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THE

ART OF HORSE-SHOEING,

WILLIAM HUNTING, F.R.C.V.S.

Edttov of the Veterinary Record.

Ex-President of tlie Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Member of the Connnittee for National Registration of Farriers.

WITH OVER ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

(Eighth Thousand.)
THIRD EDITION.

gottbon :

H. & W. Bkowx, 20 Fi-LHAM Road, S.W.
1905.

I 1

Vf^

NEW BOLTON
CENTtR

1^0 5

CONTENTS.

Chap. Page.

I. — Introduction. 5

II. — The Form and Action of the Foot ... 8

The hoof. Divisions of the hoof. The sensitive foot.
Growth of hoof. The bones. The elastic structures.
The foot as a whole.

III. — Preparation of Foot 37

General principles. Instruments. The overgrown
foot. Proportions of the Foot. A good bearing
surface. Treatment of sole and frog. Faults to he
avoided.

IV. — Foals and Unshod Feet ... ... ... 5(5

Y. — The Form and Manufacture of Shoes 60

Material, weight, thickness, width. The foot surface.
The ground surface. Calkins. Nails, and nail-holes.
Machine-made shoes. Prepared bar-iron.

VI. — Selection of Shoes ... 80

Racing and steeplechase plates. Hunting and hack
shoes. Carriage and draught horse shoes.

yil. — Fitting and Application of Shoes ... 91

Level or adjusted form. Outline fitting, surface tit-
ting. Wear of shoes. Clips. Hot and cold fitting.
Tips. The Charlier system. Nailing on shoes.

VIIL— EOUGHING ll-I

Necessity for ; Evils of. Frost-nails. Ordinary
"roughing." Removable steel sharps.

IX. — Injuries from Shoeing ... ... ... 1'22

From nails, from clips, from the shoe. " Corns,"
" Burnt sole." " Treads." " Cutting or brushing."
"Over-reaching." "Speedy-cut." "Forging or
clacking."

X. — Shoeing Bad Feet 133

FTatfeet. Convex soles. Sand crack. Contracted feet.
Twisted feet.

XL — Leather and Kueber Pads 14.5

Ring-leathers, F'rog-pads. The Pneumatic pad.
The wedge pad. Bar pads. Iron and rubber shoes.

XII. — Occasional Shoes 157

Bar ; Patten ; The FitzWygram ; Hinged ; Expansion ;
Nailless ; Weighted shoes.

XIII. — Shoeing Competitions. P33

794;?64

PREFACE.

This little book is written for three classes of readers :
for horse-owners who may interest themselves in the
subject, for farriers who are open to conviction, and for
veterinary students who have to be examined.

The method pursued has been, to first describe the
form and action of the foot, next the preparation of the
foot for shoeing. Then the form of a shoe is treated of
and the details to be observed in making it. The selec-
tion of shoes for varieties of feet or for special kinds of
work follows, and afterwards the fitting and nailing-on
are considered. Other chapters are devoted to "roughing,"
shoeing defective feet, accidents, the use of leathers and
pads.

Throughout an endeavour has been made to be as
simple and clear as possible in expression, to lay down
correct general principles and to point out the technical
details, which are essential to good shoeing. On all these
points authorities are not agreed, and I trust those who
differ from me will pardon any too dogmatic expressions
of opinion in these pages.

The illustrations will be of assistance in making
clear the text. Some of these are copied Irom books,
some are drawn from models or preparations, and some
are diagrammatic. The books I am indebted to are :
" Anatomy of the Domestic Animals," by Gamgee and
Law; " On the Horse's Foot," by Bracy Clark ; Bouley's
" Atlas of the Foot," and Goyau's " Marechalerie."

Above all, I am indebted to the late Professor Joseph
Gamgee, who first gave me an interest in horse-shoeing
and to whose teachings and writings I trace whatever
ideas I now possess.

William Hunting.

PEEFACE— THIliD EDITION.

When the second edition was published in America,
some corrections and additions were made. This edition
is still further enlarged and many new illustrations have
been added.

W. H.
London, 1899.

THE

ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chaptek I.

Farriery is the art of shoeing horses, and can only be
properly learned by a long practical experience in the
shoeing-forge. If the foot of the horse were not a living
object perhaps the training obtained in the forge would
be all that was necessary for efficient workmanship. As,
however, the hoof is constantly growing, it is constantly
changing its form. The duty of a farrier therefore is not
merely to fix a shoe upon the hoof but to reduce the horn
to proper proportions before doing so. Now, as the hoof
is only the outer covering of a complex and sensitive foot
damage to the horny surface may injure the structure
within. Injury does frequently result, and not always
from carelessness. Perhaps as much injury follows
careful work, based upon wrong principles, as slovenly
work carried out in perfect ignorance of any principle.
The injury to feet resulting from shoeing may not be
apparent at once. It may be, and often is, of a slow and
gradual nature, and not credited to its true cause until the
horse Is rendered an incurable cripple.

It seems evident then that to do justice to a horse a
farrier should not only possess manipulative skill, but
should have a correct idea of the structures and function
of the foot, as well as a thorough knowledge of the form
and variations of the hoof.

Few persons appreciate the importance of horse-
shoeing, and a small number tell us it is unnecessary.
Here and there an enthusiast has the courage of his con-
victions and is able, for a time, to exhibit animals doing
work without shoes. In some countries horses are regu-

6 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

larl}' ridden with no addition to their natural hoof, but
in such places the surface over which the animals travel
is grass land. In all civilized countries where good loads
exist shoeing is practised. No man of business would pay
for shoeing if he could do without it. The " shoeless "
experiment has been tried over and over again, but always
with the same result — a return to shoeing. In dry weather
the hoof becomes hard, and it is wonderful how much
wear it will then stand on the hardest of roads. In wet
weather the hoof becomes soft, and then the friction on
hard roads soon prohibits work without shoes. If work
be persisted in, under such circumstances, the hoof
rapidly wears away and lameness results. Persons
trying to prove a pre-conceived theory meet this difficulty
by resting the horse until the horn grows, but business
men who keep horses for work in all weathers can afford
no such luxury.

Shoeing has been called "a necessary evil." The
phrase is a misuse of words, for there is no necessary evil
about it. Of course it is no more free from accident than
other operations, but its evils are fairly described as acci-
dents, whilst its benefits are apparent to all but the blind.
Without shoes horses at work would be more often lame
than with them ; without shoes horses could not do half
the work they do with them, and so we need not further
discuss the necessity of shoeing.

The value of horse-shoemg depends upon the manner
in which it is done. Very seldom does the owner of
horses appreciate the quality of the work. As a rule the
price charged, or the distance from the forge to the stable,
regulates the choice of a farrier. Such matters should
not be allowed to decide between one farrier and another.
A bad workman may do an injury at one shoeing which
will cost the owner of the horse more than would pay
ten times over the difference between his charges and the
higher prices of a better man.

The old saw — " that for want of a nail the shoe was
lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want

INTRODUCTION.

of a horse the man was lost," has been iUustrated times
without number. Few persons, however, are aware of
the terrible consequences which have more than once
attended neglect in the shoeing of horses. Napoleon's
retreat from Moscow depended for most of its hardships
and horrors upon the simple fact that his horses were not
shod properly for travelling on snow and ice. The horses
could not keep their feet, and were unable to drag the
guns and wagons, which had to be abandoned. During
the Franco -Prussian war, Bourbaki's retreat became a
confused rout from a similar cause. In civic life no winter
passes without injury and death to hundreds of horses
from the same neglect. These are instances that anyone
can see ; but heavy losses due to bad shoeing are constant
from other and less evident evils — from the adoption of
wrong methods and the practice of erroneous theories.

The farrier has not been fairly treated by the public.
His practical knowledge has been ignored, he has been
instructed by amateurs in all sorts of theories, and
coerced into carrying out practices for the untoward
results of which he has been blamed. The natural conse-
quence of all this has been that the art of farriery
degenerated, and the farrier was forced into a position
destructive to the self-respect of any craftsman. In no
other trade do persons entirely ignorant of the business
presume to direct and dictate as to how the work should
be done. No one presumes to instruct the watchmaker
or bell-hanger as to the details of his craft, but the farrier
has been compelled to take his instructions from all sorts
and conditions of men. Only in recent years has the man
who shoes horses been allowed to know something of his
calling — since when, horse-shoeing has improved.

My object in writing is not to suggest anything new,
but to point out the general principles upon which the
art is based, and to indicate those details which are
essential to success, and those which are to be avoided if
soundness and duration of service are recognized as true
economy in a stud of horses.

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chaptee II.
The Form and Action of the Foot.

The foot of a horse consists of a variety of Uving
structures, differing in form and texture, and enclosed in
a horny covering called the hoof. Although the farrier's
work is only applied to the hoof, it is necessary that he
should know something of the whole foot, because it is
but too easy to injure the structures within by alterations
of the horny covering without.

The simplest way to understand the foot is to study
separately the different parts, and to apply that knowledge
in obtaining a general idea of the relations of all the
parts to each other. Then there is not much difficulty in
appreciating the functions of each part, and the uses and
action of the whole organ.

The Hoof.

Everyone is familiar with the general appearance of
the hoof. It is not a regular geometrical figure. Each
of the four feet of the horse shows some peculiarity in
form, by which a farrier can at once identify a fore from
a hind or a left from a right.

The front feet are rounder and less pointed at the toe
than the hind ; they are also more sloping in front. The
two fore feet and the two hind should be in pairs. The
right and left feet are distinguished from each other by
the inner side being more upright, or, if examined on the
under surface, by the outer border being more prominent.

The fore feet should be similar in size and shape.
Disease may be suspected when any marked difference
exists. But a healthy hoof which has been broken, or
much rasped, does not retain its proper form, and may
thus confuse a novice.

Sole

Quarters

Fig. 2. — A Fore Foot.

10 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

The hind feet should be proportionate in size to the
fore, and then it is not of much practical consequence
whether the whole are large or small.

The hoof varies greatly in shape even when sound and
healthy. The popular idea is that a fore foot which is
round and open is the best form. My observation leads
me to prefer an approach to the oval. Too often the
round foot has a flat sole, and it is always more liable to be
bruised by the heel of the shoe. A distinctly contracted
foot is usually the result of long-continued lameness, and
this is the reason why narrow feet are looked upon with
suspicion. If the narrow foot is natural to the horse it is
as little likely to become unsound as any other. Looking
at the hoof from the side, the slope of the front should
be in the same direction as the slope of the pastern.
Upright feet do not present this continuity of slope, and
they generally have heels which are naturally high. It is
well to mention this, as, when an attempt is made to
reduce them to a theoretical standard of proportion by
rasping, the sensitive foot is reached before the desired form
is produced, and lameness may be caused. The opposite
form to this is a long sloping foot. The heels are low
and the toe long, but usually the pastern also is long and
sloping. Such a foot cannot be made a good shape with-
out injury, and is therefore to be treated as a normal
form.

Some hoofs have the toe turned out, some have it
turned in. No attempt should be made to alter this by
shoeing, as the twist is not merely in the foot but almost
always in the whole leg. In nine out of ten cases the
turned-out toe is accompanied by a turned-in elbow, and
shoeing cannot alter such formation.

The quality of the hoof depends upon the breed of the
horse and upon the soil and climate of the district in
which he is reared. The Arab has a hard, flinty, strong
hoof, the heavy draught horse a softer horn. Some hoofs
are brittle and some " shelly," by which is meant horn
with a tendency to break and crumble away. When

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 11

defective quality of hoof is due to constitutional causes
the farrier can do little to remedy it, but he must take
care not to make it worse by submitting it to undue
pressure. Defects in the hoof are often due to bad shoe-
ing, and then are mostly confined to the horn below the
nail-holes.

Divisions of the Hoof.

Although to a casual observer the hoof appears as
one continuous horny structure, it may easily be sepa-
rated into three distinct parts by prolonged soaking in
water. The division takes place so as to leave the sole,
frog, and wall separate portions. These may now be
considered.

The Wall is that portion of the hoof seen whilst
the foot rests upon the ground. It covers the front and
sides of the foot. It extends from the coronet down-
wards and slightly outwards, so that its lower circum-
ference is greater than its upper. The front portion
shows its greatest height and obliquity, diminishing in
these respects as it passes backwards. At the heels the
wall is turned in upon itself, and passes forward towards
the centre of the foot until it becomes lost in the struc-
ture of the sole. These turiied-in portions of the wall are
called the bars, and serve two purposes ; they increase
the bearing surface of the wall, and, by embracing a part
of the sole on each side, they afford an increased solidity
to the union of the wall with the rest of the hoof.

The bars act as buttresses, preventing the shrinking in
of the heels. AVhen they are cut away the structural
resistance to contraction of the hoof is destroyed. They
should therefore be allowed to grow and retain their
natural prominence.

The lower border of the wall is the chief bearing sur-
face of the foot. It encircles the sole, than which it is
usually more prominent. In an overgrown foot it often
extends some distance below the sole, and then shows on

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

its inner side the horny laminae which, within the hoof,
afford attachment to the sensitive parts.

When excessive growth of the wall is reduced by
rasping until the wall and sole are brought to a level it
will be notice that the junction of the two is marked by
a " white line." This line of light horn, which connects
the sole and wall, is often taken as a guide for the amount
of horn to be removed. It is a dangerous guide, as many
feet cannot safely be so reduced as to bring it into view
over the whole bearing surface. In fact, it may be taken
as a rule that the distinct appearance of the '" white line "
all round the sole is evidence that a foot has been over
reduced.

10 m^^^^^^^'^''''^^

Fig. 3 — Half of a Hoof, showing the inside.

If we detach the wall, its inner surface is seen to
consist of a number of thin, horny projections running
parallel to each other from above downwards and for-
wards. These are called the horny laminae. They
number from five to six hundred and correspond to
similar processes on the sensitive foot. (Fig. 3.)

Round the upper circumference on the inside of the
wall is a depression or groove presenting innumerable
small pits or openings. This corresponds to a part of the
sensitive foot called the coronary band, which will be
noticed again.

A section of wall enables us to see variations in its

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

Fig. 4.— Transverse Section of Wall showing variation in thickness.

thickness. (Fig. 4.) It is thickest at the toe becoming
gradually thinner towards the heels ; thus affording
strength and solidity to resist wear at one part, as well
as pliancy at another to ward off concussion.

The structure of the wall is fibrous, the fibres running
parallel to each other, and with the same obliquity all
that presented by the front of the wall. Although the
wall varies in thickness from before backwards, it does
not from above downwards. It maintains the same
thickness from the coronet to its lower circumference.

The layers of the wall are hardest externally, becoming
softer as they approach the inner surface — a condition
due to the outer layers being exposed to friction and
evaporation. This is a simple and valuable provision of
nature which should not be interfered with. The hard
outer layer is best adapted to withstand wear, and its
density protects the deeper layers from evaporation. This
maintains the whole wall at the degree of softness and

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

toughness which best preserves elasticity and strength of
horn.

The Sole is that division of the hoof which forms
the floor of the foot. It is situated within the lower
border of the wall, and is slightly arched, so that on a
hard, level surface its central part takes no bearing.

Fig. 5.— The Sole with Frog Removed.

(Fig. 5). Posteriorly the sole is divided by a triangular
space into which the frog fits, and thus its continuation
to the heels consists of two angular portions embraced
between the bars and the wall. The unmutilated sole is
throughout of nearly equal thickness, but a slight excess
round the circumference gives firmer attachment to the
wall. The inner surface presents a finely-pitted ap-
pearance, which is most marked at the toe and round its
border. The part immediately related to the frog shows
few pits, and we shall find that the whole surface corres-
ponds to the sensitive parts to which it is attached,

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

The structure of the sole is, Hke the wall, fibrous ; but
the fibres are smaller. They run downwards and for-
wards in the same direction as those of the wall. The
outer layers are the hardest and protect the deeper from
injury.

The Frog is the smallest division of the hoof, and is
a triangular-shaped body filling up the space left between
the bars. (Fig. 6.) Its broad base is rounded and promi-
nent.

Fig. 6. — The Frog, detached from the Sole.

The point of the frog, much the harder part, extends
forward to the centre of the sole. Though situated be-
tween the bars, the frog is only attached to their upper
border, the sides remaining free and separate. Thus on
each side is formed a deep fissure which permits the frog
to expand laterally when compressed, without the entire
force being continued to the sides of the foot. The frog
is elastic, and when pressed upon must expand. If these
spaces between frog and bars did not exist, the foot would
be injured when the frog was compressed by the weight
of the horse — either the sensitive parts within would be
bruised or the heels would be forced apart.

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

The centre of the frog presents a depression or " cleft,"
caused by the doiibHng m of the horn. Few shod feet
exhibit it of natural appearance, and the term cleft, by
implying a narrow deep fissure, keeps up the false notion.
The cleft should be shallow and rounded. It serves two
purposes — it increases the mobility of the frog, and by
breaking the regularity of surface affords a secure foot-
hold on level ground.

The prominence of the frog might lead a superficial
observer to consider it a thick solid mass ; and I believe
this mistake is the cause of its too frequent mutilation.
It is merely a layer of horn following the outline of the
structures within, which are similarly prominent and

Fig. 7.— Section of Foot at point of Frog.

Fig. 8.— Section at Cleft.

irregular in surface. (Figs. 7 and 8.) The first diagram
shows a section through the point of the frog, the second
a section through the cleft.

The frog is fibrous, though not to such marked degree
as the other portions of_the hoof. Its chief qualities are
elasticity and toughness.

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

The Frog Band. — Covering the bulbs of the heels
and apparently continuous with the structure of the frog
is a light-coloured layer of horn which extends round the
upper portion of the wall and encircles the junction of the
hoof with the hair. It is hardly visible on a dry hoof,
but when the foot has been poulticed, or when a horse
has been running in a wet pasture it is easily seen. In
Figure 9 it is shown in connection with the frog, and in

fig- 9— The Frog and frog-band.

■/jl/i/iiiA- — ■
Fig. 10,— The frog-band detached from wall by a small wedge.

Figure 10 it is shown raised from the wall. Both draw-
ings give it the appearance of a narrow band but it is
really not so. It may extend for any distance down on
the hoof but is worn away by attrition as it descends.

18 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

This structure is secreted by special glands situate just
above the upper edge of the wall, and forms an outer
protecting layer to the junction between skin and hoof.
In structure it is something between skin and horn. It
should not be rasped away. It prevents evaporation from
the newly-secreted horn and is a continuous outer enve-
lope of the hoof at its junction with the skin.

The Sensitive Foot.

If we macerate a dead foot in water for a week or two,
the hoof may be removed entire without injuring the
tissues within. In this way the sensitive foot or " quick"
is exposed to view, and presents an exact counterpart of
the inside of the hoof. The sensitive foot consists of a
layer of fibrous tissue stretched over the bones and other
structures which form the centre of the foot It is plenti-
fully supplied with blood-vessels and nerves necessary to
its double function as the source of horn growth and as
the tactile organ of the foot. Horn is, of course, not
sensitive, although the slightest touch on a horse's hoof
is recognised by the animal, and this feeling is due to the
impression made upon the sensitive foot. In the living
horse any injury to the "quick" causes the greatest
pain, and although this sensitiveness is a serious disad-
vantage in disease, it is a most valuable provision in
health, enabling the horse, even through a thick layer of
horn, to recognise the quality of the surface upon which
he may be standing or moving. It is this sense of touch
— this tactile function — which demands that the sensitive
foot should be so bountifully supplied with nerves.

Every farrier knows how profusely blood flows from
any wound of the " quick " — evidence that the part is
well supplied with blood-vessels. This full supply of
blood is not merely for the ordinary waste and repair
which takes place in every tissue ; it is to meet a special
demand — to supply the material for the production of
horn. The sensitive foot is the secreting structure of the
hoof, and the source of the constant growth and repro-
duction of horn. It corresponds with great exactness to

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

the inside of the hoof, and as we have described the hoof
in sections it may be convenient to follow that course
with this structure, and to describe the sensitive frog, the
sensitive sole, and the sensitive laminfE. We shall begin
with the last.

The Sensitive Laminae. — Corresponding to the horny
leaves on the inside of the wall, the sensitive foot presents
an arrangement of minute parallel folds which are
called the sensitive laminge. (Fig. 11.) Between these,
when the hoof is on the foot, the horny laminae rest, so
that there is a kind of interleaved attachment which
affords the very firmest connection between the wall and
the sensitive foot. If the lamin* be laid bare in a living
horse by removal of the wall, it is found that they have
the power to secrete a kind of horn, not a hard, fibrous
horn like that of the wall, but a softer variety. This
function is not very active in health or we should find that
the lower edge of the wall was thicker than the upper ;
but it exists, and is very evident in some cases of disease.

In laminitis, the wall of the toe is often pushed forward
out of position by a horny mass formed by the laminae,
and so we have the deformity of an excessive length of
toe. In some cases of long continued sand-crack, the

' '"■/' / 'w/!/i:i II 'Mm«/i'iiiM'/!A

Fig. II.— Foot with hoof removed showing at the upper part the
Coronary band (B), and below the Sensitive Laminae (A).

20 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

irritation of the laminje causes excessive secretion, and a
horn tumour results. The sensitive laminte fulfil two
functions ; they offer a firm connecting medium for the
wall, and they secrete horn. By the cruel experiment of
removing the horny sole and frog of a living horse and
then forcing him to stand on the maimed foot on a level
surface, it has been shown that the laminae are capable
of alone supporting the weight of the animal. It has
been argued from this that the laminae always support the
weight, and that the horse's foot may be described as
being slung by the connecting laminae. This i^ not true.
The frog and sole help to support weight, and the hoof
acts as one continuous whole, each part taking its direct
and proportionate share of the weight placed upon the
foot. The sensitive laminae are not elastic, they are
unyielding, and therefore allow no downward yielding
which would impose excessive pressure on the sole.

The Coronary Band. — (See b, Fig. 11.) The sensitive
laminae do not cover the whole of the upright portions of
the sensitive foot. There is, between their upper extre-
mity and the line which separates the skin from the sensi-
tive foot, a convex band which runs round the upper border
of the foot, and is turned downwards and inwards at the
heels. This is called the coronary band, and corresponds
to the groove which we noticed on the inner side of the
upper border of the wall. On its surface are innumerable
small projections or papillae which, in the living animal,
fit into the openings on the groove of the wall. From
each of these papillae grows a horn fibre, and from the
surface between them is formed a softer horny matter —
the two products forming together the substance of the
wall. The coronary band is, then, an important structure,
being the source from whence the wall is produced. Upon
the healthy condition of this band depends the soundness
of the wall, and any interference with its integrity must
lead to defects or deformities in the wall.

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 21

The Sensitive Sole (Fig. 12) is that portion of the
"quick" to which the sole is attached. Its surface is
covered with papillte, Hke those on the coronary band,
but much smaller, giving an appearance somewhat like
the pile of velvet. From these the horn fibres of the
sole are formed, and a firm means of connection is afforded
for the floor of the hoof.

