable the horse to exert his full powers without so much risk of slipping. Instead of the five nails used for the lighter horses, seven or eight are requisite.
Horses with weak, tender, or bruised soles may for a time require leather or water proof pads, but as the sole grows, these should be discontinued, and are never required in healthy feet, where the sole, which is the best and most natural protection, is allowed to grow undisturbed by the knife. Horses with corns should have their shoes made with a wide inside web, which rests upon the bars, or have for a time a bar-shoe. The last nail on the inside should also be dispensed with, and the seat of the corn or bruise carefully pared out, but without injuring either the frog or bars. If, from constant cutting, the bars are unfit to aid the crust in carryina. the shoe, it will be often advisable to shoe for a time with tips or half-shoes, keeping the horse as much as possible on soft ground, and waiting the healthy growth of the foot. In troublesome cases of thrush, such tips are also most serviceable, allowing the frog the natural healthy pressure for which it is intended, and with astringents and cleanliness greatly expediting a cure. Groggy horses shoub. have the toe shortened, and fumed up, as already advised; the frog and sole must oe untouched, and the shoes made light and nicely fitted. Over reach, or cutting of the heel of the fore-foot with the shoe of the hind, is remedied by filing round the posterior edge of the offending toe, and keeping that shoe as far back as possible on the foot. For speedy cut, which is common in horses with in-turned knees, the shoe should he carefully fitted and no projecting portions left; the clinches must also be well hammered down.—Further information may be found in lieut.col. Fitzwygram's Notes on Shoeing Horses; Mr. Miles's pamphlet on originally published in the journal of the royal agricultural society; prof. Dick's manual; and other veterinary treatises.