Fig. la.— The Sensitive Sole.

The Sensitive Frog in structure resembles the
sensitive sole, but its papillae are very much smaller, and
the surface, therefore, is smoother. The irregular, pro-
minent surface of the frog, with its cleft and the space at
each side of it, is exactly reproduced on the sensitive frog,
as might be expected, for the one is moulded on the other.
There is one difference between the sensitive frog and the
other portions of the sensitive foot which I may here
mention. It is not attached to the bones of the foot,
except by its point, but is situated between the two pos-

22 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEINC.

terior branches of the coffin bone, and has, as a basis, a
mass of soft tissue which forms an important cushion or
pad, to be referred to later.

Growth of Hoof.

Like every other part of an animal body, the hoof is
constantly changing. Wear and tear cause waste of the
horn, which is replenished by growth. When wear
exceeds growth the foot becomes denuded of horn, and
lameness results. When growth exceeds wear, the hoof
becomes disproportionately long, and some parts suffer
by the overgrowth of others — for instance, whenever the
heels are unduly high, the frog becomes small and weak.
In a state of nature, the horse's foot keeps itself of pro-
portionate form. On hard ground, the hoof is worn
away as quickly as it grows. On soft ground, it may,
for a time, become overgrown, but this is rectified by
the soft horn becoming fractured and broken off. In
enclosed, cultivated grounds, the movements of the horse,
even on grass land, are too limited to ensure a propor-
tionate form of hoof. When horses are turned out
without shoes, the feet should not be left to take care of
themselves, unless the pasture is of large area and the
time at grass extends for several months.

In a hoof which is overgrown — and all shod feet
become overgrown in four or five weeks — there is appar-
ently a greater excess of horn at the toe than elsewhere.
This is due to the oblique direction of the wall at the
toe, and to the fact that the horn fibres of the hoof do not
grow down vertically, but obliquely forward. When the
natural wear of the hoof is prevented, the effect of
growth is to lengthen the toe and carry forward the bear-
ing surface of the foot. Now, this bearing surface has a
proper relative position to the limb above it. Therefore
a disproportionate foot must injuriously affect both the
action and position of the whole limb.

The rate at which the wall grows varies greatly in
different horses, and is affected by external conditions.

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 23

The good average wall grows nearly one inch in three
months, and the whole hoof is replaced in from ten to
fifteen months. The hoof grows more rapidly when a
horse is actively exercised than when he is confined in a
box. Febrile diseases check growth, and irregularities
of the system cause the formation of ridges in the horn,
each one commencing at the coronet and being carried
down with the growing horn until the hoof is marked by
a series of rings running transversely and parallel to each
other. These rings are of themselves no detriment to a
horse, but they mark irregularities of growth which may
have been due to illness or lameness.

The growth of horn on a shod foot is affected by the
bearing it takes. When a part of the wall takes no
bearing on the shoe it grows quicker than that which
does. We see this when a shoe is so fitted that the heels
take no direct pressure on the shoe, also when a portion
of wall is broken at the quarters, and again when, for
any reason, a portion of the edge of the wall has been
rasped away to prevent bearing upon some special spot.
In all these cases, after the shoe has been worn a month,
it will be found that the horn has grown more rapidly at
the part where bearing did not take place, and, when the
shoe is removed, the horn which was relieved of pressure
may be found in apposition with the shoe.

The growth of horn cannot be accelerated by any
application to its surface. If we desire to hasten growth
of the wall we can do so by stimulating the part from
which it IS produced, i.e., the coronary band. A mild
blister to the coronet causes considerable increase in the
rapidity of growth, but no liniments applied to the surface
of the wall affect its production in the least, though
they may modify its condition and prevent dryness and
brittleness.

The sole grows in much the same way as the wall,
but it wears quite differently. It never becomes over-
grown to the extent seen in some instances of the wall.
The hard, firm structure of the wall, if not worn down

24 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

by friction on roads or dry, hard surfaces, may grow to a
great length. As a rule, when much overgrown, it splits
in the direction of its fibres and becomes detached in
broken fragments. The sole, when overgrown, has a
tendency to become detached in flakes, and never very
much exceeds its normal thickness without becoming
dry and brittle, when the movements of the horse cause
it to break up and to fall off.

The frog, when it takes a bearing on the ground,
wears off in shreds. A frog which takes no bearing
dries up, and sometimes a large, superficial layer is cast
off. Though the softest of the horny divisions of the
hoof, the frog is able to withstand wear and tear as well
as any of the others. Being elastic, and resting upon soft
tissues, it is able to yield to any undue pressure and
leave the firmer horn of the wall and bars to sustain the
greater strain. The growth of the frog depends a great
deal upon the form of the back parts of the wall. If the
heel becomes overgrown the frog is removed from bear-
ing and consequently wastes. High heels have always
between them a small frog. On the other hand, low,
weak heels have always a large frog, and the explanation
is that the increased bearing thrown on the frog causes
greater development.

Properties of Horn. — Horn is light, hard, tough,
and elastic, properties most essential to its usefulness as
a protector of the foot. Horn is porous, and absorbs
moisture. Too much moisture in horn weakens it, and
therefore it must be remembered that the natural pro-
tection against this is the hard outer layer of the hoof.
When this layer is rasped off moisture is more easily
absorbed, until the dry, hard surface is restored by
exposure and friction.

Horn is a bad conductor of heat, and thus an equally
good protective against the effects of snow in some coun-
tries, and of hot, dry sands in others. With a sound,
thick hoof, the application of a red-hot shoe produces

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 25

very little effect on the internal structures, provided, of
course, it remain in contact only a reasonable time. With
a foot protected by a thin layer of horn, fitting a red-hot
shoe must be done quickly, or it may damage the soft
tissues.

The Bones.

So far we have only described the outer covering of
the foot and the structure from which it grows and by
which it is connected to the parts within. A little deeper
examination is necessary to understand the mechanism
of the whole organ.

If we divide into two lateral halves, a foot cut off' at
the fetlock joint, we have a section which should show
the whole of the deeper structures. In the centre, we see
the three lower bones of the limb — the pastern, coronet,
and pedal. (Fig. 18.) On the front surface of these

Fig. 13.— Section of Foot.

bones, we notice a tendon or sinew which comes from
above the knee and is fixed to the upper part of the pedal
bone. At the back of the bones, two very large tendons
run down and are fixed on the last two bones. These
tendons are the structures through which the movements

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

of the foot are made. They have in themselves no power
of contraction, but they are connected above the knee,
and in the hind leg above the hock, to powerful muscles
which possess the power of contraction. When these
muscles contract the tendons are drawn up toward? knee
or hock, and so move the foot backwards or forwards.

To permit movement of one bone upon another, the
ends of the bones are suitably shaped, and covered with
a layer of gristle or cartilage. To limit the movement
and to hold the bones together, the ends of each bone are
surrounded by ligaments, and thus we have joints formed.
The pastern bone is altogether above the level of the
foot, the coronet bone is partially within the hoof, and
the joint between it and the pedal bone is quite within.

The Pedal, often called the coffin bone (Fig. 14), is
entirely within the hoof and fills the front part of the

Fig. 14. — Side View of Pedal Bone.

horny envelope completely. It is a peculiarly shaped
bone, being continued backwards by two projections
which follow the course of the wall to a little beyond the
quarters of the foot. (Fig. 15.) From this point to the
extremity of the heels, the wall is not supported by bone,
but by strong plates of gristle, which are called the
lateral cartilages,

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

Fig- i5- — Under surface of Pedal Bone.

The Navicular Bone is a small narrow bone placed
transversely at the back of the coffin joint. It is shown in
section in Fig. 13, and its surfaces are seen in Figs. 16, 17,

Fig. i6.— Navicular Bone. Back surface, over which the tendon plays.

Fig. 17. — Navicular Bone. Joint surface for articulation with coffin-bone.

Over its posterior surface the back tendon passes on its
way to be attached to the under surface of the coffin bone.
Picked-up nails entering the foot about an inch behind
the point of the frog cause grave injuries when they
penetrate the tendon or reach the navicular bone. Perhaps

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

a more correct idea of the position of the navicular bone
will be obtained from a glance at Fig. 18 where it is shown
in position between the coffin-bone and the back-tendon.

Fig. i8.— Dissected foot.

F sensitive laminae. D joint surface of coffin bone. E navicular bone.

C part of the back-tendon. B sheath of tendon.

A upper border of lateral cartilage.

The Elastic Structures.

The Lateral Cartilages are situated one on either
side of the foot, partly ^Yithin and partly without the
hoof. They form the basis upon which the back part of
the w^all is moulded, and being elastic, permit a certain
amount of movement in the posterior parts of the foot.
(Fig. 19, 20.) If the coffin bone filled the whole hoof, the
foot would be too rigid. With bone at the front portion,
we have a firm surface for attachment, and with cartilage
at the back we have an equally firm attachment, but
one that will yield to blows or pressure and thus better
protect the internal parts. These cartilages extend above
the level of the hoof, and may be easily felt in the living

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT.

horse at the upper and back part of the coronet. (Fig. 19, 20)
Between them, and behind the body of the coffin bone is a
large space which is filled up by a mass of soft tissue, to
which various names have been given, such as plantar-
cushion, frog-pad, c*cc.

Fig. ig. — Coffin Bone and Lateral Cartilage seen from above.

Fig. 20. — The Lateral Cartilage.

The Frog Pad is the name under which we shall
notice it. It forms the bulbs of the heels and is the soft
basis upon which is spread the sensitive frog. It extends
from side to side of the foot between the two lateral

30 THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

cartilages, and fills up all the space within the hoof
behind the body of the cof!in bone. The structure of this
pad may be described roughly as consisting of a network
of fibrous bands, having the interstices filled up with
elastic tissue. (Fig. 21.) Down the centre of the pad

Fig. 21. — Section ot Foot showing the Frog-Pad, at each side
the cut edge of the Lateral Cartilage.

runs a vertical partition of inelastic fibres ; from this,
strong, fibrous bands pass to each cartilage, and so the
whole of the back part of the foot is tied together. The
heels and quarters may be pressed together to some
extent, but they are prevented from being forced asunder
by the fibrous connections of the frog-pad. During pro-
gression, the downward movement of the coronet bone is
provided for by this soft pad, and so is an upward move-
ment of the frog, when excessive bearing is placed
upon it.

The frog-pad serves other purposes besides those we
have just referred to. It is essentially a cushion or pad
to prevent jar or concussion, and it also plays an impor-
tant part in the action of the foot, as we shall see later on.

The Coronary Cushion or Pad is another mass
of tissue of a similar nature to the frog-pad. It is
situated just above the upper border of the hoof, and
gives to the coronet its prominence and elasticity. At

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 31

this part of the foot there is an enormous number of
small blood-vessels and nerves, and the coronary pad
forms not only a base for these to rest on, but a necessary
protection for them. If, instead of this elastic bed, they
were placed merely between the skin and the hard bones
and tendons of the part, they would be injured by every
slight bruise. Even with this cushion, we have, in
practice, very many serious conditions following bruises
of the coronet.

Blood-vessels of the Foot. — It is not necessary to
described the course of tliese vessels. All we need remem-
ber is that every part of the tissues within the hoof is
very plentifully supplied with blood, and that the flow
of blood is most rapid when the foot is in action. In a
dead foot, from which the blood has escaped, a certain
amount of movement of the bones within the hoof is
easily effected. In the living foot, when every vessel is
filled with blood, no such movement takes place. The
blood in the vessels forms a sort of water-bed, which
assists in preventing concussion and which distributes
evenly over the whole organ the pressure applied when
weight is thrown on the foot. In studying the dead foot
with a view to understanding its mechanism, we must not
lose sight of the difference which results from having in
one case the blood vessels empty, and in the other — in the
living animal — the blood-vessels full.

The Foot as a Whole.

The details given of the structure and uses of each
separate part of the foot will, it is hoped, be suthcient
to enable us to understand the form and action of the
organ as a whole.

No one part of the foot is of greater importance than
another; each is dependent for its highest development
and soundest condition upon the integrity of neigh-
bouring parts.

A weak wall allows of the flattening and spreading of

32 THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

the sole, whilst a weak sole permits contraction of the
wall. Overgrown heels cause wasting of the frog, but
low, weak h^els are usually accompanied by excessive
development of frog.

The special function of the foot is to sustain the
weight of the animal whilst standing or moving. The
horse standing squarely on all four feet rests his weight
chiefly on the lower circumference of the wall. On level
ground, the sole, on account of its arched form, takes no
direct bearing, but if sole and wall be sound, a propor-
tion of all pressure applied to the wall is transmitted to
the sole. So, also, must all weight imposed on the arch
of the sole be transmitted, through its abutments or
union with the wall, to the wall. If the sole be so thin
that it yields to pressure, then its proper action is des-
tro3^ed, and instead of acting like an arch and supporting
weight imposed on it, it yields, and injury results. The
arched form of the sole indicates that it was not intended
to take a direct bearing on hard ground. On a soft sur-
face, the edge of the wall sinks and the whole under
surface of the foot takes a direct bearing. Pressure of
the sole on the soft surface does no harm, because it is
diifused evenly over the whole of the sole. AVe take
advantage of this when the wall is diseased or injured
and we desire to throw on the sole a larger share of
weight. We turn such animals out into a soft field, or
stable them on sand or saw-dust. Any system of shoeing
founded upon the true form and action of the foot must
recognise the arch, and not endeavour to force the sole
to take a bearing for which it is not adapted. There is
only one part of the sole which should act as a bearing
surface, viz., that outer border which is firmly joined to
the wall. This part — the abutment of the arch — is des-
tined by nature to take a bearing, and through it the
whole of the sole supports its share of weight.

The frog takes a bearing on the ground, but it has a
weight-sustaining function quite secondary to the harder
and firmer parts of the hoof. It is formed of a softer

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 33

horn, and it has above it only soft tissues which permit
yielding. The frog, then, when weight is placed upon it
by the standing horse, recedes from pressure and leaves
the heels (wall and bars) to sustain the primary weight.
Wall, sole and frog, each take their share in supporting
weight, but this function is distributed over them in dif
ferent degrees, and it is fulfilled by each in a varying
manner. During progression, the foot is repeatedly
raised from and replaced on the ground. It has not only
to support weight, but to sustain the effects of contact
with the ground at each step, and the effects of being
the point of resistance when the body is carried forward
and the foot is again raised from the ground.

What part of the foot comes first to the ground ?
Many different answers have been given to this question.
It has been said by some that the toe first touches the
ground ; by others, that the foot is laid flat down ; and
by a few, that the heel is the first part to come in contact
with the ground. Fortunately, it is not now necessary
to argue this question on a purely theoretical basis.
Instantaneous photography has shown that on level
ground, at all paces, the horse touches the ground first
with the heel. This fact gives significance to the struc-
tural differences we find between the front and back
portions of the foot. At the back part of the foot, we
have the wall thinner than elsewhere, we have the move-
able and elastic frog, the lateral cartilages, and the
frog-pad. We have, in fact, a whole series of soft and
elastic structures so arranged as to provide a mechanism
best adapted to meet shock and to avoid injury by jar.
Whilst drawing heavy loads, or ascending or descending
hills, the horse may vary his action to suit the circum-
stances, and then we have the exception, which proves
the rule — then we have sometimes the heel, sometimes
the toe brought first to the ground.

At the time when the foot first touches the ground,
the leg is extended forward and the pastern is in the
same oblique position to the shank as when a horse is

34 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

standing. This obliquity of the pastern is another safe-
guard against concussion, and it renders impossible the
first contact with the ground at any point other than at
the heel. As the leg becomes straightened, the weight
of the body is imposed upon the foot, but the greatest
strain arrives just before the toe leaves the ground, for
then there is not only weight to sustain, but the friction
to be borne which results from the toe being the fulcrum
upon which falls the whole effect of the muscular effort
necessary to raise and carry forward the body of the
animal. The front part of the foot is structurally well
adapted for its use. It presents the thickest and strong-
est part of the horny covering ; and, as an inside basis,
it has the unyielding coffin bone. Thus we have at the
toe strength and rigidity ; at the heels, strength and
elasticity.

Another important point in the action of the foot is
mplied by the question — Does it expand when weight is
thrown upon it '? The principles of horse-shoeing require
that this question should be answered. There are those
who say that the foot does not alternately expand and
retract as weight is placed upon or removed from it.
There are others who assert that the expansion of the
foot is an important natural function that must be pro-
vided for in any system of shoeing. It is agreed by most
observers that at the upper border of the hoof, more par-
ticularly at the heels, expansion does occur. It is when
we come to the lower border of the foot that the state-
ments are most conflicting. Ordinary measurements
taken at this part with calipers, or by tracings on paper,
of the foot when raised from the ground and when rest-
ing upon it, show no variations in the width of the foot.
These methods of measurement are not sufficiently
delicate to be trustworthy. Experimentalists, Lungwitz
in Germany and F. Smith in this country, have used
an apparatus by which the slightest variations are
detected by electrical contact, and the results are very
interesting. These experiments show that in a well-

FORM AND ACTION OF THE FOOT. 35

formed, healthy foot the hoof, throughout its posterior
two-thirds does expand to pressure, and perhaps that the
arch of the sole is slightly flattened. This expansion is,
however, comparatively slight — about equal to the thick-
ness of a sheet of writing paper — and may practically be
disregarded in considering the best methods of shoeing
sound feet.

One result of these experiments is to show what an
important part the frog plays in the foot, and also how
the action of one part depends upon the conditions of
others. When the frog rests firmly on the ground and
weight is placed upon the foot, expansion occurs, espe-
cially at the upper or coronary border of the hoof.
When the frog does not touch the ground and weight is
imposed upon the foot, contraction occurs. The expla-
nation of this difference seems to be as follows. When
weight is placed upon a foot, the coronet bone is
depressed upon the soft mass of the frog-pad. With a
sound frog taking a bearing upon the ground, the frog-
pad cannot descend, and the compression to which it is
therefore submitted causes it to bulge laterally and so
expand the back of the foot. AVhen the frog does not
reach the ground, and weight is placed upon the frog-
pad, there is nothing to prevent it yielding downwards,
and in so doing, the fibrous band connecting together
the two lateral cartilages of the foot is depressed and
the cartilages drawn together ; hence the contraction of
the foot. No better illustration could be given of the
unity of all parts of the foot, and how one or many parts
may suffer if the structure or function of one be defective.

There is one more movement of the hoof which is
possible and which must be referred to, as it has been
made the basis of a grave error in shoeing. I have said
the back part of the foot is elastic and yielding. If you
examine a shoe, so applied to a foot that an inch or more
of its extremity has no contact with the hoof, you will
find that, when the weight is rested on that foot, the horn
yields downwards and comes in contact with the shoe.

36 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

This simply demonstrates that, when there is nothing to
support it, the horn at the heels may be forced down-
wards. It is not a normal action, and in an unshod foot
cannot occur on a level surface. The effect of this down-
ward movement of the heels is to put a strain on the
horn of the quarters. A shoe so fitted as to permit this
evil is in common use, and no fault is more serious than
thus forcing an unnatural action upon the hoof at every
step. With unintentional irony, this piece of bad work
has been called " easing the heels."'

In concluding this chapter, I would just repeat that
the natural bearing surface of the horse's foot is the
lower edge of the wall and that portion of the sole
immediately in union with it ; that the arch of the sole
should not be in contact with the ground ; that the frog
ought to have a bearing on the ground, but ought not to
be so prominent as to unduly share in sustaining weight.
This natural bearing surface, is what we want to utilise
in shoeing. We put on a shoe merelij to jprevent excessive
wear of the hoof. If we can protect the wall, the frog can
take care of itself, and we have only so to apply our
shoe that we do not damage any useful structure or
interfere with any natural function.

Note.— No person is expected to learn the structure of a foot
entirely from this description. He must obtain two feet cut off at
the fetlock joint. One he should soak in w ater till the hoof can be
pulled off. The sensitive foot is then visible and the inside of the
hoof ; with these before him, the drawings and descriptions in this
chapter will be of great assist h nee. The second foot lie should have
sawn vertically down the middle through the point of the toe, and
again across the quarters, so as to show the inside of the foot from
two different points of view ; this will afford a view of the relation
of parts.

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT. 3?

Chapter III.

Preparation of the Foot.

The cheap wisdom of the amateur is often expressed
in the remark " the shoe should be fitted to the foot, not
the foot to the shoe." Like many other dogmatic state-
ments, this is only the unqualified assertion of half a
truth. Foot and shoe have to be fitted to each other.
There are very few horses whose feet do not require con-
siderable alteration before a shoe can be properly fitted
to them. As a rule, when a horse arrives at the forge,
the feet are overgrown and quite out of proportion. In
a few cases — as when a shoe has been lost on a journey —
the foot is worn or broken and irregularly deficient in
horn. In either instance, the farrier has to make alter-
ations in the hoof to obtain the best bearing surface
before he fits a new shoe. The claim often made for
some novel inventions in horse shoes, " that they may be
fitted and applied in the stable by a groom or stableman,"
is evidence of a sad misunderstanding of the art of horse-
shoeing. If shod feet always remained of the same
shape, replacement of shoes would be a very easy matter,
but they never do. The living foot is constantly chang-
ing, and therefore the man entrusted with fitting shoes
to it must know what its proper form should be. "When
he finds it disproportionately overgrown, he must know
how much horn to remove — where to take away and
where to leave alone. He must not carry in his head a
theoretical standard of a perfect foot, and attempt to
reduce all feet to that shape. He must make allowance
for varieties of feet, and for many little differences of
fonn that present themselves in practice. He has, in
fact, to prepare the foot for a shoe, and it is just as

38 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

important to do this properly as it is to prepare a shoe
for the foot. To fit a shoe to a foot which has not been
properly prepared may be even more injurious to the
horse than " to fit the foot to the shoe."

The general principle to be followed is — to remove
superfluous horn, to obtain a good bearing surface for a
shoe, to bring all parts of the hoof equally to propor-
tion. A good foot so prepared, when the horse is stand-
ing on level ground, should show, when looked at from
the front both sides of the wall of equal height ; the
transverse line of the coronet should be parallel with the
line of the lower border of the hoof, and the perpendi-
cular line of the leg should cut those lines at right
angles. (Fig. 22.) When looked at from the side, the
height of the heels and the toe should be proportionate.
When looked at from behind, the frog should be seen
touching the ground. On lifting the foot, a level bearing
suface wider than the wall should be presented, extend-
ing from heel to toe all round the circumference of the
hoof ; within this level border, the sole should be concave,
strong and rough.

In Fig. 22 is shown the foot on its ground surface
and from the side. The parallel lines are quite arbit-
rary, but assist in explaining how the proportion of the
foot is to be attained. Both sides of the foot are of the
same height. The bearing surface just meets the middle
line. All the lines at coronet, heel and toe are at right
angles to the perpendicular line. The side view shows
the proportionate height of heel and toe and the slope of
the wall in front. Compared with Figs. 27 and 28,
deviations from proportion are seen.

These conditions are not attainable with all feet, but
the prudent farrier does the best he can under the cir-
cumstances. It is easy to make the frog touch the
ground by over-lowering the heels, but this is only intro-
ducing one evil in attempting to avoid another. Some
feet have naturally a long toe with an excessive slope of
the front part of the wall. To hide this defect, a farrier

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT.

may " stump up " the toe and leave the heels too high,
but he does so at the expense of the horse's foot. Each

Fig. 22.— Showing proportionate foot ; ground surface and side view.

foot requires treating with full knowledge of the form
best adapted to its natural formation, and most capable
of carrying a shoe.

40 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

The Instruments nsed to prepare a foot for shoeing
are a rasp, a drawing knife and a toeing knife.

The rasp is the most indispensible. It should be
sixteen inches long, proportionately broad, and one part
of it should be a file-surface. The shorter, narrow rasps
do not afford all the advantages a farrier should possess
to enable him to do the best work. To strike an even,
all-round level bearing surface on a hoof, a farrier
requires a large rasp, just as a joiner must have a large
plane to produce a level-surface on wood. Harm may
be done by the careless use of a rasp, and a bearing-
surface spoiled by the over-reduction of horn at one place.
This fault may be aggravated by attempts to mend it, if
such attempts take the form of further reduction of the
whole hoof on a foot where horn is deficient.

The drawing knife is a comparatively modern instru-
ment, which replaced a tool called the buttress. A draw-
ing knife is formed with great skill for the purpose of
paring out the concave sole of the hoof, and has done
infinite harm. In the days which have now almost
passed away, when it was thought the proper thing to
make the hoof look clean, smooth and pretty, the draw-
ing knife was the chief instrument in the preparation of
the foot. Now, when nearly all men know that the
stronger the sole and frog of the foot can be preserved,
the better for the horse, this knife is less used — and the
less the better. The doorman, preparing a foot for the
fireman to fit a shoe to, should not use a knife at all.
The man who fits the shoe requires a knife to remove
occasional little prominences of horn which are liable to
cause uneven pressures or which are in the way of a
properly fitted shoe- — as, for instance, the edge of the
wall to make way for a clip, or the angle of sole at the
heel to prevent uneven pressure by the shoe.

The toeing knife usually consists of about a foot of
an old sword-blade. This knife is held and guided by
one hand of the farrier, whilst with the other it is driven
through overgrown horn by the hammer. Skilfully

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT.

used, it is unobjectionable, and for the large, strong
hoof of heavy draaght horses, it saves a great deal of
time and labour. For the lighter class of horses it is
unnecessary, and for weak feet vv^ith a thin horn covering
it is dangerous.

The toeing knife cannot leave a finished level bear-
ing surface, and its work has to be completed by a few
strokes of the rasp. A farrier should, therefore, never
attempt to remove all the superfluous horn with the
knife ; he should leave some for the rasp, so that in pro-
ducing the final level surface, no encroachment upon the
necessary thickness of covering horn need be made.

The Overgrown Foot, such as we find on a healthy
horse that has retained a set of shoes for some weeks, or
that has been without shoes on a surface not hard enouah
to cause sufficient wear, is quite unfitted to receive a
shoe. It must be reduced to proportions. Id Fig. 23,

Fig. 23.

I have attempted to show diagrammatically a side view
of an overgrown hoof. The dotted lines at the base
show two effects of lowering one part more than another,
although both attain a level surface. In Fig. 26, we see
the result of over-lowering the heels, and in Fig. 25, of

42 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

leaving them too high. It may also be noticed that
these conditions affect other parts of the foot ; in fact, not
only other parts, but the whole foot, and even the rela-
tive position of the foot to the leg. If we compare the
proportionate foot. Fig. 24, with the diagram Fig. 26, it
will be seen that by over-lowering the heels, the slope of
the front of the foot is increased, that the bearing sur-
face from heel to toe is slightly increased in length, and
that if the dotted perpendicular line be accepted as
showing the direction through which the weight of the
body passes, lowering the heels tends to put an increased
proportion of weight on the back parts of the foot. If
we compare Fig. 24 with Fig. 25, we see the effect of
leaving the heels too high. The bearing surface from
heel to toe is shortened, the slope of the wall at the toe
is made less, and more weight is thrown upon the front
parts of the foot.

Now, these alterations in both cases affect not only
the form of the foot, but its relative position to the leg,
and as the bones of the limb above are a series of levers
connected by muscles and ligaments so placed as to be
most efficient for movement, it is evident that alterations
of the foot must affect the action of the limb. (Compare
Figs. 24, 25 and 26.) In the unshod horse roaming
about, there is a natural automatic return to proper rela-
tive position whenever it has been temporarily upset.
A long toe is worn down and high heels are reduced to
their proper level by friction. Not so a foot protected
by an iron shoe. Wear is stopped, and a disproportion-
ate hoof becomes more and more disproportionate. Tem-
porary alterations of the position of the foot do little
harm, because they are permitted, within a margin, by
the movement of joints and by the elasticity of muscles.
When, however, an alteration of position is continued
for many weeks, it tends to become permanently fixed,
and may thus do a great deal of harm, which is not
traced to its real cause, because the effect is slow and
gradual. It is important, therefore, to remember that

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT.

Fig. 24.— A Proportionate Hoof.

Fig. 25. — A disproportionate Hoof — heels too high.

Fig. 26.— A disproportionate Hoof— heels too low

44 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING

the proportion of the hoof is to be maintained, not only
because it is necessary to the well-being of the foot, but
because it affects the action of the whole limb. Too
long a toe may cause a horse to stumble, and it must
always increase the strain on the back tendons during
progression. Heels too high prevent the frog from tak-
ing its proper bearing on the ground, and thus cause a
loss of function in the back parts of the foot. An exces-
sively high heel has a tendenc}^ to throw the knee for-
ward and to straighten the pastern.

It is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule
to guide a farrier in maintaining the proportions of
heel and toe, when reducing an over- grown hoof to
proper form. Feet differ much in their natural forma-
tion ; some are high-heeled and some low, some are
straight in front, some very n:iucli sloped, some are
narrow and upright, others round and spreading. In
Fig. 27, the heels are too high, and the bearing surface
does not reach the transverse line at the heels. The side
view shows the excessive height of heels, and the slope
of the wall in front too upright. Great assistance is
afforded the farrier in judging whether he should remove
more horn from heel or toe by the appearance of the
under surface of the foot. When the heels are much
above the level of the frog there is an indication for
their lowering. When the wall and bars are about flush
with the angle of sole between them, there is, as a rule,
no more horn to spare at that part. The length of the
toe may be usefully gauged by the condition of the junc-
tion between wall and sole. When the sole is sound and
strong, all the wall above its level — wall unsupported by
sole and showing on its inner aspect marks of the horny
laminfE — may be rasped down so that a firm bearing
surface is obtained, consisting of wall and sole.

In Fig. 28, the bearing surface at the heels is below
the line marking a proportionate foot. The toe is too
long and projects beyond the transverse toe line. The
side view shows the low heel and the corresponding

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT.

excess in the slope of the wall in front. The lower
transverse line in each figure does not represent the
ground, but is added to make clearer the height of heels
and length of toe.

Fig. 27 — Heels high under surface and side view.

Important as it is to maintain the relative propor-
tions between the front and back parts of the foot, it is
perhaps even more important to preserve the balance

THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

between the two sides of a foot. Both sides must be left
of equal height. If one side be higher than the other, a
disproportionate amount of weight is thrown on the
lower side, and more or| less strain is put upon the liga-

Fig. 28— Heels low— toe long.

ments of the joints above. In the Figs. '29, one limb is
shown with both sides of the hoof even, and the straight
line of the limb cuts squarely across the transverse line

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT. 47

of the bearing surface of the foot. In the other hmb,
one side of the hoof is too high, and, in the preparation
for phoeing, only that side will require attention.

Level foot. Fig. 29. One side too high.

Through constant neglect of tliis point, some feet
become more or lesF permanently twisted— and the twist
occurs at the coronet. The ground surface of a foot or
a shoe always tends to remain at right angles to the
direction of the limb, and when the sides of a hoof are
allow^ed to remain of unequal height, the higher side
presses the soft tissues of the coronet upwards. As the
hoof grows from the coronet, the side thus increased in
height is not so noticeably uneven at the lower border of
the wall as at its upper, and it cannot be restored to its
proper form, except by months of careful attention and
shght over-lowering at 'each shoeing. The diagrams
(Figs. 80 and 31) represent vertical sections through a
foot from side to side. One shows the wall uneven at
the base, the other shows it uneven at the coronet.

Peculiarities in the formation of a limb sometimes
cause an apparent error in the relative position of the
foot. Thus we have horses that turn their toes in, and
those that turn their toes out. The cause of this twist
takes place at the upper part of the limb, and it will be
found that when the toe turns out, the elbow turns in,
and vice versa. The farrier can do no good to this forma-

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

tion, and attempts to alter it or disguise it by devices in
shoeing are only injurious to the foot, — little deceptions
woi'thy of a horse-coper.

Fig. 30. — Uneven at Ground Surface.

Fig. 31. — Uneven at Coronet.

A Good Bearing Surface is the primary object
aimed at in preparing the foot for a shoe. The relative
position of the limb to the foot and the proper propor-
tions of every part of the foot are matters to be borne in
mind whilst the farrier is directly forming the bearing
surface for a shoe. A good bearing surface must be
even, level, on sound horn, and as wide as can be
obtained, to give stability to the shoe. It should not be
limited to the wall. If, without over-reduction, the use
of the rasp leaves a firm portion of the sole as a level
surface continuous with the lower edge of the wall, the
best of bearing surfaces is obtained. (Fig. 32.) The
bearing surface should be level from heel to toe, and no
part of it can be singled out either as unfit to bear weight
or as specially capable of enduring undue pressure. No
broken or diseased horn should be used as bearing sur-
face for a shoe. The broken horn should be removed

Preparation of the foot.

and the diseased horn must, if not entirely removed,
have so much of its border cut or rasped off as will pre-
vent contact with a shoe.

Fig. 32. — A proportionate Foot with a good bearing surface.

After forming a level bearing surface with the rasp,
the sharp outer border of the wall is lightly removed
with the file, so as to prevent splitting of the horn. The
outer surface of the wall should not be rasped, for it
affords protection to the deeper layer of horn. The
harder the outer layer of horn is kept, the tougher and
firmer is the whole thickness.

The Sole and Frog require very little attention.
No sensible farrier now puts himself to the unnecessary
trouble of cutting away horn that is wanted for protec-
tion. It was not the practical farrier that introduced
the stupid "paring and cutting " that ruined horses' feet
for nearly a century. It was the theorists — who taught
expansion of the wall and descent of the sole as primary
necessities in the function of a foot, who must be credited
with all the evils resulting from robbing the sole and
frog of horn. When a horse is shod with an iron shoe,

50 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

the wall cannot wear, and therefore it has to be artifi-
cially reduced at each shoeing. But the shoe does not
interfere with the wear of a frog, and the farrier may
safely leave that organ entirely to take care of itself.
To some extent, the shoe does interfere with the natural
wear of the sole, and therefore, any flakes of horn which
have been prevented by the shoe from detaching them-
selves from the sole may be removed. The best way to
remove these is with the buffer. The sole should not be
pared out. I mean not only that the horn should be left
strong, it should not be pared with a drawing knife,
even if only a harmless surface layer be removed. The
effect of leaving the sole of a shod foot with a smooth,
level, pared surface is to stop its natural method of
throwing off more or less broken flakes, and to cause it
to retain that which is half loose until it is removed in
one great cake.

A portion of the sole that requires a little special
care in preparing for shoeing is the angle between the
wall and the bars — the well-known seat of " corn." This
must not be left so as to come in contact with the shoe.
It is not to be " scooped " out, but it should be reduced
distinctly below the level of the wall, so that when the
shoe has been in position for a week or two, there is still
no contact between the horn of the sole and the iron at
that point.

Level or Adjusted Surface ? The bearing surface
of a hoof must, of course, be exactly adapted to the sur-
face of shoe intended to be applied. Presuming that the
best surface for a shoe is one level from toe to heel, I
have insisted upon the necessity of a level bearing sur-
face on the foot. There, are, however, exceptional cases
in which a level shoe is not used, and then we must alter
the foot accordingly. Horses that wear the toe of a shoe
out of all proportion to the rest of the iron may be bene-
ficially shod with a shoe turned up at the toe. To fit
such a shoe the hoof surface must not be made level ; it

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT. 51

must be rasped away at the toe and rounded off to follow
the line of the shoe. In the three diagrams (Fig. 33) is
shown — {a) side view of a foot prepared to suit the
turned-up shoe at the toe, (b) a level line to fit a level
shoe, and (c) a form often adopted on the Continent, to

F'K- 33- — Three forms of Bearing Surface.

suit a shoe fitted with a slight curve throughout. This
adjusted shoe is designed to imitate the shape of the
worn surface of an old shoe or to some extent the worn
surface of an unshod foot. Every farrier knows how
many horses go better after a level shoe has been worn
a few days than when first applied, and it is argued,
with reason, that the greater ease is due to the shoe
being worn to the form offering least resistance to the
movement of the foot in locomotion. I have nothing to
say against this form of shoe and the necessary form of
foot surface for it, except that it is more difficult to
make than the ordinary level one. When adopted, the
curve of the foot should be obtained not so much by over-
lowering the toe and heels, as by leaving the quarters

higher.

Faults to be Avoided.

Fig. 34 shows a hoof in which shortening of the toe

has been effected not by reducing the ground surface of

the wall, but by rasping away the wall in front of the

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

toe. This should not be done with any good foot, but it
may be adopted with feet having an unnaturally long
toe and no superfluous horn on tlie under surface. A
" stumped-up " toe is very ugly, and it weakens the hoof
in front.

Fig- 34— A " stumped-up " toe.

Uneven Bearing Surfaces are easily produced by

a careless use of the rasp. One side of the wall may be
made lower than the other, one heel may be reduced
more than the rest of the foot, or one side of the toe may
be unevenly reduced. In Fig. 35, the foot presents an
uneven surface which not uncommonly results from
careless work. The parts over-reduced are those most
easily reached with a rasp. The near foot suffers at the
outside heel and inside toe. A left handed farrier
would injure the feet in just the opposite positions.

Auotliei- fault results from holding the rasp untruly.
If we suppose the inside heel of the inner foot to be under
preparation, and the farrier inclines his rasp too much
inwards, he leaves the wall at the heel lower than the
sole within it. On such a foot, a level shoe rests upon
the sole instead of upon the wall, and a bruised heel
soon foUow^s.

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT.

F"'e- 35- — Uneven Surface, over-lowered at Heel and Toe.

Paring away the Sole to produce a deep, con-
cave appearance has another evil effect in addition to
that before pointed out. It removes the horn just within

Fig. 36.— A Paied-out foot ; bars destroyed and bearing surface
for shoe reduced to a narrow ridge.

the border of the wall, taking away the natural support,
and leaving as bearing surface for a shoe a narrow ridge
instead of a strong flat surface. Fig. 86 shows this fault,

54 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING

and it must be remembeitd that the ridge may be left
as thin as a knife edge. Such a ridge cannot sustain the
weight of the horse, and when it yields, the shoe also
yields, the clenches are raised and the shoe becomes loose.

Excessive Rasping of Wall.— The best farriers —
those most proud of their work — have a great temptation
to use a rasp too freely to the outer surface of the wall.
The hoof gets rough or, it may be, ridged, its appearance
is improved by being made smooth, and it is only human
to turn out work which is clean and neat. Owners and
grooms are rather inclined to forget the claims of the
horse when judging shoeing, and the result is that some
harm is done by excessive rasping. A strong foot does
not suffer much, but its strength is preserved by leaving"
the hard outer surface intact. Easping off an outer
layer of horn favours evaporation and hardening of the
underneath layer, and the toughness so desirable is to
some degree replaced by hardness and brittleness.
Excessive rasping below the clenches is even more injur
ious than rasping above them. The wall, between its
bearing surface and the clenches, has to withstand the
contact of the shoe and the perforation by nails. It
should be the toughest and strongest part, and therefore
should not be rasped more than is necessary to lay down
the clenches and finish the fitting. Unfortunately, the
neatest work is done by fitting a shoe " close '" and then
rasping off any protruding horn. This is bad for the
foot, as it weakens the wall and spoils the bearing sur-
face at each shoeing. The worst offenders in this direc-
tion are dealers, who sacrifice everything to appearances
and insist upon shoeing being neat at all hazards.

Opening the Heels is one of the gravest faults a
farrier can be guilty of. It consists in cutting away the
extremity of the wall at the heel and generally a slice off
the side of the frog at the same time. The effect is to
produce an appearance of width at the back of the foot —
to make what is called "a fine open foot." Fig. 36

PREPARATION OF THE FOOT. 66

shows a foot which has been injured in this way. The
wedge shaped opening which results has many object-
tions. It breaks the continuity of structures at the heels,
it removes horn unnecessarily, it weakens the foot, and,
when the wall is interfered with, it shortens the bearing
surface for a shoe. The bearing surface at the back of
the foot is perhaps the most important of any afforded
by the wall. The longer the bearing surface is at the
heels, the more the base for sustaining weight is brought
under the leg, and the better the position for supporting
the body. All removal of horn that shortens this surface
is injurious.

Over- Reduction of Hoof is always a fault. It is
true, a carefully fitted shoe on a foot so treated may do no
harm for a time. Too much horn should be left rather
than too little. A strong covering of horn is a protection
against many mistakes in the fitting or form of a shoe
applied to a foot. So long as a hoof is everywhere strong
enough to sustain pressure and afford bearing, weight is
evenly distributed throughout the whole foot. When
the horn is thin, it yields to an uneven pressure, and
damage is done to the foot, even if immediate lameness
is not induced.

56 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chapter IV.

Foals and Unshod Feet.

Injury to horses may result from want of attention
to their unshod feet. At first sight, this stateinent
would appear to suggest that the hoof, in its natural con-
dition, was unable to take care of itself. This is not so.
When horses without shoes are really in a state of
nature they have extensive pasture grounds and un-
limited freedom of motion. Growth and wear of hoof are
balanced, and so the foot is preserved in a proportionate
shape. Over- wear of horn causes the horse to rest his
tender foot, and growth soon brings about a balance.
Over-growth cannot take place so long as constant wear
accompanies the free movement of the animal.

The injury referred to is due to excessive growth of
horn, which takes place on the feet of horses that are
confined in stables or small paddocks where natural use
is insufficient to preserve the balance between growth
and wear. Excessive growth of horn causes dispropor-
tion in the form of a foot, and ill-formed feet soon react
injuriously upon the limb. AH horses' feet, as they grow,
become long at the toe, and thus the bearing surface
upon which the leg should firmly rest, is carried too
far forward from the vertical line of the limb. This
injuriously affects the joints and tendons of the leg.
Over-grown feet are always too high at the heels, and
thus the frog is removed from its proper bearing on the
ground, with the consequence that it wastes, loses its
function and permits contraction of the hoof. Excessive
growth of hoof may also leave one side of the wall
higher than the other, a condition which, especially in

FOALS AND UNSHOD FEET. 57

young horses, may cause a more or less permanent
twisting of the foot on the leg.

The reaction of the limb to distorted forms of hoof
and the injury to internal parts of the foot from dispro-
portionate growth of hoof are more serious in young
animals than in those of maturer growth. The tissues
are more plastic, more easily moulded to external condi-
tions and more likely to suffer permanentl)^ from inter-
ference w^th their functions, than are the tissues of
animals in which development has ceased.

The ease with which the foot and leg react upon each
other in young animals permits attempts being made to
improve the form of defective limbs and to prevent some
defects from becoming greater. If one side of the hoof be
higher than the other there is a tendencj'^ for the long
bones above the foot to be thrown out of the perpendicular.
If the inside of the hoof be the higher, the fetlock is
thrown outwards and any tendency to knock-knees would
thus be opposed. If the outside of the hoof be the higher
the fetlock is thrown inwards and thus a tendency to bow-
leg may be counteracted. All disproportions of the foot
affect the leg in greater degree up to the first joint, but
the effect does not cease there. It is to a lesser degree
imparted to the bones above, so that even the position of
the knees and hocks may to some extent be modified by
the form of the foot. A colt with well formed limbs only
requires that his feet should be kept proportionate. A
colt with defective conformation requires the foot putting
into a form w^hich may counteract the defect. To do this
is a work of time, and as the hoof is constantly growing
and liable to accidental injuries, a shoe must be affixed so
that the desired effect is maintained. For the good of the
hoof it is kept proportionate, but the shoe is made higher
on one side than the other. In this way a force, slight
but constant, is directed so as to counteract the tendency
of the limb to develop an irregular conformation. The
relative proportions of the toe and heel may also be
modified to produce effects upon the limb. When the front

58 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

pasterns are excessively oblique a shoe thick at the heels
tends to prevent increase of the defect. When the knees
are thrown unduly forward, a shoe thick at the toe will
assist in bringing them back to the desired position.
When the hocks are turned excessively inwards the use of
a shoe with the inner branch highest will counteract the
condition, whilst the use of a shoe with the outer branch
liighest will have a tendency to throw the joints closer.

When shoes are fixed upon the feet of animals at grass
it is too often forgotten that growth of horn goes on
whilst wear has ceased, and that a disproportionate foot
must be produced in a few weeks. No shoes should
remain on 'feet more than five weeks without removal.
Then the hoof should be reduced with a rasp to its proper
proportions and the shoes may be re-applied.

The necessary interference with so and feet which are
simply overgrown is very slight. No cutting or paring of
frog or sole is required. All that is wanted is a judicious
use of the rasp to the lower border of the wall, so that
heels are not allowed to lift the frog from contact with the
ground ; so that the toe is not of such abnormal length
as to strain the joints and tendons of the leg ; so that
both sides of the hoof are maintained of an equal height.

Stud horses, from want of exercise and excessive
feeding, are predisposed to disease of the feet. Laminitis
is a frequent cause of lameness and even of death in
stallions, and in mares at foaling time. It would be
wrong to say that this disease is directly due to neglected,
disproportionate feet, but in nearly every case these
conditions accompany the disease, and, according to their
extent aggravate it. I feel certain that more attention
to the preservation of the natural form of hoof would
modify the violence of many cases, even if it did not
prevent their origin.

In all horses which are prevented by then- surround-
ings from wearing down the hoof naturally, especially
in young, growing animals, a little periodic attention to
the hoof would ensure better conformation and more

FOALS AND UNSHOD FEET. 59

healthy feet and Hmbs. As a rule, it is in the more expen-
sive class of horse that is bred and reared in stables or
in confined pastures that overgrowth produces mis-
chief. The greater, then, the economy of intelligent care
of the foot in such conditions. Were it possible to
always trace effects to their causes, it would often be
found that round joints, straight pasterns and bent knees
directly resulted from neglect of the feet in unshod
young horses.

60 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chapter V.

The Form and Man[)facture of Shoes.

Horse-shoes are made either by hand or machinery.
In this country most are hand-made — the front shoes
from new bar iron, and the hind from old shoes welded
together and drawn out under heavy hannners. Probably
no method of working iron gives such good results as
this in producing a hard, tough shoe that will withstand
wear. The custom of the trade is to keep a stock of
shoes suitable for all the regular customers. From this
stock are selected sizes and forms, which are then speciallj^
fitted for each foot.

Various materials have been tried in the production
of horse-shoes. Leather, compressed and hardened, has
been tried, and failed. Vulcanite was experimented with
unsuccessfully. Paper, or more correctly, a compressed
papier mdcht', has also been tested, but proved unsatisfac-
tory. Steel has been pretty largely tried in many
different forms, but it is difficult to temper. As nearly
all shoes are applied immediately after being fitted, they
have to be rapidly cooled in water, and steel treated in
this way is made so hard that, if the shoes do not break,
they are dangerously slippery on most paved streets. As
a material for shoes good malleable iron has no equal.
It can be obtained in bars of various sizes to suit any
form and weight of shoe, and the old shoes made from it
may be worked up over and over again.

The chief objects to be attained in any particular
pattern or form of shoe are — that it be light, easily and
safely retained by a few nails, capable of wearing three
weeks or a month, and that it afford good foot-hold to

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 61

the horse. All shoes should be soundly worked and free
from flaws.

The first shoes were doubtless applied solely to protect
the foot from wear. The smiplest arrangement would
then be either a thin plate of iron covering the ground
surface of the foot, or a narrow rim fixed merely round
the lower border of the wall. Experience teaches that
these primitive forms can be modified with advantage,
and that certain patterns are specially adapted to our
artificial conditions. A good workman requires no
directions as to how he should work, and it is doubtful
if a bad one would be benefitted by any w^ritten rules ;
but it should be noted that a well-made shoe may be bad
for a horse's foot, whilst a very rough, badly-made one
may, when properly fitted, be a useful article. To make
and apply horse-shoes a man must be more than a clever
worker in iron — he must be a farrier, and that necessitates
a knowlege of the horse's foot and the form of shoe best
adapted to its wants.

Weight of Shoes. — The lighter a shoe can be made
the better. AYeight is a disadvantage we are obliged to
put up with to obtain wear, for the frequent removal of
shoes is only a little less injurious to the hoof than
working with none at all. It is not to be understood that
the heaviest shoe gives most wear ; on the contrary, a
heavy shoe may have the iron so distributed as to increase
the rapidity of wear, and a shoe of half the weight
properly formed may last longer. It is no uncommon
thing to find worn-out shoes still weighing more than a
new shoe which will, on the same horse, give a longer
period of wear. When a horse wears his shoes out very
rapidly, the indication to the farrier is not simply to
increase the weight, but to see if he can obtain more wear
by altering the form and distributing the iron in a
different way. A tired horse wears his shoes much more
rapidly than a fresh and active one. Continued slipping
wears away a shoe out of all proportion to the work done

62 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

by a horse having a firm foot-hold. These two different
conditions may be partially due to the shoes, for a heavy
shoe tires the leg, and broad flat shoes favour slipping.
Some horses wear one special part of the shoe excessively
— as a rule, either at the toe or the heel — and this is better
met by turning up the worn part out of the line of wear
than by thickening it and so increasing weight. Besides,
a heavy shoe requires a greater number or a larger size of
nails to retain it securely in position, and this is a disad-
vantage. It has often been asserted that a horse " goes
better" in a heavy shoe than a light one, and that this is
due to the heavier shoe acting as a protection to the
foot and warding off concussion. If the term " goes
better" merely means that he lifts his foot higher and
consequently bends his knee more, I do not deny the
assertion. The reason of this is not that the horse feels
less concussion and therefore goes freer. It is an exagger-
ation of the natural movements, due simply to the
horse with weight imposed on his feet having to use the
muscles of his arms more to lift that weight. The same
thing can be brought about by tying bags of shot on to
the hoof, which is done to cultivate " action." The
healthy foot requires no artificial aids against concussion,
but when a foot becomes tender from bad shoeing it may
sometimes be relieved by adding to the substance and
weight of a shoe.

The following are about the average weights, per
shoe, of horses standing 16 hands high :

Kace Horses ... .. '2 to 4 ounces.

Hacks and Hunters ... 15 to ] 8 ,,

Carriage Horses 20 to 30 ,,

Omnibus ,, ... ... 3 to 3^ pounds.

Dray ,, ... ... 4 to 5

Thickness and Width of Shoes.— To obtain the
necessary amount of wear from shoes they must be
increased either in thickness or width, and it will assist
us in estimating the relative value of these conditions if

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 63

we shortly consider their advantages and disadvantages.
I may say at once that no sound foot requires a wide shoe
merely as " cover" or protection for the sole. Defective
soles may sometimes require protection, but sound ones
never, and we may therefore put aside entirely all claims
made for width of shoe under pretence that it gives a
valuable protection to the foot. A shoe should be as
wide as the natural bearing surface of the foot, so that
it may occupy the whole of the space offered by nature
as useful for bearing. Even when it is wider no harm is
done UQtil the width is such as to afford a lodgement for
stones, etc., between the concave sole and the web of the
shoe.

A thick shoe raises the foot from the ground and
thus removes the frog from bearing — a very decided
disadvantage. It also requires the larger sizes of nails
to fill up the deep nail holes, and very often renders the
direction of the nail holes a matter of some difficulty.

The width of a shoe may beneficially vary. It should
be widest at the toe, to afford increased surface of iron
where wear is greatest. It should be narrowest at the
heels, so as not to infringe upon the frog, nor yet to
protrude greatly beyond the level of the wall. The
thickness of a shoe should not vary, unless, perhaps, it
be reduced in the quarters. Heel and toe should be of
the same thickness, so as to preserve a level bearing.
Excess of thickness at the toes puts a strain on the back
tendons, whilst excess at the heels tends to straighten
the pastern.

The Surface of Shoes. — There are two surfaces
of the shoe which claim attention, one which is applied
to the foot, and another which rests on the ground. The
form of these surfaces may be varied greatly, but of
course the foot-surface presents much less necessity and
less opportunity for alterations than the ground surface.
The foot-surface of a shoe must be formed in accordance
with the requirements of the horse's foot, and no other

64 THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

consideration should be allowed to materially modify it.
The ground-surface may be altered to suit the tastes and
prejudices of the owner as well as the requirements of
the horse and the peculiarity of roadways.

The Foot-Surface. — It is quite obvious that the
surface of the shoe upon which the hoof has to rest should
be regular and even ; that it should not consist of hills
and holes and grooves and ridges. I should not have
mentioned such a very evident matter, but that in large
towns, the cheaper and poorer classes of shoeing com-

Fig- 37— A level, flat bea:ing-surface.

monly possess this very fault. When shoes are made
from thin, wide, old iron tyres they are "buckled" on
one surface, and to hide this the farrier puts that side to
the foot so that it is not noticed until it causes damage.
There are three or four forms of foot-surface adopted by
farriers, all of which have distinctive features, and sonie
of which have very grave evils. There is the plain flat
surface, which is given to all narrow shoes, to hunting
shoes, and to some heavier and wider shoes. So long as
the sole is healthy and arched this is a very good form.
All hind shoes have a fiat foot-surface, ' and most fore
shoes might have it with advantage. It utilizes the whole
of the natural bearing surface, and must of necessity

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 65

afford a firmer basis for the foot to rest upon than a more
hmited surface. The fore feet are not so constantly
arched in the soles as the hind. Sometimes they are flat,
and occasionally convex. If a shoe be intended for use on
all feet — on feet with convex and flat soles as well as
those properly formed — a wide flat foot surface would
often cause injury by pressing unevenly upon the sole.
To avoid this injury in less than five per cent, of feet,
and to save the trouble of keeping in stock shoes of
different forms, the fiat foot-surface of front shoes has
been replaced by a bevelled or "seated" surface.
(Fig. 38.)

Fig. 38. — A "seated" bearing-surface.

This form is very widely used. It consists of a narrow
flat surface next the outer circumference of the shoe,
about equal in width to the border of the wall ; and
within that, of a bevelled surface, sloped off so as to
avoid any pressure on a flat sole. This " seated "' surface
is not positively injurious, but it limits the bearing to
the wall, and neglects to utilize the additional bearing
surface offered by the border of the sole. If shoes were
to be made all alike no shoe is so generally useful and
safe as one with a foot surface of this form, but it is
evident that when the sole of the foot is concave there is

66 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEINC.

nothing gained by making half the foot surface of the
shoe also concave.

Fig- 39— Foot-surface sloped outwards.

There are two other forms of foot-surface on shoes.
In one the surface slopes gradually from the outer to the
inner edge of the shoe, like the side of a saucer. In the
other the incline is reversed and runs from the inner edge
downwards to the outer. The last form is not often used,
and was invented with the object of spreading or widen-
ing the foot to which it was attached. The inventor
seemed think that contraction of a foot was an active
condition to be overcome by force, and that expansion
might be properly effected by a plan of constantly forcing
apart the two sides of the foot. The usual result of
wearing such a shoe is lameness, and it achieves no good
which cannot be as well reached by simply letting the
foot alone.

The foot-surface which inclines downwards and in-
wards like a saucer, acts in an exactly opposite way to the
other. The wall cannot rest on the outer edge of the
shoe, and consequently falls within it, the effect being
that at every step the horse's foot is compressed by the
saucer shaped bearing. This form of surface (Fig. 40) is
frequently seen, and is at all times bad and unnecessary.
Even when making a shoe for the most convex sole, it is

The form and manufacture of shoes 67

possible to leave an outer bearing surface, narrow but
level, which will sustain weight without squeezing the foot.

Fig. 40. — Foot-surface sloped inwards.

At the heels, the foot-surface of all shoes should be
fiat — not seated — so that a firm bearing may be obtained
on the wall and the extremity of the bar. No foot is

Fig. 41. — Foot-surface level at Heels.

convex at the heels, therefore there is no excuse for losing
any bearmg surface by seating the heels of a shoe to
avoid uneven pressure. Fig. 41 rather exaggerates the
" unseated " portion of shoe.

68 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

The Ground-Surface. x\s I have said, this may vary
indefinitely. Sometimes it is a plain, fiat surface, broken
only by the holes made for nails or by the " fullering "
which affords not only space for the nails, but some grip
on the ground. When a shoe is fullered, the groove made

Fig. 42. — Shoe showing portion at toe unfullered.

should be deep, so as to let the nailhead well down, and
wide, so as to afford room for giving the nail a proper
direction. If the fullering be continued round the toe of

I""'g- 43 —Concave ground-surface.

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 69

a shoe by a good workman, neatness is given, but when a
chp is drawn, the iron is so reduced that some wear is
sacrificed. If only an inch at the toe be unfuUered, the sohd
iron affords more wear just where it is wanted. (Fig. 42.)

The concave shoe, often described as a hunting shoe,
presents a very different ground-surface from that just
referred to. It rests upon two ridges with the fullering
between, and on the inner side of these the iron is sud-
denly sloped off. (Fig. 43.) This shoe is narrow and flat
on the foot-surface, and is specially formed to give a good
foot-hold and to be secure on the hoof.

A Rodway shoe has two parallel grooves and three
ridges on its ground-surface. The outer groove carries

Fig. 44. — Double-grooved ground-surface. (Rodway.)

the nails, and the inner groove lightens the shoe and in-
creases the foot-hold. It is not the number of grooves or
ridges that prevents slipping ; it is the absence of a
continuous fiat surface of iron, and the existence of
irregularities which become filled up with sand and grit.
A four-grooved shoe has no more anti-slippiug properties
than a three-grooved, and a one -grooved shoe is as good
as either, although it cannot stand the same amount of
wear.

70 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Transverse ridges and notches have also been tried as
ground- surfaces for shoes, but offer very Httle, if any,
better grip than the longitudinal grooves. Their great
disadvantage is that they cannot be made deep enough
without weakening the shoe, whilst, if shallow, they are
worn out before the shoe has been lon<j; in wear.

Fig- 45- — Ground-surfaces, notches, projections, ridges.

A Calkin is the name given to the extremity of a shoe
when turned down at the heels. Calkins are used on
most hind shoes and, in some parts of the country, on
fore shoes. They are supposed to be the most convenient
and effective means of giving good foot-hold. This sup-
position is correct when a horse travels on soft ground
or on streets so paved that a space is left between each
course of stones. They are of very little use on asphalt
or wood pavement and not much more use on roller-
made macadam. With light, modern carriages and level
modern roads, calkins are quite unnecessary, and better
mean of giving foot-hold may be substituted. It is a
fact that horses, when shoes are new and calkins prom-
inent, do their work without slipping, and that when the
calkins are worn down, the horse moves with less con-
fidence and security. This does not prove that calkins

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 71

are necessary. It must be remembered that horses
possess a power of adapting themselves to circmnstances,
but having learned to rely upon any artificial assistance,
they are the more helpless, for a time, on its withdrawal.
Calkins assist the horse for a time, but after the calkin
is worn down, the horse is in a worse position than if he
had never become accustomed to its assistance. Of course,
on soft ground, especially grass, calkins afford a firmer
grip than any other contrivance. On the other hand,
their constant use lifts the frog out of bearing and causes
it to waste, thus spoiling the action of the natural provision
against slipping. Level shoes on the hind feet promote
sound, prominent frogs, and give firm foothold for all light
horses. Even omnibus horses, now that the vehicles are
supplied with effective foot-brakes, may advantageously be
worked without calkins. On country roads, especially
when the district is hilly or the load is heavy, calkins may
be requisite, and must then be made to do as little harm
as possible.

(a)

(h)

(c)

Fig. 46. — The dotted lines show the effect of wear and
its relation to the shape of the shoe.

The wear of a shoe is affected by the height of a calkin.
The more the heel is raised the greater the amount of
wear at the toe. Many shoes when worn out at the toe
show very little effects of wear at other parts, and the
question arises how best to increase the wear of the shoe
without increasing its weight. In Fig. 46, three diagrams

THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

are presented, in which dotted Hnes show the effect of
wear. At {a) the shoe is of even thickness throughout —
from heel to toe — and the Hne of wear shows that when
the shoe is worn out a great amount of iron remains. At
(b) the quarters of the shoe are made thinner and the toe
is made thicker, so that with no increase of weight but by
abetter distribution of the iron, increased wear is provided
for at the part where it is most required. At (c) is shown
a shoe simihar in form to that at (b) but differently fitted.
The toe is turned slightly upwards, and the result is that
a larger portion of iron is brought into wear. In the case
of very hard-wearing horses, that scrape out the toe of the
ordinary shoe in ten or fourteen days, this form of fitting
adds considerably to the durability of the shoe, and so
preserves the foot from the evil of too frequent removal
of shoes, whilst avoiding any increase of weight. With-
out calkins, wear is more evenly distributed, and the toe is
not worn away disproportionately to the rest of the shoe.

Fig. 47.— Two calkins— the low square one preferable.

A calkin throws the leg and foot to some extent out of
their proper position. A very high calkin is not only
objectionable, it is unnecessary. Not much prominence
is required to afford a catch or stop. Excessive height is
usually given to meet wear, and this can be obtained
equally well l)y increasing the width and breadth. I,
therefore, reconnnend that wJien calkins are used, they
should be low, square and broad. The further under a
foot the calkin is placed, the greater is the raising of the
heel, therefore calkins should always be accompanied by
a long shoe. The further back a calkin is placed, the less
it interferes with the natural position of the foot.

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 73

Calkins render a horse liable to tread the opposite foot,
and the higher and sharper the calkin, the greater the
injury inflicted. To avoid this injury, the inner heel of a
shoe frequently has no calkin, but is made at the same
level as the outer by narrowing and raising the iron at the
heel, forming what is called a wedge heel. This is not an
advisable form of shoe, as it has on the inner heel a skate-
shaped formation, most favourable to slipping, and on the
outer a catch — an arrangement tending to twist the foot
each time the catch takes hold of the ground. If calkins
are used at all, they should be of equal height and on both
heels of the shoe.

In Scotland and in the North of England, heavy horses
are shod, fore and hind, not only with calkins, but also
with toe-pieces, and the owners assert that the horses
could not do the work without them. That horses do
similar work in the South without calkins and toe-pieces
rather shakes one's faith in the assertion, but it must be
remembered that nearly all paved streets in the North have
a division left between the rows of stones in which the toe-
piece finds a firm resisting surface. I believe also that the
average load drawn is greater in the North than in the
South. One thing in favour of toe-pieces must be ac-
knowledged— they, with the calkins, restore the natural
position of the foot and preserve the level of the shoe. On
the larger draught horses, the toe-pieces permit a lighter
shoe to be used, as the portion of iron between heels and
toe need not be thick to resist wear. It only requires to
be strong enough to support weight, and much less iron is
therefore used.

The heavy dray horse of the North, shod with toe-pieces
and calkins, is never worked at a trot. In London, all
horses are trotted — a proceeding which leflects discredit
upon the intelligence of the managers.

I must mention another objection to calkins. They in-
crease the tendency to "cut," and many horses will cease
" cutting" after calkins are removed and a level shoe has
been adopted.

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING

Nails and Nail-Holes. — It is necessary to consider
these together, as they are dependent on each other. Shoes
were first nailed to the feet by flatheaded nails, and prob
ably it was a long time before the wedge -headed nail was
thought of. When the nail head fits into the nail hole, it
may retain the shoe till it is worn as thin as a penny, but
if only the shank of the nail enters the shoe, the head is
soon worn off and the shoe becomes loose. Within the
last twenty years the horse- shoe nail trade has been revolu-
tionized by the introduction of machinery. Machine-made
nails are now almost entirely used, and the three or four
leading brands are as near perfection as were the very best
hand made. Practically there is no fault to find with
them, and as they are ready-pointed for driving, they save
time and labour in the forge. They are made in various
sizes, and numbered from 2 to 16. Only the very best
iron can be used to produce good nails. Nothing is dearer
than bad nails, which cause injury to the foot and loss of
shoes.

A good nail should present certain forms of head, neck
and shank. The head should not be too broad at the top
or it may become fixed in the nail-hole only by its upper

Fig.

-Good and bad nail-holes.

edge, as shown in the middle diagram (Fig. 48), and when
the shoe has had a few days' wear, the nail loses its hold,
and the shoe is loose. The neck should not be too thick,
as it is then liable to press on the sensitive foot or to break
the wall. The shank should not be too wide or too thick.
The point should not be too long or too tapered, as this
leaves insufficient metal to form a good clinch.

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 75

There are two methods of putting nail-holes into shoes
— by " fullering" and by " stamping." A stamped shoe
is one in which the nail-holes are merely punched at certain
distances, so as to leave four-sided tapered holes of the
exact shape of a nail-head. A fullered shoe is one having
a groove round the circumference through which the nail-
holes are punched. Both processes, when well done,
admit of nails being driven in the hoof with equal safety
and ease.

Whether stamped or fullered, there are a few more
important points to remember about the nail-holes. The
wall is not of the same thickness throughout, but becomes
thinner towards the heels. The inner side of the foot is
also somewhat thinner and more upright than the outer.
The safest position, then, for the nails is in the front half
of the foot, but should this position not present sound
horn, they may be placed further back. The danger of
placing nails near the heels is due entirely to the greater
risk in driving them through the thin horn. There need
be no fear of interfering with expansion.

The distance of the nail-holes from the outer edge of
the shoe should depend upon the thickness of the horn of
the wall, and therefore be greater in large shoes than in
smaller, and greater at the toe than at the heels of the
same shoe. When the nail-holes are all near to the cir-
cumference of the shoe (Fig. 49 b) they are described as
"fine"; when they are all placed far from the edge
(Fig. 49 A) they are called " coarse." When the nail-holes
are too " fine," a nail is liable to split the horn, and has
to be driven high up in the wall to obtain a firm hold.
When the nail-holes are too " coarse," the nail in driving
goes dangerously near the sensitive foot. The evils of
coarse and fine nailing depend a great deal upon the
method of fitting the shoes. When shoes are fitted full
to the foot (when the outer circumference of the shoe is
greater than the circumference of the wall) " coarse " nail-
holes are brought to about their best position. When
shoes are fitted close {i.e., when their outer edge is brought

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

within the border of the wall) "fine" nail- holes are
brought to their best positions in relation to the foot. It
need hardly be added that the fit of a shoe ouoht not to be
subject to the position of the nail-holes, but that these
should be properly placed, so that fitting be guided only
by the requirements of the foot.

Fig. 49.— Wrongly placed Nail-holes (A too coarse, B too fine).

Each nail-hole, when properly placed — neither too
coarse nor too fine — should be punched straight through
the shoe and not inclined either inwards or outwards,
except at the toe, where the slope of the wall is followed
by slightly pitching in. AVhen a fuller is used, the groove
made should be wide ; then the farrier has more connnand
over the direction of the nail. If the nail-hole be much
pitched in, the nail must take that direction and is liable
to wound the foot. If the nail-hole be pitched out, the
nail is prevented from taking sufhcient hold of the horn.

The position and direction of the nail-hole controls
the passage of a nail through a shoe and into the hoof.
The man who drives a nail is usually blamed for laming
a horse, but in most cases it would be more just to blame

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 77

the man who makes the nail-holes or fitted the shoe and
so rendered safe drivino- difficult or impossible.

Fig. 50. —Nail-holes "pitched" in and out.

Each nail-hole should be as far as possible from the
other — say, from an inch to an inch and a half apart.
When the two front or toe nail-holes are put too far back,
the whole are crowded, or the last are pushed back too
near the heels.

For small shoes, four or five nail-holes are sufficient.
Medium-sized shoes should have from five to seven, and
the heavy shoes of big draught horses must have eight.
The number of nail-holes need not always be increased in
proportion to the size of the shoe, because as the weight
of shoe is increased, so is the size of the nail, and an
extra strong nail may take the place of additional ones.
The fewer nails in a foot the better, but as a properly-
placed nail does no harm, and as the loss of a shoe may
be very serious, it is better to have one too many than
one too few.

Machine-made Shoes. — Horse -shoeing is distinctly
an art requiring special skill for its proper performance. It
is also one of the most laborious of all skilled trades.
Anything which lightens mechanical toil tends to im-
prove the mental and artistic qualities of the workman,
and all applications of machinery which lessen the heavy
manual labour of the farrier may therefore be looked upon
as improvements. Machinery has lightened the labour
of shoe-making in two ways — by supplying various pat-
terns of grooved and bevelled iron in bars, which only

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

require cutting into lengths and turning round to form a
shoe, and also by making shoes all ready to be fitted to
the foot. Machinery has not yet turned out a shoe as
good and durable and well finished as the best workman
can produce by hand, but it can produce many forms of
shoes as good for all practical purposes, and it has this

Fig. 51. — Machine-made Shoe — Fore-foot.

advantage — all are alike. Bad workmen make bad
shoes, but a machine, once able to produce a good model,

Fig. 52.— Machine-made Shoe— Hind-foot.

can repeat it exactly, therefore machine-made shoes of a
I)roper pattern are superior to all but the very best hand-

THE FORM AND MANUFACTURE OF SHOES 79

made shoes. Economy, of course, is on the side of the
article produced by machinery, and all large firms keep-
ing their own farriers find a great saving by buying the
ready-made shoes. Under conditions when shoes must
be fitted without a fire, as in coal mines, or in the case of
armies during a campaign, the machine-made article has
the advantages of regularity of form and a true level
bearing surface.

Pig- 53- — Sections of rolled bar iron.

In little shops where often only one man is at work,
either machine-made shoes or prepared bar iron offer
great conveniences. The prepared bars can be bought
seated on the foot-surface and with a single or double
groove on the ground-surface. Very narrow bars suit-
able for tips, " Charlier," or light hack shoes are now
widely used, and a special bar — flat on the foot-surface,
concave to the ground — can be obtained which only
requires cutting into lengths and turning round to form
a first-class hunting shoe.

Fig. 54. — Section of light pattern bar iron.

Both prepared bars and machine-made shoes must be
judged by their form and by the material used in their
manufacture. Some are better than others, but all have
to contend with a large amount of trade prejudice which
has little basis, except in the matter of the hind shoes ;
here machinery has not yet reached perfection.

80 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chapter VI.
Selection of Shoes.

In practice, a farrier is too seldom consulted about the
form of shoe most suitable for the horse. The custom is to
apply whatever form the horse has been wearing, and
only to venture an opinion as to alterations when asked by
the owner. It would be foolish to alter the plan of shoe-
ing which was found suitable and satisfactory, unless for
very good reason. It is equally foolish for a man who
knows nothing about the art to send orders to the farrier
and to treat disobedience of these orders as a crime rank-
ing between heresy and revolution. In a large majority
of cases the farrier knows more about the shoe and
shoeing than the owner of a horse, and for the more
ignorant man to order the other is simply an exhibition of
conceit.

When the selection of a suitable shoe is left to the
workman, he takes into consideration the work required
of the horse, the form of the feet and the wear of the old
shoes. The old shoes indicate not only whether a horse
is a light or heavy wearer, but what parts of the shoe
are most worn, and thus enable provision to be made
against excessive or irregular wear. The form of the feet
shows not only what size of shoe is requisite, but also
what special weakness or strength is to be encountered.
It is also necessary to note the condition of the fetlocks,
heels and knees, which may show signs of " brushing,"
"over-reaching," or "speedy-cutting." According to all
these indications, a shoe is selected suitable for the horse
and the kind of work on which he is employed.

For the different classes of horses there are well-
known forms of shoe which present some special advan-
tages : —

SELECTION OF SHOES.

The Race Horse, when in training, may be shod with
a very hght shoe, but on the turf he requires the Ughtest
contrivance capable of protecting the hoof and affording
good foot-hold. The orduiary racing plate answers these
requirements. It may be made in a "crease" or from
specially prepared bars which are already grooved and only
require cutting into lengths and turning round. The
plate is about one-third of an inch wide by one-eighth
thick. The foot-surface is liat, the ground-surface
fullered and concave. The best bars are made of mild
steel.

fig- 55- — Racing Plates — Fore and Hind.

The front plates are fitted close and short so as to avoid
any chance of contact with the other feet. The nails are
very small and may be placed further back than usual, so
as to increase the security of the shoe. The hind shoes
may be turned down at the heels to form two small
calkins or, if it be preferred, only one on the outside.

Steeple-Chase plates are made on the same pattern
but stronger, so as to avoid the possibility of becoming
twisted through contact with obstacles on the course.

82 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Hunting Shoes must have sufficient strength to wear
three weeks or a month. They must be secure on the
foot, afford good foot hold, and not interfere witli the

Fig. 56. — Hunting Shoe— Fore.

I^ig- 57' — Hunting Shoe— Hind.

other feet or Hmbs of the horse, when galloping or jump-
ing. The best form for both fore and hind shoes is the
narrow, concave pattern almost universally employed in
liunting districts. It is flat on the foot surface and so
affords no lodgment for stones between it and the sole.

SELECTION OF SHOES.

The front shoe is fullered and concave on the ground-
surface, attached with six nails, and supplied with a
toe-clip. It is fitted close and short. Often hunters'
shoes are too short and the heels are filed off to a point,
almost like a lead pencil. If the shoe is fitted close and
an eighth of an inch shorter than the bearing- surface,
nothing more is desirable. If, also, the points of the heels

Fig. 58.— Hunting Shoe (Hind) — another form.

be filed to a slope equal to that of the heels of the foot,
perfect safety is attained, with the best bearing-surface.
The hind shoe is also fullered and concave on the ground-
surface. Unless the horse is guilty of "brushing," the
shoe may have two small square calkins. To guard
against over-reaching the heel of the front foot, the con-
cave form is almost sufficient ; but sometimes horses in
jumping hit the back tendon of a fore leg with the toe of
the hind shoe. To ensure the greatest safety the hind
toe of a hunting shoe should be rounded and supplied
with two toe-clips. (Fig. 57.) A very convenient bar iron is
now sold, rounded on its upper surface. This only requires
fullering at the sides, leaving the toe untouched, to make a
perfect shoe for hunters.

84 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEINC.

Hacks, bein}4' used on bard roads, must have heavier
shoes than hunters, but the shape may be similar. There
is not the same necessity for the concave form in front, so
a narrov^, double-grooved (Rod way) shoe may be employed.

Fig. 59. — Hack Shoe — Fore.

Fig. 60. -Hack Shoe— Hind.

There is not the same danger of over-reach so a wider fiat
shoe may be used on the hind feet and the clip may be at
the toe. For ordinary riding purposes a horse does not
require extraordinary precautions against the fore shoe

Selection of shoes

being struck or torn off by the hind, and therefore hack-
shoes may be fitted longer and the heels be cut off at a
more abrupt angle. On hard roads calkins do not take the
hold they do on grass, and so there is no special necessity
for calkins on the hind shoes of hacks. I think the
square-toed hind shoe looks neat on a hack but it should
not be used if the horse " brushes." (Fig. 60.)

Carriage Horses. The narrow, light shoes we have
been describing do not afford sufticient wear for carriage
work. For front shoes there is no better form than the
double-grooved shoe known as " Kodway's." The grooves
are rolled in the bar and it is, therefore, easy for a farrier
to make the shoe single-handed or merely with the
assistance of a boy. This shoe affords good foot-hold, is
light and durable. The foot-surface is seated and there-
fore it may be safely used on fiat feet.

Fig. 6i.— Carriage— Fore Shoe— Rodway.

Carriage horses need have no calkins on hind shoes
unless used in heavy vehicles. When calkins are used, one
on each heel is best. The clip should be at the toe and if
there is a tendency for the shoe to shift its position, owing
to the peculiar action of the horse, a quarter-clip may be

86 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

drawn on the outside. This is seldom wanted and always
ugly. When calkins are used there is no reason for

Fig. 62.— Carriage — Fore Shoe.

Fig. 63.— Carriage -Hind Shoe.

fullering a hind shoe, and the nail-holes may then be
stamped — a process easier to do and affording a little more
wear in the shoe.

SELECTION OF SHOES.

Strength to resist wear

Omnibus and Van Horses

is the chief feature of this class of shoe. A shoe too heavy
is, of course, an evil as it tends to produce leg-weariness.

Fig. 64. — Omnibus — Stamped Fore Shoe.

Fig. 65.— Omnibus— Hind Shoe.

A shoe too light is also an evil as it wears out in a few
days, and the frequent repetition of shoeing damages the
hoof. Horses show immense variations in the wear of
shoes, due to their different forms of action. A shoe
which will last three or four weeks on the majority of a
stud of horses, doing similar work, will be scraped out in

88 THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

eight or ten days by some of the animals. These hard-
wearers require special notice and should have special
shoes made for them. Those who scrape out the toes
before the rest of the shoe is much worn should be tried
with a shoe turned up at the toe before increasing the
weight of iron. Those horses that wear the shoe level
are difficult to deal with, and usually can only be supplied
with a durable shoe by increasing the weight of iron or by
the use of steel.

When this class of shoe is fullered the toe should be
left solid. Hind shoes, with calkins, may be stamped.
As all omnibuses have good foot brakes there is no
necessity to draw calkins on the hind shoes. Shoes last
longer without calkins, horses are less liable to " cut "
their legs, and the level shoe gives greatly increased
duration in those cases where the toe is specially worn.
An extra strong Eodway shoe — unseated on the foot-
surface and rolled out of mild steel — would make a most
useful and durable shoe for omnibus or light van work.

Heavy Draught Horses. The heavy horse has not

Fig. 66.— Heavy Horse— Fore Shoe.

SELECTION OF SHOES.

only to draw loads but frequently to back them, and there-
fore he must have calkins on the hind shoes. The front
shoes may be plain, level and stamped. The strain on the

Fig. 67.— Heavy- Korse— Fore Shoe, Toe-piece and Calkins.

Fig. 68.— Heavy-Horse— Hind Shoe, Toe-piece and Calkins,

90 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

shoes of a horse that twists his foot, necessitates the use
of quarter cHps more frequently than on other classes of
shoe In Scotland and in the North of England, the
heavy horse is shod with a shoe having calkins and toe
pieces both fore and hind. This shoe is lighter than the
level shoe used in London on the same sized horses. It
gives a level bearing and affords good foot-hold on paved
streets. Especially is this the case when the paving
stones are set with a space between each row. On level
surfaces, like asphalte, the toe-piece and calkin afford no
extra foot-hold, and may well be replaced by a level flat
shoe.

It seems rather curious that the same class of horse in
the North and South of England should be differently
shod though doing similar work. Managers coming from
one district to the other have often tried a change of
shoeing, but with the almost invariable result of return-
ing very shortly to the prevailing system. Horses, having
become accustomed to toe-pieces, slip much more when
shod with a level shoe. They have adapted themselves
to the method of shoeing and cannot suddenly alter their
ways to the new system. Then again, the farrier who has
no experience of toe-pieces is not likely to make a shoe
with them as well as the man accustomed to them.
Above all there is the road-way, which, in the North, is
laid with a view to the foot-hold of the horse. Possibly,
too, the load differs in weight. Were there not some
advantages it is not likely that two distinct forms of shoes
would be employed on horses in, say, Glasgow and
London.

It will be noticed that a toe-piece is welded on the shoe
a little behind the point of the toe — not at the very edge.
Calkins on these large shoes are also fitted wide and made
to stand rather behind the heel of the shoe than
immediately under it. This, of course, increases the size
of the base upon which the horse rests,

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 91

Chapter VII.

Fitting and Application of Shoes.

Having selected shoes suitable for the feet and adapted
to the 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. No 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 all essential
requirements. If w^e examine the unshod foot which has

Fig. 6g.— Shoe fitted to a curved foot-surface.

been worn down to proper proportions, we find the bearing
surface is not level — it is 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

92 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

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. 69, or should we make the surface level and apply a
level shoe as in Fig. 70? I believe that the ideal arrange-
ment would be to follow the line suggested by a worn
foot or a worn shoe, but it is difficult to carry out, and
greater exactness of fit is more readily obtained by two
level surfaces. The ground surface of a shoe may, if
necessary, be altered to suit the outline of wear, whilst the
level foot- surface is preserved. Whatever form the far-
rier adopts, a shoe should rest equally throughout, and
the contact of foot and shoe should be exact over the
whole bearing surface. Assuming then that a properly
prepared foot presents a level surface, the fitting of shoes
becomes simple so long as the smith possesses manual
dexterity and follows the indications of common sense.

Fig. 70. — Level shoe fitted to level (oot-surface.

There are two conditions to be fulfilled (1) to fit the
shoe to the plain surface of the foot, (2) to fit the shoe to
the circumference of the wall. Most amateurs judge
shoeing by the way a shoe follows the outline of the
hoof, but the practical man knows that it is equally
difficult and important to fit the surface.

Outline Fitting. — A shoe is first compared with the
foot, it is then heated, and the heels cut off or turned
down to the proper length. Each limb of the shoe is
fitted to follow the outline of the wall, and it is necessary
to warn the novice that the inside and outside borders
of a foot are not alike. The outside is rounder and fuller,
and the shoe should be shaped to follow exactly the
direction of the wall. The outer branch of a shoe should
always be as prominent as the outer border of the hoof ;

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 93

it should never be within it. The inner branch nuist not
protrude beyond the wall lest the opposite leg be struck.

A well fitted shoe must be fitted full to the foot.
What is called "close" fitting, i.e., bringing the shoe
rather within the circumference of the wall, is injurious,
as it loses the best and strongest bearing of the wall, and
permits the farrier to give an appearance of neatness by-
rasping away any horn which protrudes beyond the shoe.

On a well-shaped foot, the shoe should follow the outer
line of the hoof from toe to heel, but where the heels of a
foot are turned inwards, there is an advantage in fitting
the shoe wider at the heels. It is essential that the foot-
surface of the shoe should be level at the heels. If it be
inclined, as it often is in seated shoes, a very grave defect
in the fitting results, for the heels have no level bearing-
surface.

A shoe fitted too wide is liable to be trodden off by the
opposite foot, or it may cause the horse to hit the
opposite fetlock joint. To guard against a shoe being
trodden off, when it protrudes beyond the wall, the upper
edge should be rounded either by the hammer or by the
rasp. Where a portion of the wall is broken away a full-
fitted shoe is not covered by the hoof and a sharp border
or edge is visible. This looks ugly and affords a lodg-
ment upon which the opposite foot, or even another
horse's foot, may rest and tear oft' the shoe. Before a
shoe is nailed on, this protruding edge should be rounded.
The same attention should be given to the extremities
of shoes fitted wide at the heels — as are heavy cart horse
shoes. Heavy horses require a firm basis upon which to
stand, and as they are not used at the faster paces there is
not the same need of fitting shoes very close at the heels.
The narrower the heels the less the firmness of base
afforded by a shoe and, therefore, the heels of these heavy
shoes are properly fitted wide and the protruding upper
edge must be rounded off or " boxed up." This is done
with the hammer and finished with a rasp. When calkins
are used it is even more necessary to fit wide at the heels

94 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

consequently to round off the upper edge from the
quarters backwards.

Provided the nail-holes are properly punched, they are
brought to their right position when the outside border of
the shoe is fitted nicely to the circumference of the hoof.
When nail-holes are placed too near or too far from the
outer border of the shoe — i.e., when they are too "fine"
or too " coarse " — it may be necessary to correct their
position by fitting the shoe " closer " or " fuller," as the
case may be. When a farrier fits shoes made by another
man he may overlook this, as we are all slaves to habit.
The man who in his daily practice combines " close "
fitting with " fine " nailing has to alter his routine when
fitting a shoe with coarse nail-holes.

The length of a shoe at the heels is a matter of more
importance than is generally recognised. As a rule,
hunters are all shod too short, while most cart horses are
shod too long. The objections to a long front shoe are
that it is liable to be trodden off by the hind shoe, and
that it may injure the elbow when the horse lies down.
A long hind shoe is free from both these disadvantages,
and as it usually has a calkin, is the best form to adopt.

In fitting the heels of front shoes, in all but galloping
horses, the iron should generally extend slightly behind
the extremity of the horn. (Fig. 70.) Horses used for
galloping should have the end of the shoe just within the
termination of the horn, and it should finish with an
oblique extremity. (Fig. 71.) There is nothing gained by

fig- 7I-— Shoe fitted short at the heels.

greater shortening, if the iron be fitted exactly to the
horn. Why shoes are often pulled off, when only just
the length of the hoof, is because they are not fitted close

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES. 95

enough, and very often because they are wilfully and
mistakenly designed to leave a space between hoof and
iron. This so-called " eased " heel is an unmitigated
evil.

Surface-Fitting. — It is simple to direct that the
bearing-surface of a shoe should be exactly adapted to
the bearing-surface of a foot. It is not so simple to carry
out. When the horn of the lower surface of a foot is
thin, any uneven pressure — i.e., pressure applied directly
to one spot — soon causes injury, pain and lameness.
When a good thick layer of horn exists, uneven pres-
sures are less injurious, because the horn distributes them
over a wide surface. Good workmanship is displayed by
leaving no uneven pressure, and by so fitting a shoe that
it shall do no harm. With a narrow shoe — one only the
width of the wall— no uneven pressure can be applied to
the sensitive foot, but such a shoe is seldom used, as it is
too light to afford sufficient wear. A wide shoe with a flat
foot- surface is easily fitted on all concave feet — i.e., on all
hind and most fore feet. To make use of the whole bear-
ing-surface, a shoe must rest evenly from toe to heel — the
flat surface of the shoe must take a level bearing on the
whole flat bearing-surface of the foot.

There are two places where injury from uneven
pressure is most likely to happen — at the toe and at the
heels.

In preparing a foot, the wall at the toe may, from
want of care, be reduced a little below the level of the
sole, or in making a shoe the inside border at the toe
may be left higher than the outside. In each case,
uneven pressure is placed on the sole just where the back
border of the shoe rests. In fitting a hot shoe, wherever
the hoof is unduly nuxrked, warning is given that pres-
sure at that point nnist be prevented by altering the sur-
face either of the shoe or the foot. On a strong foot, the
knife may be used to remove a little horn ; on a weak foot,
the alteration must be on the shoe,

96 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

At the heel, uneven pressure is most frequent on the
angle of sole between the wall and bar, where it causes
the so-called "corn" — a condition in the horse having
uo analogy to the affliction similarly named in the human
subject. It is simply a bruise of the sensitive parts under
the horn.

A bruised heel — a corn — is most likely to arise from
the use of a shoe too short, especially if fitted too close.
It may arise from a properly-fitted shoe retained too long
on the foot and shifted from its proper bearing on the
v^all to an improper bearing on the sole. A bruised heel
may also result from the use of a well-made shoe if the
preparation of the hoof has been faulty. Eule-of-thumb
directions to " reduce the heels to a level by the use of
the rasp, but on no account cut away any sole," may
result in injury. In a strong foot with an overgrown
sole it is easy to get a level surface and to fit on to it a
level shoe, but the horn of the sole does not remain level.
As it grows and flakes off, the portion between the bar
and wall is raised. If the weather be wet it swells, and
then, bound down by the shoe, it acts simply as a stone
might, and bruises the sensitive parts within by its
uneven pressure. It is always safe and it is never injuri-
ous to remove so much of the surface of this portion of
sole with the drawing-knife as will ensure no uneven
pressure on it by the shoe.

The more exactly the shoe fits the foot surface the
more easily it is retained in position by the nails, and the
less likelihood there is of any part of it pressing unduly
on a limited portion of horn. Exact fitting allows all
bearing and pressures to be distributed equally over the
surface of the hoof, and thus permits the shoe most
nearly to resemble a mere continuation of the hoof in
iron — an arrangement to prevent wear, but not to inter-
fere with the natural functions. There is one departure
from level fitting which requires special notice, since it is
made, not by accident or negligence, but by design. It
consists in taking the bearing of an inch, or an inch-and-a-

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 97

half, of the extremity of the shoe off the foot. (Fig. 72.)
It has been called " easing the heels," and the space
permits a knife-blade, sometimes even a pencil, to be
placed between the shoe and foot. It is one of the very
worst practices that theory has forced into horse-shoeing.
Men who do it say " the heels won't stand pressm'e." I

Fig. 72.— An " eased" heel.

reply they will stand all proper pressure, and a good deal
more than the quarters. But the practice does not
relieve the heels of pressure. If you examine a shoe
fitted in this way, after it has done a month's service, you
will find it sometimes polished bright, sometimes with a
deep groove worn into it. You may also test its bearing
by raising the foot from the ground and inserting between
shoe and hoof a flat bit of wood, then on releasing the
foot and raising the opposite one, you will find that the
bearing is such that the bit of wood cannot be removed.
The " eased heel " does not relieve the heels of pressure,
but, instead of constant normal bearing, it permits a down-
ward movement of the back of the foot at each step —
which is unnatural, and which cannot occur in an unshod
foot on a level surface. The "eased heel" does more
than this. It wastes a large extent of good bearing- sur-
face, and it concentrates pressure at one point — where the
shoe and foot meet — at the quarters. It loses good bear-
ing-surface where it is important to have it, and unevenly
throws extra weight on the quarters, which are the
weakest parts of the wall. An " eased heel " has not one
single advantage, but it has every disadvantage which mis-
placed ingenuity could contrive.

For flat feet, a wide shoe with a fiat foot-surface is
unsafe, as there is liability to uneven pressure on the

THE ART OF HORSESHOEING.

sole. For such feet, the safer form of foot-surface is one
presenting a level narrow bearing-surface round its
outer border, from which an inclined or bevelled surface
continues the shoe inwards. (Fig. 78.) This form of shoe

Fig- 73- — Section of a seated shoe.

can be fitted to nearly any kind of foot. To escape in-
jury to a flat sole, " seating out " shoes is necessary, but
the operation should always leave a level bearing-surface
for the wall. When a shoe is seated from one side to the
other so as to produce a saucer-shaped surface, harm is
done to the foot. Such a shoe presents no level bearing-
surface, and the weight of the horse pressing the wall on
an inclined plane causes the foot to be pinched or com-
pressed in a manner which soon causes lameness. (Fig. 74.)
A few years ago, these shoes were too common, and to
make them still more injurious, the foot was pared out
from the centre to the circumference like a saucer, and
the two spoiled articles were fitted together. Their sur-
faces of contact were two narrow ridges, which even the
most expert workman could not tit without injury to the
horse.

In Fig. 74, a shoe with an inclined surface is appHed
to a foot with a bearing-surface as wide as the wall, but
the only contact is at the edges. The horn at the edge
will yield, and the hoof be pressed inwards, as the weight
of the animal forces the foot into the saucer-shaped shoe.

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES

When the bearing-surface of the foot, instead of being
as wide as the wall, is only a ridge, the horn yields most
rapidly, the clinches rise and the shoe becomes loose.

Fig, 74— Section of a "saucer" shoe.

Fig. 75. — Bearing-surface inclined outwards.

In Fig. 75 is shown a section of another shoe with an
inclined instead of a level surface, but the slope is from
within outwards. The effect of this is exactly the oppo-
site of the previous shoe. The wall is forced outwards,
and if it does not as a whole yield to the pressure, the
portion in contact is broken. When this form of bearing-
surface is adopted at the heels of a shoe, the two
side of the hoof are violently forced apart, and it has
even been recommended as a means of expanding the

loo

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING

foot ; but forcible expansion is both unnecessary and dan-
gerous.

Always regarding the shoe as an extension of the
natural hoof in a harder and more durable material, it is
evident that the most stability will be attained by the
use of as wide a bearing-surface of foot and shoe as is
compatible with ease and safety to the horse.

In Fig. 76 is shown a section of a narrow shoe which
takes a bearing over the whole extent of its foot-surface.

Fig. 76. — Narrow shoe with level bearing-surface.

In Fig. 77 is shown a shoe with as wide a bearing-
surface as in Fig. 76, but which loses half its bearing
because the foot-surface is too narrow to utilize it.

Fig 77. — Bearing-surface of
foot too narrow.

Fig. 78. A good bearing-
surface.

In Fig. 78 we have a model bearing-surface on the
foot, nearly twice the width of the wall, and we have a

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 101

shoe with a fiat foot-surface capable of using the whole
bearing. Such is the fitting of all hind shoes, and it
might be adopted with advantage in all fore shoes on
good feet.

Wear of Shoes. Before fitting new shoes a good
farrier notes all peculiarity of wear in the old ones. When
a horse wears his shoes equally all over, there is evidence
that his feet are in proper proportion and that the form of
shoe is suitable. Irregularity of wear is noticeable on
very many shoes and may be traced sometimes to faults
in the action of the horse and sometimes to faults in the
shoe or foot.

A horse that " goes on his heels " — a common sequel to
laminitis — wears the heels out of all proportion to the
rest of the shoe. To meet this excessive wear a farrier
often increases the thickness of a shoe at the heels. This
is the very worst thing to do. The hoof at the heels
should be lowered as much as safety will allow, and the
shoe should be fitted a little longer than the bearing-
surface of the foot. When the toe of a shoe shows

Fig. 79- — A shoe worn out at the toe.

Fig. 80. — A shoe turned up at the toe.

excessive wear it may be due to the calkins being too
high, and if so their height must be decreased. It may
be due to the toe of the hoof being too long, and it may
be the result of defective action of the horse. In any case
it is not good practice to simply increase the amount of

102 TliE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

iron at the toe so as to make the shoe last longer. The
toe of the shoe should be turned up out of the line of
wear. In other words the toe of the shoe should be so
fitted that its foot surface resembles the worn surface of
the old shoea. This requires that the hoof should be
lowered, not in the usual way leaving a level bearing from
toe to heel, but by an extra reduction of horn at the toe to
an extent required by the bending upwards of the shoe.
(Fig. 80.)

When one side of a shoe is more worn than the other
the hoof must be reduced on the side showing excessive
wear, and the shoe be fitted a little fuller.

To provide for a proper duration of shoes and to pre-
vent too frequent re-shoeing, it is best to increase not the
thickness of a shoe but its width, especially in those cases
where wear is mainly confined to one part.

Clips are thin projections drawn up from the outer
border of shoes for the purpose of giving greater security
to their position on a foot. On heavy cart-horses, the
clips are sometimes of great size, and encourage the idea
that the smith looks upon them as designed to assist the
nails to retain the shoe on the foot. They should have
no such purpose, their use being merely to prevent the
shoe shifting to one side. A clip should not be narrow
and high, it should be low and wide, so that its bearing is
taken against the lower edge of the wall. A high clip is
a most serious danger when shoes get loose and are
trodden on by the horse. The usual position for a clip
is at the toe, but there are occasions when two clips —
one at each side of the toe — are used. On some shoes, a
clip is placed at the outer quarter to prevent the shoe
being displaced inwards ; this is more often required on
hind shoes. A clip at the toe affords some assistance in
fitting a shoe exactly, and it also affords steadiness to
the shoe during the driving of the first nails. In
America clips are not used, and when American
machine-made shoes were first introduced into London

Fitting and application of shoes 103

they were fitted without clips. I am bound to confess
that these shoes did not shift on the feet to any noticeable
extent, but they are now all fitted with clips, so I sup-
pose the workmen found they were an advantage. The
greatest evil resulting from clips is seen in slovenly fitting,
when the farrier with his knife carves out a great hole in
the wall in which to embed the clip. As a clip is flat, it
cannot be fitted to the rounded face of the wall, but all
that is necessary is to reduce the round to a flat surface
with the rasp, so that the clip may rest on it, care being
taken that at the extreme edge the horn is not left so
prominent as to be unduly pressed upon when the clip is
driven close to the wall. It is easy to lame a horse by
violently hammering up the clip, especially when the horn
behind it has been so much cut away as to leave only a
thin protecting layer. A clip should only be hammered
up sufficiently to leave it firmly applied to the wall. A
bad workman, in making his clip, may spoil the foot-
surface of a shoe by causing a ridge on the bearing-
surface of the iron at the toe, and this, on thin or flat
feet, may cause lameness.

Well drawn clip. Fig. 8i. Badly drawn clip.

A very unsightly appearance and very defective work
results from the fireman leaving his clip at right angles to
the line of the shoe. It should be inclined backwards at
about the same slope as the portion of the wall against
which it is to rest. The two diagrams (Fig. 81) illus-
trate what is meant.

Hot and Cold Fitting.— When an engineer or a
carpenter has two surfaces to fit together with great
exactness he employs some colouring material to show
where they do come in contact and where they do not.
When a farrier fits a shoe to a horse's foot, he tests its

104 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

accuracy by applying the iron at a dull red heat to the horn.
This proceeding shows with precision the bearing-surfaces,
as the horn is charred in proportion to the contact. If
the shoe be found not to fit exactly, it is taken back to
the anvil and altered. It is then again for a few seconds
applied to the horn and the surface of contact examined.
This proceeding is repeated until sufficient exactness is
arrived at, and then the shoe is cooled ready for nailing
on. As horn is a bad conductor of heat, this process of
"hot-fitting" does no harm to the sensitive structures
within the hoof, unless it be carried to an extreme. When
the horn is very thin, the heat of a shoe retained too
long in contact with it does serious mischief, and the
injury known as a burnt sole has often resulted from
careless work. If a shoe, whilst being altered to fit a foot,
were cooled each time it was laid on the hoof, it would
have to be re-heated before the necessary alterations could
be made, and this would cause great waste of time. The
abuse of hot-fitting may do harm without any direct
burning of the sole. An ill-fitting hot shoe may be held
on the hoof until it beds itself into the horn, and thus a
complete correspondence between the surface of the foot
and the surface of the shoe be effected. Such a
proceeding is well described as " fitting the foot to the
shoe," and is not only destructive to the horn but
damaging to the foot, by permitting an uneven shoe to
look as though it were properly fitted. When hot-fitting
is used and not abused — when it is adopted merely to
indicate how and where the shoe fits, and not to make it
appear to fit — I consider it has many advantages over
cold-fitting. With some feet and some shoes it is quite
possible to produce a good fit without heating the shoe.
When a shoe requires much alteration to bring it into
exact correspondence with the foot, even the most expert
farrier cannot do justice to his work with cold iron ; he
gets as near to a fit as he can, and when the hoof is
strong, little liarm is done. The best work is that which
includes the greatest exactness of fit, while uneven pres-

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 105

sure or loose shoes result from inferior work. A badly
fitted shoe requires more nails to retain it in place, and
experience has shown that hot-fitted shoes give a smaller
average of loose or lost shoes than those cold fitted. The
slight charring of the end of the horn fibres, which
results from proper hot-fitting, has never been found to
do injury, and it apparently has some advantages. One
is that the surface of the hoof less readily absorbs mois-
ture than when not charred. Another is that the horn
is softened for a time and expanded, allowing nails to be
easily driven, and then contracting and retaining them
more firmly. The objection to hot- fitting applies only to
its abuse. The advantages are greater exactness of fit,
greater security that the shoe will be firmly retained on
the foot, and greater facility in the operation of shoeing.
Perhaps I ought to add that when cold-fitting is inevit-
able, machine-made shoes are the best, because they are
more regular in form and more often level on the foot-
surface than hand-made shoes. Army studs on active
service, and studs used in coal mines comprise, perhaps,
the only animals upon which cold-fitting is unavoidable.

Tips are short shoes protecting only the foremost half
of the foot. Upon grass or soft roads, tips are quite

Fig. 82.

sufficient to prevent undue wear of the hoof. Even upon
hard roads tips will protect the hoof in dry weather, but
in wet seasons the horn becomes softened, and then that
part coming in contact with hard road -surfaces wears

106

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

rapidly, and lameness may follow. Tips require more care
in use than shoes, because they protect from wear only
the toe, and when retained on the foot too long a time

Fig. 83. — Foot prepared for a tip.

cause the hoof to become very disproportionately long at
the toe. In fitting a tip, care must be taken to afford the
horse a level surface to bear on. The unprotected horn at
the back of the foot must take a bearing on the ground

A B

Fig. 84. — An ordinary and a "thinned" tip.

level with the ground-surface of the tip. (Fig. 84 A). If
there is sufficient horn on the foot, this can be easily
effected by only removing the overgrown wall to just the
length the tip extends and leaving the horn behind un-
touched. Where there is not sufficient superfluous horn,
this method cannot be used, and we apply a tip gradually
thinned oft' towards its extremities, (Fig. H4 B.) If a

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES. 107

little horn can be removed obliquely from the front half of
the foot by a few strokes of the rasp, this " thinned " tip
is more easily fitted so as to get a level surface on the
ground. When a horse has worn this form for a month,
it is generally possible to bring a tip, of even thickness
throughout, into the same line of bearing as the horn at
the heels.

Tips do not give a good foot-hold on grass, but they
afford greater security of tread, on hard smooth roads and
on ice, than long shoes. The great advantages of tips are
two-fold — they are light, and they permit the greatest
freedom of movement and action in the posterior part of
the foot. In some cases of chronic foot lameness the use
of tips and regular work will effect soundness when every
other method of treatment has failed.

The Charlier System is a method of shoeing which a
few years back took a very prominent hold on the fancy of
horse-owners. Like most other systems it has advantages

Fig- 85 —Groove for Charlier shoe formed by cutting away strip of wall

and disadvantage — it has prejudiced enemies and indis-
creet friends. The principle or theory upon which it is
based may be thus stated. The lower border of the wall is,
it is said, the chief sustaining structure of the hoof, and as
all that is required of a shoe is to prevent undue wear,
therefore, remove a small strip of the lower border of the
wall and substitute for it a similar sized strip of iron, and
we shall protect from wear at the same time that we leave
entirely to nature every other part of the hoof — sole, frog

108 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

and bars. This seems eminently simple and logical, but
it is easy to show that it is more plausible than true.
First, I would point out that the wall only is not the natural
sustaining structure of the hoof ; the wall and the sole at
its connection with the wall is. Next, I deny that the
Charlier system does " leave entirely to nature every other
part of the hoof." In cutting away the wall from the sole to

Fig. 86. Section of Charlier shoe on foot.

af^x the shoe, the natural function of the sole is seriously
interfered with, and the bearing on the wall, which ought to
be partially distributed over the arch of the sole, is limited to
the wall. It is claimed that when the foot has had time to
grow, the sole will be found on a level with the shoe, and
thus directly sharing in the weight sustaining function. I
have examined many feet shod by Charlier specialists, and
have never yet seen the sole of a hind foot level with the
shoe three days after the shoeing. Only once have I seen
the sole of the fore foot level with the shoe after a week's
wear. I am often apologetically told, " Well, it is not
quite in wear, but it is not an eighth of an inch below the
surface of the shoe." Quite so, it is nearly in wear, but
if not actually in wear, what becomes of the principle ?
The sole is not directly in wear, bearing is confined to
the wall. As to the frog, the Charlier affords no greater
use to it than any other shoe of a similar thickness, unless,
instead of being placed on sound, firm horn, it be danger-

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 109

ously let down into the hoof so that its edge approaches
very closely to the sensitive foot. It is sometimes difficult
to arrive at the truth as to the significance of the phrase
" embedding or letting dovv^n " the shoe of the Charlier
system. At one time we are assured that " the shoe is not
sunk, the sole is permitted to grow up." When this is so,
very little positive objection to the system can be taken,
because the shoe then rests at the same level on firm horn
as does any other narrow shoe ; but then the frog takes no
better bearing than in other systems, and the superfluous
growth of horn on the sole is of no vahie. When the shoe
is really " let down " of course the frog does receive in-
creased pressure — it is forced to share with the wall the
primary function of sustaining weight instead of, as in
nature, taking only a secondary share of such action. It
does this at the expense of a shoe placed so close to the
" quick " that if the upper and inner border of iron be not
bevelled off, immediate lameness results.

Fig. 87. — Groove for modified or short Charlier.

When the Charlier shoe was first introduced, it was ap-
plied the full length of the foot, but it was found that when
thinned by wear, the heels spread and led to injury of the
opposite leg or to its being trodden off. Now the Charlier is
only applied like a tip round the front portion of the surface
of the foot, and it therefore partakes of some of the advan-
tages I have credited to tips. It is a very light shoe and
only requires small nails to fix it securely, but as the shoe

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

is only the width of the wall, the nails have to be driven
solely in the wall, and their position is open to the objec-
tion applying to all too fine nailing. The disadvantages

Fig. 88— Foot prepared for short Charlier.

Fig. 89.— Short Charlier Shoe.

of the Charlier are its being " let down " too near the
quick, its limited bearing, and its fine nail holes ; the
advantages are the lightness and the freedom given to the

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 111

back of the foot, both of which are attainable with a
narrow tip not let down. One very apparent effect result-
ing from the use of the Charlier system is the alteration in
the action of the horse. All knee action is lost, and some
horses go decidedly tender, whilst others acquire a low
shooting stride, which is certainly not in accordance with
our notions of good free locomotion.

Nailing on Shoes. When a shoe has been fitted
exactly to the foot it is finished off with a file. Even the
best hammer work can be improved by a few strokes of
the file round the clip and heels and along the edges of a
shoe. Very inferior work can be made to pass a casual
inspection by liberal filing. A shoe is fixed in a vice for the
purpose ofbeingfiled,and light shoes are somethnes twisted
out of shape. It is most important that after such an
accident the shoe should be refitted before being nailed on.

When a shoe is well fitted by the fireman, a doorman
has no reason to alter the foot in any way before nailing
on the shoe. In most cases a stroke of the rasp may be
given to the front of the toe to remove a bit of charred
horn, but on no account should more be done. It is
obvious than any removal of firm horn from the toe, after
fitting has been completed, permits the shoe to be placed
further back on the foot, and thus the exactness of fit is
destroyed, and the relative position of nail-holes to the wall
modified — perhaps dangerously.

The fitted and filed up shoe when laid on the foot by
the doorman, should rest evenly upon the whole bearing-
surface. The borders of the shoe should follow the cir-
cumference of the wall, the heels be of proper length, and
the nail holes in such a position as to admit of nails being
safely driven into sound horn. No nail hole should be
within the white line that marks the junction of sole and
wall.

The doorman having satisfied himself that the shoe fits,
then selects suitable nails. If the nail holes are propor-
tionate to the foot there is no difficulty, but when they are

112 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

too large or too sicall the question arises — how the nail
liead is to fit the nail hole at the same time that the hoof
is penetrated hy a shank which will not split the horn or
fail to give a secm-e clinch '? If the head be too small for
the hole the nail cannot be firmly clenched, whilst if it be
too large it protrudes, and when worn off has no hold of
the shoe. Except in the case of a very thin Vv'all it is
better to select a nail that more than fills the nail-hole
rather than the opposite. With a good fuller or stamped
nail-holes the head of a nail should always protrude a little
when driven home.

Driving a nail is a delicate operation only to be mastered
by practice. Its direction through the horn is governed
by the point and by the fingers of the farrier. Its
direction is indicated by the sound and feel transmitted by
the taps of the hammer, and its exit should be felt by the
fingers of the left hand before it appears. By these
practical signs a farrier knows where his nail is going and
is able to bring out the point at a proper height. Although
an expert workman may safely drive a nail very high in
the wall, there is danger in doing so, and no advantage.
On the other hand there is a disadvantage in not taking
sufficient hold — more chance of splitting the wall and less
security for the shoe. The toe nails may be driven a
little higher with safety than the heel nails. When all
the clinches are of the same height from the shoe a neat
appearance is given, but I prefer to see a slight dimi-
nution of height from before backwards — from the first
toe-nail to the last heel-nail. Driving the first nail has a
tendency to move the shoe from its bed across the foot,
this must be guarded against, and a nail on the opposite
side should next be driven to counteract this tendency.
If necessary, a tap or two with the hammer on the side
of the shoe may be given to keep it in its exact place.
Each nail as it is driven through the wall should have its
point turned down against the horn so as to avoid the
possibility of accident to the workman or injury to the
opposite leg of the horse. When all the nails are driven

FITTING AND APPLICATION OF SHOES 113

and the points cut off with the pincers, the whole are run
over with the hammer and then each is "chnched." A
chnch is formed by a blow or blows on the head of the
nail whilst the edge of the pincers is pressed against the
turned down point of the nail. Under the clinch a notch
is made in the surface of the wall with the edge of the
rasp. Into this notch the clinch is laid and a stroke of
the rasp renders the clinch level with the horn. A clinch
buried and filed in this manner is stronger and safer than
when merely turned over on the horn.

Clinches rise and shoes get loose (a) when the shoe
rests upon a bearing-surface so weak or narrow that the
horn yields ; {b) when nail-heads do not fit the nail-holes ;
(c) when, instead of a notch being made in sound horn
for the clinch, the end of the nail is turned over on the
broken horn caused by the exit of the nail.

If the position of a nail-hole is so coarse as to render
driving a nail through it dangerous, the nail should be
left out. If a nail -hole corresponds to a crack in the hoof
the nail should not be driven. Some feet are so broken
that the shank of the nails can be seen above the shoe
and yet sufficient hold of sound horn higher up be obtained
to afford security for a shoe.

114 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chapter VIII.

"Roughing."

In winter, ice, snow, and frost render roads slippery,
and it is necessary to provide some arrangement whereby
horses may have the greatest security of foot-hold. In
countries such as Canada and Kussia, where a regular
winter sets in at a tolerably uniform date and continues
without intermission for some months, it is easier to adopt
a good system of " roughing " than in Great Britain.
There, on a thick layer of ice or snow, sharp projections
on the shoes cut into the surface and afford foot-hold.
The edge of the projections is not soon blunted, and when
once properly placed, their duration is as long as the time
desirable for retaining the shoe. Here, very different con-
ditions obtain. Sometimes a week or two of frost and
snow may prevail, but more frequently the spells of wintry
weather are counted by days. Two or three days of frost
and then two or three days of mud and slush, to be
followed by either dry, hard roads or a return of ice and
snow, is our usual winter. We require during this time
to provide for occasional days, or more rarely for weeks, of
frost-bound roads. Our horses' shoes wear about a month
and then require replacing by new ones. When roads
are hard and dry, we want no sharp ridges or points about
our horses' shoes, and yet we must always be able at
twenty-four hours' notice to supply some temporary
arrangement which will ensure foot-hold.

The necessity for "roughing" and the evil effects of
continuing to work unroughed horses on slippery, frost-
bound roads is demonstrated in London every winter by
a very significant fact. If, after three days of ice and
snow, anyone will visit a horse-slaughterer's yard, he will
find the place full of dead horses which have fallen in the

'' roughing:' 115

streets and suffered incurable or fatal injury. A sudden
and severe attack of ice and snow half paralyses the horse
traffic of a large town for a day or two, and many owners
will sooner keep their horses in the stable than go to the
expense of having them roughed. The loss in civil life
from unpreparedness for ice and snow is very serious, but
the loss which has fallen upon military movements from
similar neglect is appalling. Napoleon's rout from Mos-
cow in 1812, Bourbaki's flight into Switzerland in 1871,
and the Danish retreat during the Schleswig-Holstein
war in 1865 are terrible instances of the frightful loss
sustained when horses are unable to keep on their feet at
a walk, let alone drag guns and wagons over an ice-
covered surface.

A well-managed stud of horses which is required to face
all weather and to work every day through an English
winter should, from December 1st to March 1st, be shod
in such a manner as to be easily and speedily provided
with mechanism which will afford secure foot-hold. This
may be effected by the use of movable steel " roughs " or
" sharps." Of course the cost is the argument against
them, but this should be considered in view of the prob-
ability or certainty of loss which will follow from neglect.
If we allow common humanity to animals to enter into
the consideration, economy will be served by adopting a
well arranged system of roughing. Every good horseman
appreciates the enormity of over- loading, but neglect of
roughing causes just as much cruelty. A horse that on a
good road can properly draw a ton would be considered
over-loaded with two tons, and his struggles to progress
would at once attract attention. The same animal with
half a ton on an ice-covered surface would suffer more
exhaustion, fatigue and fright, and run more risk of fatal
injury than in the case of the over-loading, but his owner,
who would indignantly repudiate the one condition, will
designedly incur the other. Probably this is only thought-
lessness, but it is a reflection on the prudence of a

116

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Fig. 90 shows various

manager, and certainly not Mattering to the teehngs or
intelHgence of a man.

There are many ways of providing foot-hold for a horse
on ice and snow. The most simple and temporary pro-
ceeding is to use frost-nails,
sizes and shapes of these articles.

They are not driven through the hoof like ordinary nails,
but through the shoe only, which is prepared for their
reception at the time of fitting. A shoe to carry frost-
nails is fitted a little wider than usual at the heels and has
at its extremities, or more often at its outer extremities,
countersunk holes stamped and directed outwards, so that
the frost-nail can be safely driven through by anyone, and
its shank turned down over the shoe. There is a difficulty

Fig. 90. -Various frost-nails.

ill firmly securing them; they are apt to work loose and
then become bent and useless. If used on the inside heel
of a shoe, they constitute a danger to the opposite leg

'^ roughing:' 117

should they bend and protrude from under the shoe. As
a temporary provision against a sudden frost or fall of
snow, they are useful, but they are only a makeshift.

The more permanent and effective system of "rough-
ing " consists in removing the shoes and turning down a
sharp chisel projection at the heels. In very bad weather,
a projection edge is also laid across the toe of the shoe.

The diagrams show the method of " sharping " a front
and hind shoe at the heels only. The hind shoe, having
calkins, is not nmch altered. The smith simply converts
the square calkin into a sharp-edged one. The fore shoe,
having no calkins, is turned down at the heels to afford
enough iron to form the " sharp." But this shortens the
shoe, and if it be repeated two or three times, as it
often is, the bearing-surface is spoiled, and the slightest
carelessness in fitting the shoe causes a bruised heel.

;

Fig. gi. — Heels of fore and hind shoes, sharped.

" Koughing '" is generally done in a hurry. A dozen
horses reach the farrier's shop at one time and all desire
to return to work with as little delay as possible. The
work is perforce hurried through, careful fitting cannot
be done, and bad-footed horses suffer accordingly. The
dotted lines in Fig. 91 show the original length of shoe,
and the shortening which results from a second
roughing.

All horse-owners know how many lame horses result
from the repeated roughings necessitated by a week or
two of wintry weather. Some of this is inevitable from
the rush and hurry which cannot be prevented. Valuable
horses with weak feet should not be submitted to any

118

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

such risk. They should be shod with removable sharps.
The mere fact of removing a horse's shoes perhaps five or
six times in a month must injure the hoof. Add to this
the shortening of the shoe, the raising of the heel by
the roughing, and the irregular bearing due to hurried
fitting, and we have conditions which only the very
strongest feet can endure without serious injury.

For heavy draught horses, and for all where the
roads are hilly, the toes as well as the heels must be
" sharped " when ice and snow are firm on the surface.
Fig. 92 shows this arrangement at the toe. The remov-

Fig. 92.— Toe sharp.

able steel " sharps," of which I have spoken, are cer-
tainly the least objectionable method of providing foot-
hold in winter. They are made in various sizes to suit
all kinds of shoes. They vary m shape somewhat, but
their form is more a matter of fancy than utility. One

Fig. 93. — Removable steel sharp.

in each heel of a shoe is the usual number used, but if
snow and ice are plentiful and the roads hilly, two addi-
tional " sharps " may be placed at the toe of the shoe.

''ROUGHING:'

119

At the time of fitting the shoes, holes are made by
first punching a round hole through the heels — and
through the toe if desired ; then the hole is "tapped " and
a thread formed to fit it to the shank of the sharp which
is to fill it. If the sharps are not immediately wanted,
the holes may be filled with corks to keep out the grit
and dirt. When corks are used, the wear of the shoe
causes a burr to form round the edge of the hole, and
before the sharp can be screwed in a "tap" must be

Fig. 94. — Steel sharps, screw.

worked into each hole to clear the thread. One great
objection to this method is that as the shoe wears it
becomes thinner, and if much worn, the shank of the
"sharp" may be too long, and when screwed home
cause pressure upon the hoof and consequent lameness.
To guard against this, steel "blanks" are used to pre-
serve the holes, and when a frost comes, they are
removed and the " sharps " put in.

Fig. 95.— Blanks, screwed.

The blanks vary in height, and, of course, those least
in height are best for the horse's action, but they must
not be allowed to get so worn that it is impossible to
remove them.

120

THE ART OF HORSESHOEING

The " tapping " and " screwing" of shoes is expensive,
and in small shops must be done by hand. In large
shops, a gas engine and a machine would reduce the cost
very greatly, and if the system came into general use,
this method of providing against frost-bound roads could

Fig. g5. — Steel Taps for screwing shoes.

be carried out at much less cost than now. With a view
to economy and simplicity, a sharp has been invented
which requires no screw. The shank may be either
round or square. A hole is punched in the heel of the
shoe and carefully gauged to the size of the shank of the
"sharp." The sharp is then put in and a tap of the

F""g- 97.— Steel Sharps and Blank, Plug shanks.

hammer secures it. The difficulty is to get the hole in
the shoe and the shank of the sharp of corresponding
form and size. When this is done, the sharp keeps its
place and is not difficult to remove. Too often, however,
they are not uniform, and then the sharp falls out, or
sometimes cannot be removed. When the holes are
drilled instead of punched, the fit is more exact, but this
only applies to those with a round shank. A slight taper

" ROUGHING." 121

is given both to the hole and the shank of the " sharp."
As with the screw sharps, so with these, blanks are used
to keep the holes open until the road-surface requires the
sharp.

No sharps should be left in shoes when the horses
are stabled at night, as serious injuries to the coronet
may result from a tread by the opposite foot. The coach-
man or horse-keeper must be supplied with a spanner to
remove the screws, and with a tap to clear the holes if
blanks are not used.

For roads not badly covered with snow and ice, sufficient
security is afforded by some forms of india-rubber pads,
which will be described in a future chapter.

122 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

Chapter IX.
Injuries from Shoeing.

Even with the most careful farrier injury may occur
during shoeing, or may arise as the result of the opera-
tion. Sometimes the foot, from its condition or form,
renders an accident possible, and it may be so diseased,
or defective, as to render shoeing with safety very
improbable. Sometimes the shoe is to blame, and some-
times the nail or clip. k few words about each of the
common injuries may be useful as helps to their avoid-
ance or as guides to their remedying.

From Nails two kinds of injury may result. The
most common arises from the nail being driven too near
the sensitive parts, and is known as a hind. The nail does
not really penetrate the sensitive foot, but is so near as
to press unduly upon it. This condition causes lameness,
which is generally not noticed till a day or two after the
shoeing. It is readily detected by the farrier on remov-
ing the shoe and trying all the tracks of the nails in the
hoof by pressure with pincers. When the lameness is
slight, removal of the nail and one or two day's rest are
all that is required. When the lameness is great, it may
be suspected that the injury has caused the formation of
matter within the hoof. This must, of course, be allowed
to escape, and the services of a veterinary surgeon are
advisable.

Any neglect in these cases, such as working the horse
after lameness has appeared, or delay in removing the
offending nail, may lead to very serious changes in the
foot, or even to death of the horse.

Another injury caused by nails is from a direct puncture
of the sensitive foot. This may be slight, as in cases
where the farrier in driving the nail misdirects it and so

INJURIES FROM SHOEING 123

stabs the sensitive parts, but immediately withdraws the
nail, knowing what has happened. The lameness result-
ing from this is usually slight. Very much more serious
is the lameness resulting from a nail which pierces the
sensitive foot and is not recognised at once by the farrier.
As a rule, lameness is immediate, and should the horse
perform a journey before the nail is removed, serious
damage is certain to follow.

Want of skill in driving a nail is not always the
chief cause of "binding" or "pricking" ahorse. More
often than not the form and position of the nail-holes is
the primary cause, for if the nail-holes in the shoe are
too " coarse" or badly pitched, it is quite impossible to
safely drive nails through them. Sometimes the nails
are defective, and this was much more common when
nails were all hand-made. Bad iron or bad workman-
ship led to nails splitting within the hoof, and whilst
one half came out through the wall, the other portion
turned in and penetrated the sensitive foot, causing a
most dangerous injury. The best brands of machine-
made nails, now generally used, are remarkably free from
this defect.

No lameness resulting from injury by a nail should
be neglected. If detected and attended to at once, few
cases are serious. If neglected, the very simplest may
end in permanent damage to the horse. By treating these
accidents as unpardonable, horse-owners rather encourage
farriers to disguise them or not to acknowledge them. If
the workman would always be careful to search for injury,
and when he found it acknowledge the accident, many
simple cases would cease to develop into serious ones.
Frank acknowledgment is always best, but is less likely
to take place when it is followed by unqualified blame than
when treated as an accident which may have been accom-
panied by unavoidable difficulties.

From Clips lameness may arise. A badly drawn clip
is not easily laid level and flat on the wall. When

124 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

hammered down excessively, it causes pressure on the
sensitive foot, and lameness. When side clips are used —
one each side of the foot — it is not difficult to cause lame-
ness by driving them too tightly against the wall. They
then hold the hoof as if in a vice. When shoes get loose
or are partially torn off, the horse may tread on the clip,
and if it be high and sharp, very dangerous wounds
result.

From the Shoe, injury results from any uneven pres-
sure, especially when the horny covering of the foot is
weak and thin. The horn becomes broken and split, and
the bearing for a shoe is more or less spoiled. Flat feet
are liable to be bruised by the pressure of the inner
circumference of the shoe at the toe. Lameness from
this cause is easily detected by removing the shoe and
testing the hoof with the pincers. If attended to at once,
and the bearing of the shoe removed from the part, little
injury results. If neglected, inflammatory changes in the
sensitive parts are sure to arise.

Corns in horses are due to bruising of the angle of the
sole by the heel of the shoe. A wide, open foot with low
heels is most likely to suffer, but any foot may be injured.
The most common seat of injury is the inner lieel
of a fore-foot. Even a properly fitted shoe may cause
a corn if retained too long upon a foot, as then, owing
to the growth of the hoof, its extremity is carried forward
from beneath the wall so as to press upon the sole.
A short shoe, fitted too close on the inside, is the most
common cause of corn. To guard against the shoe
being trodden on by the opposite foot, the inside is
generally fitted close, and to guard against being trodden
on by the hind foot, it is often fitted short. Thus to pre-
vent accidents of one kind methods are adopted which,
being a little overdone, lead to injury of another. A not
uncommon error in the preparation of the foot for
shoeing may also lead to the production of the so-called
corn. If the wall on the inside heel be lowered more than

INJURIES FROM SHOEING.

125

it should be, the horn of the sole is left higher than the
wall, and then a level shoe presses unevenly upon the
higher part.

A corn, be it remembered, is not a tumour or a growth,
it is merely a bruise of the sensitive foot under the horn
of the sole. It shows itself by staining the horn red, just
as a bruise on the human body shows the staining of the
skin above it. To "cut out a corn" with the idea of
removing it is simply an ignorant proceeding. If a corn
be slight, all that is necessary is to take off the pressure
of the shoe, and this is assisted by removing a thin slice
or two of horn at the part. When the injury is very
great, matter may be formed under the horn, and, of
course, must be let out by removal of the horn over it.
Provided there is no reason to believe that matter has
formed, a corn, i.e., the bruised and discoloured horn,
should not be dug- out in the ruthless manner so com-
monly adopted. Cutting away all the horn of the sole at
the heels leaves the wall without any support. When
the shoe rests upon the wall it is unable to sustain the

Fig. 98. — Three-quarter Shoe.

weight without yielding, and thus an additional cause of
irritation and soreness is manufactured. The excessive
paring of corns is the chief reason of the difficulty of
getting permanently rid of them. The simplest device for

126 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

taking all pressure off a corn is to cut off an inch and a
half of the inner heel of the shoe. AVith the three-quar-
ter shoe (Fig. 98) a horse will soon go sound, and his foot
will then resume its healthy state. The saying "once a
corn, always a corn " is not true, but it is true that a
bruised heel is tender and liable to bruise again, from
very slight unevenness of pressure, for at least three
months. All that is necessary is care in fitting and
abstention from removal of too much horn at the part.
Of course, when the degree of lameness is such as to
suggest that matter is formed, the horn must be cut
away, so as to afford an exit for it, but the majority of
corns are detected long before the stage of suppuration
has resulted from a bruise.

A Burnt Sole. — In fitting a hot shoe to a foot it
sometimes happens that the sensitive parts under the
sole at the toe are injured by heat. This is most likely
to occur with a foot on which the horn is thin, especially
if it also be flat or convex. Burning the sole is an injury
which must be put down to negligence. It does not
occur from the shoe being too hot, but from its being too
long retained, and may be expected when the fireman is
seen holding a dull- red hot shoe on to a foot, with a
doorman assisting to "bed it in" by pressing it to the
foot with a rasp. AVhen the heat of a shoe penetrates
through the horn with sufficient intensity to blister the
sensitive parts of the foot, great pain and lameness
result. In many cases, separation of the sole from the
"quick" takes place, and some weeks pass before the
horse can resume work.

Treads are injuries to the coronet caused by the
shoe of the opposite foot, and are usually found on the
front or inside of the hind feet. The injury may take
the form of a bruise and the skin remain unbroken ; it
may appear as a superficial jagged wound ; or it may take
the form of a tolerably clean cut, in which case, although

INJURIES FROM SHOEING. 127

at first bleeding is very free, ultimate recovery is rapid.
Bruises on the coronet — just where hair and hoof meet-
are always to be looked upon as serious. The slighter
cases, after a few days' pain and lameness, pass away,
leaving only a little line showing where the hoof has
separated from the skin. This separation is not serious
unless a good deal of swelling has accompanied it, and
even then only time is required to effect a cure. In more
serious cases an extensive slough takes place, and the
coronary band, which secretes the wall, may be damaged.

The worst cases are those in which deep seated abscesses
occur, as they often terminate in a " quittor." The
farrier should always recognize a tread as possibly dan-
gerous, and obtain professional advice.

It is a common custom to rasp away the horn of the
wall immediately beneath any injury of the coronet, but
it is a useless proceeding, which weakens the hoof and
does no good to the inflamed tissues above or beneath.

Treads are most common in horses shod with heavy
shoes and high calkins — a fact which suggests that a low,
square calkin and a shoe fitted not too wide at the heels is
a possible preventive."

*' Cutting" or '* Brushing."

By these terms is meant the injury to the inside of the
fetlock joint which results from bruising by the opposite
foot. Possibly some small proportion of such injuries are
traceable to the system of shoeing, to the form of shoe, or
to the action of the horse. They are, with few exceptions,
the direct result of want of condition in the horse and are
almost confined to young horses, old, weak horses, or
animals that have been submitted to some excessively
long and tiring journey. The first thing a horse-owner
does when his horse " brushes " is to send him to the far-
rier to have his shoes altered. In half the cases there is
nothing wrong with the shoes, and all that is required is a
little patience till the horse gains hard condition. At the
commencement of a coaching season, half the horses

128 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

" cut " their fetlocks, no matter how they are shod. At
the end of the season, none of them touch the opposite
joint, with perhaps a few exceptions afdicted with defec-
tive formation of limb, or constitutions that baffle all
attempts at getting hard condition. The same thing is
seen in cab and omnibus stock. All the new horses " cut "
their legs for a few weeks. The old ones, with a few
exceptions, work in any form of shoe, but never touch
their joints. They "cut" when they are out of condi-
tion— when their limbs soon tire ; but they never " cut "
when they are in condition — when they have firm control
of the action of their limbs. There are, however, a few
horses that are always a source of trouble, and there are
conditions of shoeing which assist or prevent the injury.
The hind legs are the most frequently affected, and this
because of the calkins. Many horses will cease " cutting "
at once if the calkins of the shoes be removed and a level
shoe adopted.

Fig. gg.— " Knocked-up " Shoes— with or without an inner Calkin.

There are certain forms of shoe which are supposed to be
specially suitable as preventives. A great favourite is the
"knocked-up shoe," i.e., a shoe with no nails on the inside,
except at the toe, and a skate-shaped inner branch.

INJURIES FROM SHOEING. 129

These shoes are fitted not only close to the inner border
of the wall, but within it, and the horn at the toe is then
rasped off level with the shoe. Whether they are of any
use is a question, but there is no question of the harm
they do to the foot. Some farriers are partial to a three-
quarter shoe — one from which a couple of inches of the
inside heel has been removed. Some thicken the outside
toe, some the inside toe. Some raise one heel, some the
other, and some profess to have a principle of fitting the
shoe based upon the formation of a horse's limb and the
peculiarity of his action. If in practice success attended
these methods, I should advise their adoption, but my
experience is that numerous farriers obtain a special name
for shoeing horses that " cut," when their methods,
applied to quite similar cases, are as antagonistic as the
poles. A light shoe without calkins has at any rate nega-
tive properties — it will not assist the horse to injure him-
self. For all the other forms and shapes I have a pro-
found contempt, but as people will have changes, and as
the most marked departure from the ordinary seems to
give the greatest satisfaction, it is perhaps " good
business " to supply what is appreciated.

The two great cures for " cutting " are — regular work
and good old beans. When a man drives a horse forty
miles in a day at a fast pace he, of course, blames the
farrier for all damage to the fetlocks. He is merely
illogical.

Over= Reaching.

This is an injury to the heel — generally the inner — of a
front foot. The heel is struck by the inner border of the
toe of the hind shoe. Over-reach mostly occurs at a
gallop in this country, but is seen in America as the result
of a mis-step in the fast trotters. An over-reach can only
occur when the fore-foot is raised from the ground and
the hind foot reaches right into the hollow of the fore-
foot. When the fore and hind feet in this position
separate, the inner border of the toe of che hind shoe

130 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING

catches the heel of the fore-foot and cuts off a shce. This
cut portion often hangs as a flap, and when it does, the

Fig. 100. — Toe of hind shoe showing the edge which cuts the heel of fore-foot.

attachment is always at the back, showing that the injury
was not from behind forwards, as it would be if caused by
a direct blow, but from before backwards ; in other words,
by a dragging action of the hind foot as it leaves the front
one. An over-reach, then, may result either from the fore-
limb being insufficiently extended, or from the hind-limb
being over extended.

The prevention of this injury is effected by rounding off
the inside edge of the hind shoe as shown below.

Fig. loi. — Toe of hind shoe showing rounded inside border.

Speedy-Cut.

This is an injury inflicted on the inner surface of the
lower part of the knee joint by a blow from the toe of the
shoe of the opposite foot. It occurs at a trot, and very

INJURIES FROM SHOEING. 131

seldom except when a horse is tired or over-paced. A
horse that has once '* speedy-cut " is apt to do so again,
and it may cause him to fall. Such horses should be
shod " close " on the inside, and care should be taken that
the heel of the foot which strikes should be kept low. In
some cases, a three-quarter shoe (see Fig. 98) on the
offending foot prevents injury.

*' Forging" or "Clacking."

This is not an injury, but an annoyance. It is the
noise made by the striking of the hind shoe against the
front as the horse is trotting. Horses " forge " when
young and green, when out of condition, or tired. As a
rule, a horse that makes this noise is a slovenly goer, and
will cease to annoy when he gets strength and goes up to
his bit. Shoeing makes a difference, and in some cases
at once stops it. The part of the front shoe struck is the
inner border round the toe. (Fig. 102). The part of the

Fig. 102.— Toe of fore shoe. The arrows mark the place struck in " forging."

hind shoe that strikes is the outer border at the inside
and outside toe. (Fig. 103).

To alter the fore shoe, round off the inner border ; or
use a shoe with no inner border, such as the concave
hunting shoe. To alter the toe of the hind shoe is useless,
but by using a level shoe without calkins some advantage
is gained. A so-called " diamond-toed " shoe has been
recommended. It is not advisable, as it does no good.

132 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

except by causing its point to strike the sole of the front
foot. If by such a dodge the sound is got rid of, it is only
by running the risk of injuring the foot.

Fig. 103. — Toe of hind shoe showing the edge which strikes the fore shoe.

Tig. 104.— Toe ot fore shoe with inner border bevelled oft.

SHOEING BAD FEET. 133

Chapter X.

Shoeing Bad Feet.

Any average farrier can shoe without immediate harm
a good, well-formed foot that has a thick covering of horn,
but when the horn is deficient in quantity or quality
injury soon takes place if a badly fitted shoe be applied.
There are feet which from disease or accident or bad shoe-
ing have become, more or less, permanently damaged.
Some are seriously altered in shape. Some are protected
only by an unhealthy horn, and some show definite
changes which cause weakness at a special part. These
are the feet which really test the art of the farrier, for he
must know just what to do and what not to do, and must
possess the skill to practice what he knows.

Flat Feet. — Some horses are born with flat feet, others
acquire them as the result of disease. Too often the flat
sole has another defect accompanying it — low, weak heels.
Such feet are best shod with a seated shoe so as to avoid
any uneven pressure on the sole, and the shoes should
always be fitted a little longer than the bearing-surface of
the foot, so as to avoid any risk of producing a bruise at
the heel — in other words, of causing a corn. The seated
shoe is not advisable on a hunter. The concave shoe used
for hunters has many distinct advantages and only one
disadvantage for a flat foot, viz., that it has a wide, flat
foot-surface. It may cause an uneven pressure at the toe
on a flat sole, but this is easily avoided by not making it
too wide ; perhaps the very worst thing to do with a flat
foot is to try and make it look less flat by paring it down.
The thinner the horn the greater the chance of injury to

134 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

the sensitive parts under it, and every injury tends to
make the sole weaker. Leaving the sole strong and thick,
whilst fitting the shoe to avoid uneven pressure, is the
principle of shoeing to be adopted with flat feet.

Convex Soles. — The sole of the foot should be concave,
but as the result of disease many feet become convex.
This bulging or "dropping" of the sole varies in degree
from a little more than flat to an inch or so below the
level of the wall. When the under-surface of a horse's
foot resembles in form the outside of a saucer, fitting a
shoe becomes a work of art. Very often the wall is brittle
and broken away, and it is most difficult to find sufficient
bearing-surface on the foot for a shoe. Many of these
feet may be safely shod with a narrow shoe that rests only
on the wall and the intermediate horn between the wall
and sole. Such a shoe may, according to the size of the
foot, be five-eights or even three-quarters of an inch wide.
Its thickness is to be such as will prevent the sole taking
any direct bearing on the ground, and sometimes a shoe
of this form is much thicker than it is wide. The advan-
tage of this shoe is that it is so narrow that any bearing
on the sole is avoided. The disadvantage is that on rough
roads the sole may be bruised by the flint or granite
stones. When the horn of a "dropped " sole is very thin,
or when the horse has to work on roads covered with
sharp, loose, stones, some cover for the sole is necessary,
and the narrow shoe is not practicable. To provide cover

Improper bearfng-surface. Fig. 105. A level bearing-surface.

for the sole, the web of the shoe has to be wide, and there-
fore the foot-surface of the shoe must be seated out, so as
to avoid contact with the sole. Too often the seating is

SHOEING BAD FEET. 135

continued from the inner to the outer border of a shoe,
so that no level bearing- surface is provided for the w^all
to rest on. This kind of shoe is like the hollow of a
saucer, and, w^hen applied to a foot, is certain to cause
lameness sooner or later. Each time the horse rests his
w^eight on it the hoof is compressed by the inclined sur-
face of the shoe, which, instead of providing a firm bear-
ing-surface, affords only an ingenious instrument of
torture.

In even the worst of these deformed feet some good,
sound horn is to be found at the heels, where an inch, or
sometimes two, can be utilized for level bearing. No
matter how much seating is required at the toe and
quarters, the heel of the shoe may always be made level.

Fig. io6. — Box-seated Shoe.

What is called a " box-seated shoe " is now seldom
used. It is the only shoe which renders a horse useful
for work with the worst forms of convex soles. It is
difficult to make and fit. The horse with such a deformed
foot as to require it is never quite sound. Magistrates are
very much inclined to look upon all lameness as con-
stituting " cruelty " when cases are brought before them.
Horse-owners, therefore, seldom attempt to keep horses
with the worst form of convex soles at work, and farriers
are not required to provide shoes for them.

It cannot be too strongly urged that in the prepara-
tion of feet with bulging soles no horn is to be removed
from the sole. The toe is to be shortened, the heels

136

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

lowered proportionately, and the bearing-surface of the
wall made level with a rasp. At no place must the shoe
rest on the sole. In nearly every case, the toe is left too
long and the bearing taken upon it by the shoe only
increases the deformity. In many feet, a large slice

Fig. 107.

Deformity resulting

from laminitis.

Fig. 108. — Section showing

how iront of wall is separated

from sensitive laminae.

might be sawn off the toe with advantage, as the sensi-
tive foot is separated from the wall by a mass of diseased
horn which presses the wall at the toe forward. (Fig. 107.)

Sandcrack. — This is the name given to cracks in the
wall, which commence at the coronet and extend down-
wards. From their position at the toe, or at the side of
the hoof, they are sometimes called respectively " toe-
cracks " and " quarter- cracks." The crack may be very
slight and may exist without causing lameness. It may
appear suddenly, accompanied by great lameness and by
the issue of blood from between the edges of the divided
wall. These are grave cases which require surgical
attendance. Sandcracks are most commonly seen in dry,
brittle feet, and the horses most subject to them are those
employed in heavy draught work. Railway shunt-horses
and omnibus horses are very liable to be troubled with
sandcracks in the toe of the hind feet.

In shoeing for this defect, there are two things to avoid :
{a) not to place any direct pressure on the part ; (b) not

SHOEING BAD FEET.

137

to fit a shoe which will tend to force the crack open.
Following these lines, it is well not to put a clip exactly
over a crack. If at the toe, place a clip each side of the
crack, and never use calkins or high heels, which throw
the weigh forward. If at the quarter, avoid a spring-
heeled shoe which permits the downward movement of
the foot behind the crack and so forces it open. In all
cases, after fitting the shoe level to the foot, remove a little
more horn just below the crack, so as to relieve the direct
bearing on the part. (Fig. 109.)

Fig. log. — Horn removed to Fig. no. — Bearing relieved at wrong place
prevent pressure. by " springing " the heel.

In the case of a crack extending the whole space of the
wall, some provision should always be made to keep it

Fig. III. — French clip in quarter.

Fig. 112. — Clips in toe.

from opening, because every step of the horse, especially
when drawing a load, causes an outward pressure at the
coronet. This pressure forces the hoof apart, and the
injury caused does not cease with the pain and lameness
which follow, and which may be temporary. Doubtless,
the original cause of a sandcrack is some morbid condi-
tion of the coronary band — the band from which the

138

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

wall grows. The sensitive laminae are at first not affected

further than by the inflamma-
tion consequent upon the direct
tearing which occurs when the
crack takes place. The con-
tinued irritation, kept up by a
persistent fissure in the horn
covering the laminae, soon
causes other serious changes
which tend to make the sand-
crack a permanent disease.
Thus, even the smallest crack
should be attended to and
measures adopted to prevent its
enlargement, or, when exten-
sive, to limit all opening and
shutting movement of the hoof.

This is sometimes attempted
by a simple leather strap tightly
applied, or by binding the foot
with string or tape. Tape is
less liable to slip than string.
When the hoof is sufficiently
thick, two nails may be driven
in opposite directions transver-
sely through the crack and
clinched ; or French sandcrack-
clips (Figs. Ill and 112) maybe
used, which are easily applied.
The instruments necessary are
shown in Fig. 113. The iron (&)
Fig. „3 is made red-hot and pressed on

the hoof across the crack, so as
to burn a groove each side of it. Into these grooves the
clip (a) is put, and the pincers (c) are then used to com-
press the clip firmly into its place. There is a strain
upon the clips, and sometimes one breaks. It is there-
fore necessary always to use two, and for an extensive
crack three may be employed.

shop:ing bad feet. 139

All these appliances tend to keep the lips of the crack
from separating, but they do not prevent the edges of a
deep, wide crack from being forced together, and thus
pinching the sensitive parts. To provide against this
injury, a slip of hard wood may be fitted into the crack,
and then the nails or clips may be more safely drawn
tight without fear of injury, and with a better chance of
preventing any movement in the edges of the crack. To
insert the wood, the crack is converted into a groove
nearly as deep as the wall, about three-eighths of an inch
wide, with straight sides, or better still, with a little
greater width at the bottom than at the surface. Into
such a groove, a piece of wood formed to fit it is gently
driven from below and rasped off to fit exactly. Or soft-
ened gutta-percha may be pressed firmly into the space
and levelled off when cold.

To "cutout" a sandcrack, except for the purpose of
refilling it, is bad practice ; it favours movement and helps
to make the defect permanent. To rasp away the horn
so that only a thin layer is left is also injurious. No horn

Fig. 114. — Shoe with heel clips for sandcrack.

should be removed, except for the fitting of a plug, as
above described, or, under veterinary direction, for the
purpose of giving vent to matter which has formed within
the hoof.

In many European countries, a shoe is used for toe-
cracks which has two clips drawn on the inside border of

140 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

the shoe at the heels. These cHps catch the bars of the
hoof and prevent the heels of the foot closing in. The
idea is that when the wall at the heels contracts, there is
a tendency for the wall at the toe, if separated by a
crack, to open. Fig. 114 shows the position of the clips,
which must be carefully fitted, so as to rest on the inside
of the bars. Mr. Willis, V.S., has tried the shoes and
speaks well of their utility.

When the crack is in the quarters of the foot, it is not
the tendency to expansion of the hoof that has to be
guarded against. It is the downward motion of the
heels that forces open a crack in this position. The
farrier provides against this by taking care to have a
firm bearing of the shoe on the hoof behind the crack, as
shown in Fig. 109.

Contracted Feet. — Some diseases of the foot lead to
contraction of the hoof, which is most noticeable round
the coronet and at the heels. Any long continued lame-
ness, which prevents the horse placing the usual weight
on the foot, may be accompanied by contraction. Con-
stant cutting away of the bars and paring the frog, so
that it takes no contact with the ground, also leads to
shrinking in of the heels. By lowering the heels and
letting the frog alone, many feet will in time widen out
to their proper size, but no system of shoeing is so good
for contracted feet as the use of tips, which leave the
whole back part of the hoof to take direct bearing on the
ground.

Many shoes have been invented for forcing open the
heels of contracted feet. Some have had a hinge at the
toe and a moveable screw at the heel. Some have had
the bearing-surface at the heels made with a slope out-
wards (see Fig. 39, page 6G), so that the weight of the
horse should constantly tend to force the heels apart.
There is no necessity for any of these contrivances. A
properly fitted tip (see Fig. 89 page 110) will permit the
hoof gradually to expand to its healthy size and form.

SHOEING BAD FEET. 141

Seedy-Toe. — This is a condition of the wall usually
found at the toe, but not uncommon at the quarters. It
is not common in hind feet, but occurs sometimes. When
the shoe is removed, a separation is noticed between the
sole and the wall, and this separation may extend up the
wall nearly to the coronet. As a rule, the space so
formed is a narrow one, but it may be wide enough to
admit three fingers of a man's hand. Probably all seedy
toes result from some injury or disease of the coronary
band, from which the wall grows, and the first appear-
ance is not a cavity, but a changed and softened horn,
which may be dry and crumbly, or moist and cheesy.
The diseased horn may be scraped out and the cavity
filled with tar and tow. The wall bounding the cavity
should be relieved of all pressure on the shoe, and if a
radical cure be desired, all the unattached wall should be
cut away. This, however, should be done under veter-
inary guidance.

Turning in of the Wall. — By this expression, I mean
those cases of weak, low heels in which the border of the
wall turns inwards. Such a form of horn offers no
suitable bearing, and if submitted to pressure by a shoe,
gets worse. Too often this condition is treated by paring
away the sole within, which increases the deformity.
The sole should not be cut, but be left as strong as
possible. The curled- in border of the wall should be cut
down and all bearing taken off the shoe. In one or two
shoeings, the wall will resume its proper form. When
both heels are so affected, and the horse has to remain at
work, only one heel must be treated at a time. The
extreme point of the heel is never affected and affords a
point for bearing when the border of wall in front of it is
cut away, so as not to touch the shoe.

Twisted-Feet. — There are many feet of irregular shape,
some natural to the horse — born with it — some caused by
neglect or by bad shoeing. Very little can be done by the

142 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

farrier to improve a natural badly formed foot. The
"twisted" foot that results from negligence may be
remedied or at least much improved by care in shoeing.
The wall of the foot is constantly growing, and under
normal conditions grows at the same rate all over. As
it grows it follows a certain direction in accordance with
the form of the bone within the hoof. If one side of the
hoof be allowed to long remain higher than the other side,
the weight of the horse is unevenly distributed and the
growing horn is deflected from its proper line. The
higher side receives the most pressure and the foot is
canted over. If the inner side of a hoof be left too high,
the tendency is for it to come in at its lower border whilst
the outer side is pushed outwards. If the outer side be
left too high there is not such a tendency to turn in,
because the outer side is always more inclined outwards
than the inner, and the result of excessive pressure is
simply to unnaturally increase the outer bulge of the
border. The direction of the twist depends upon the
height of the sides of the hoof, but it is modified by the
original direction of the horn and also by the form of the
limb, especially by that part from the fetlock downwards.
When a hoof is permitted to remain twisted for many
months a permanent deformity results, as the bone within
becomes altered in form by absorption due to pressure.
Such cases cannot be cured, but they may be prevented
from getting worse. It is obvious that when once the
wall of a foot has become deflected from its proper course
the evil rapidly increases, because the weight of the animal
is constantly acting to aggravate the condition. Too
often no notice is taken of a twisted foot until it is too
late to bring it back to the natural form.

The first thing to do with this deformity is to lower the
higher side of the hoof with the rasp. If the whole foot
be overgrown both sides must be lowered, but if there is
very little excess of horn the lower side should not have
any removed. It must not be attempted to make a
twisted foot level at one shoeing. The alteration requires

SHOEING BAD FEET.

143

growth of horn, and the over-lowering must be repeated
at two or three consecutive shoeings to bring about a
gradual return to healthy form. In Figs, 115, 116, I have
attempted to show a normal foot and a twisted one. In

Fig. 115. — Normal Foot.

Fig. 116.— Twisted Foot.

Fig. 117.— Sections.

Normal Foot and Shoe.

Twisted Foot and Shoe.

Fig. 117 the same feet are indicated in section to show
how shoes should be applied. Instead of making the
border of the shoe follow the border of the wall with
exactness we alter the fitting considerably. Where the
wall is turned inwards towards the centre of the foot we
fit the shoe prominently full, so as to bring the base upon
which the limb rests as near as possible to the position it
would occupy were the foot normal. On the side where

144 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

the wall deviates away from the centre of the foot we fit
the shoe as close as safety in driving nails will allow, and
rasp off the too prominent border of wall. Thus the
bearing for the horse is brought more into the proper
position, and pressure on the growing wall is so distributed
that a return to the natural form of hoof is permitted and
assisted.

Leather and rubber pads. 145

Chapter XI.
Leather and Eubber Pads.

In the days when farriers were driven by theoretical
teachers to pare out the soles and otherwise rob the foot
of its natural covering of horn, artificial protection had
frequently to be given to the foot. A horse with a thin
sole could not travel over rough roads, on which sharp,
loose stone were plentiful, without great risk of injury ;
consequently, in those times, plates of leather were often
used to protect the foot. When a horse went " a little
short " his owner not unnaturally concluded that he had
bruised his foot, and that the protection of a leather sole
would be beneficial. In many cases, the defective action
was due to other cause than bruising", but still the leather
was adopted, and it soon became an accepted theory that
leather soles modified concussion and protected the foot
from jar. This is more than doubtful, and I hold a very
firm opinion that a plate of leather between the shoe and
the foot has no such effect, whilst it interferes with the
exactness of fit of the shoe. " Leathers " are useful on
weak feet to protect a thin or defective sole from injury.
When the under surface of a foot has been bruised, cut
through, or when it is diseased, leather offers a useful pro-
tection, but when the sole is firm and sound, it is quite
unnecessary.

To apply leather properly, a square piece fully the size
of the shoe is taken. A portion is then cut out where the
clip has to fit, and all protruding parts cut away level with
the border of the shoe. If applied without more precau-
tions, an open space would be left between leather and
sole, into which mud and grit would find their way, and
the leather would soon be cut through by resting on the

146 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

irregular surface of the frog. To prevent this mischief,
the under surface of the foot is made level before the
shoe is applied. The levelling'is managed by spreading a
paste of tar and oatmeal over the sole, and filling up the
space at each side of the frog with tow. Then the shoe,
with the leather, is nailed on in the usual manner.

The belief in leather as an anti-concussive appliance
has led to the use of what are called "ring-leathers."
These are not plates covering the whole under-surface of
the foot, but narrow bands fixed between shoe and hoof.
They are absolutely useless ; in fact, their only possible
effect is to spoil the fit of the shoe. Plates of india-rubber
have been tried between the shoe and the foot as preven-
tives of concussion. They invariably fail by reason of
their effect upon the shoe. At each step when the
weight of the horse comes on the foot, the elastic rubber
yields, the shoe is pressed closer to the foot, the nails are
loosened, and when the foot is raised the rubber rebounds.
The shoe soon becomes so loose that it is cast or torn off.
Nothing elastic should be placed between shoe and foot.
When an elastic or spring is applied it must be between
the shoe and the ground.

Various arrangements have been adopted to supply the
horse's foot with some provision against concussion.
Injured and diseased feet may no doubt be benefitted by
some elastic appliance, which secures them from the jar
of contact on a hard road. They may be protected against
direct bruise. The healthy foot requires no such protec-
tion. Nature has covered it with a thick layer of horn
and has provided against concussion by quite other means
— by the co-ordinate action of muscles, by the oblique
position of the pastern, and by the construction of the
back part of the foot.

Quite apart from any attempt to prevent concussion, a
valuable use has been found tor india-rubber pads in con-
nection with horse-shoeing. The improvement in modern
road-surfaces has been accompanied by an increased
facility for slipping, and it has been found that no material

LEATHER AND RUBBER PADS.

147

gives such security of foot-hold on smootli surfaces as
india-rubber.

The earliest of these contrivances with which I am
acquainted was formed so as to leave the frog uncovered
whilst a bearing of rubber was given all round the inner
circumference of the shoe. This pad had a wide, flat
border, which fitted under the shoe, with which it was
nailed on the foot. Its great objection was that it could
not be nicely fitted on many feet without first cutting away
the bars.

Then we had rubber pads which were not nailed on
with the shoe, but which fitted into the shoe and were
removed at will. The objection to these was that they
could only be used with a seated shoe and could not be
applied with a narrow shoe or one possessing a flat foot-
surface.

The next foim to appear was a leather sole on which

Fig. ii8. — Frog-pad.

an artificial frog was fixed. Great difficulty was at first
experienced in fixing this frog so that it remained firm.
The difficulty has not yet been surmounted by all makers,
but Mr. G. Urquhart, of London, makes a most reliable
article. These " frog-pads " certainly give a very good
foot-hold on all kinds of paved streets.

A pad of very elegant appearance is " Sheather's Pneu-
matic." It is not solid like the ordinary frog-pad, but
hollow, and is compressed at each step, but immediately
resumes its prominent form on being relieved of pressure.

148

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOElNG.

Fig. iig. — Sheather's-pad.

One of the simplest anti-slipping pads is " Balls and
Keep's wedge-pad." It possesses one advantage in not
covering up the whole under-surface of the foot. When
properly fitted, it is firmly retained and does its work, but
a careless farrier may so apply it that it shifts on the foot.
To fit it exactly, the wall of the back part of the foot
must be lowered more than that in front, so that shoe, foot
and pad may all be closely adjusted.

What is called the " bar-pad " is a leather plate on
which an india-rubber pad occupies the whole of the back

Fig. 120.— Bar-pad with shoe.

Fig. 3I2I.— Without shoe.

portion, and it is fixed to the foot with a short shoe. This
pad is not only an anti-slipping agent, it is anti-concussive,
and for some diseases and some injuries of the heels is a

LEATHER AND RUBBER PADS. 149

most valuable appliance. For long-standing " corns," for
cases of chronic laminitis, and for horses that markedly
" go on their heels " the bar-pad is without doubt the most
efficient arrangement yet invented. The best are made by
Mr. Urquhart.

All these pads increase the cost of shoeing, but what
they save, by preventing falls and injuries to the horse
and fear and anxiety to the driver, far more than
balances the account in their favour. The cost, however,
is an item, and inventors have turned their attention to
the production of some other methods of applying rubber
in connection with the shoe for the prevention of slipping.

Shoes have been manufactured into which cavities of
different forms and sizes have been made. These are
filled by correspondingly shaped pieces of rubber. The
cavity must be so formed as to retain the rubber, and
this renders the manufacture very difficult, except by the
employment of malleable cast-iron shoes. This is a great
disadvantage.

Another plan is to make from rolled bar iron a
hollow shoe, section of which would be U-shaped, but
level to the foot. Into the groove so formed, a thick
cord of rubber is placed after the shoe is nailed on the
foot. This wears well and affords good foot-hold, but it
entails the serious objection that the nails are difficult to
drive and far from being so safe as in the ordinary shoe.
If rubber is ever to be available in a grooved shoe, it
should be designed so that the nails and nail-holes are
not interfered with. This would require two separate
grooves in the shoe — something of the form now adopted
in the Rod way bar. The outer groove would, as usual,
take the nails, whilst the inner would hold the rubber.
Writing to Land and Water in 1870 I suggested this
combination of iron and rubber as likely to afford the
best shoe for the prevention of slipping — if some inventor
would show us how to fix the rubber securely after the
shoe has been fitted. Fig. 122, which I am allowed to
produce by the courtesy of the owners, represents a

150

The art of horseshoeinC.

patented shoe — the " Martin " — for which success is
claimed. I have no experience of its use, but I see no
reason why it should not be developed into a good practical
shoe. Like the Rod way, the Martin is made from a bar
in which parallel grooves are rolled. The requisite length
for a shoe is cut off, turned round and fitted to the foot.
Then the rubber is placed in the inner groove and fixed by
hammering up the heels and the inner ridge of iron. A
good workman, with a little practice, is able to fix the
rubber securely, but there is a difficulty in turning the shoe

Fig. 122.— The " Martin " Shoe.

from the bar without buckling the grooves and ridges.
To bring the shoe into regular use it should be saleable to
the trade in shoe form, so that only fitting would be re-
quired before inserting the rubber. Fixing the rubber by
hammering is a method apt to spoil the fit of a shoe, and
I should much prefer some mechanism by which the shoe
was firmly held whilst gradual pressure closed the walls of
the groove upon the rubber. Whilst I should like to see
some combination of iron and rubber for the ground-sur-
face of a shoe, I must insist that the exactness of fit of the
foot-surface is the great essential.

OCCASIONAL SHOES. 151

Chapter XII.

Occasional Shoes.

The Bar Shoe differs from the ordinary in being-
joined at the heels by a bar which takes a bearing on the
frog. In making it care is required to prevent spreading
at the heels when the bar is welded, as after that very
little alteration can be made in its width.

Fig. 123.— Bar Shoe.

Far too much value has been placed upon this shoe,
which has nothing to recommend it except its bearing on
the frog. It has been widely used on horses with convex
soles resulting from laminitis. Such horses go on their
heels, and the shoe is thinned at heel and toe so as to give
a " rocker " motion to the foot. Unless these cases have
weak heels or corns an ordinary shoe fitted in the same
way is equally beneficial.

Where the bar-shoe is useful is on horses that have heels
incapable of taking their proper amount of bearing. In

152 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

cases of corn which have suppurated, and in cases of false-
quarter, reHef is aiforded to the heels by taking a bearing
on the frog. In some cases, when a " seedy " foot shows
separation from the quarters back to the heel, the part may
be relieved of pressure by a bar-shoe which takes a bearing
on the frog.

The bar-shoe is also useful when it is desired to retain
some medicated dressing in the heels. It is not a satis-
factory shoe for hunters, and it adds considerably to the
insecurity of foothold on stone-paved streets.

The "Patten" Shoe— This is a high-heeled shoe
wdth a bar connecting the heels. Its name is apparently
derived from some resemblance to " pattens " worn by old
women in wet weather. Its promiscuous use on lame
horses suggests that the name is not inappropriate — that
it is a favourite article with old women.

Fig. 124.— A Patten Shoe.

The only rational use of this shoe is to fix the foot in
such a position that the back tendons are relaxed. There
are doubtless cases of lameness in horses when the shoe
may be used with some good result ; but not every case of
sprain of the ligaments or tendons at the back of the leg
should be treated with a high-heeled shoe. One of the
worst results — and one of the most common — to be ex-
pected from sprain is contraction of the injured parts.
The prolonged use of a high-heeled shoe facilitates this
contraction, and affords very little more rest to a sprained
tendon than ahorse can give himself by flexing the knee.

OCCASIONAL SHOES.

153

The FitzWygram Shoe. — In " Horses and Stables "
by Genl. Sir F. FitzWygram, Bt., a shoe with a tnrned-np

Fig. 125. — FitzWygram Shoe — Ground Surface.

toe is strongly recommended. The accompanying figures
are copied from plates in that book and show a narrow

Fig. 126. — FitzWygram Shoe — Foot Surface.

shoe, concave on the ground surface, with the toe tnrned-
iip. For horses that stumble or strike the ground whilst
advancing the foot this shoe is useful, but for any other

154 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

horse its value is not evident. The way in which the toe
is turned is not easily mastered by a smith, and I do not
see any advantage in it over the simpler method noted on
page 102, Fig. 80.

The Hinged Shoe. — A shoe with a hinge at the toe
was first made with the idea of providing for the rythmic
expansion of the foot. Now it is used only as a handy
temporary article to be carried by a horseman in case of
a lost shoe. The hinge allows it to be closed or opened

Fig. 127. — A Hinged Shoe.

and so to fit more or less accurately different sized feet,
and even a fore or hind foot. To enable a man to nail on
this shoe more easily and safely each branch should have
five or six nail holes placed closely together, so that the
farrier may choose which to use when a hoof is much
broken.

An Expansion Shoe.— This is a curious result of mis-
placed ingenuity. The inventor desired to provide for an
expansion, which may be disregarded, and to do so has
placed two ordinary nail-holes at the toe whilst he replaced
the back nail-holes by slots in which the nail-head was
permitted a free lateral motion. If sufficient lateral move-

OCCASIONAL SHOES.

155

ment existed it is certain the nail-head could not have a
secure hold on the shoe, so unless the nail had a defective
hold its expansion action would be wanting.

Fig. 128. — An Expansion Shoe.

Expansion shoes are a fallacy. They seem based upon
the idea that contraction is an active process, whereas it is
simply a passive action and ought to be called shrinkage.
A healthy foot, if not interfered with, does not shrink.

Nailless Shoes. — Very various are the devices which
have been invented to evade the supposed evils of nails.
Not one has attained its object but by introducing evils
worse than those due to fixing a shoe by nails. A properly
driven nail, through a properly fitted shoe, is absolutely
harmless, and any substitute for nails should be at least as
effective and as free from harm. When horse's feet were
robbed of all the horn a farrier thought necessary to remove
for the purpose of making the hoof a pretty geometrical
figure, nails often did harm. So little sound horn was left
that very great skill was necessary to drive a nail in the
attenuated horn. In those days fine nail-holes were used
and shoes were fitted too close. Now that nail-holes are
properly placed, shoes fitted full to the foot, and all useful
horn carefully preserved, injuries from nails are uncommon.

156

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

The inventors of nailless shoes are men with no practical
knowledge of shoeing. They are able to recognise the
palpable injury inflicted by a wrongly driven nail, but they
seem entirely ignorant of the much more common injuries
due to badly fitted shoes. In all their circulars they ex-
hibit this ignorance by stating that their invention can be
fixed by anyone. They know nothing of the necessity of
the growing hoof being kept proportionate, or of the ex-
actness of fit required by a shoe on the bearing-surface of
the hoof. Their invention needs only a novice to attach
it to the foot — so they say !

The two most common methods by which inventors
have tried to supersede nailing are — {a) by clips on the
toe and quarters, (6) by metal bands running across the
front of the hoof and attached to the shoe on either side
towards the heels. The three following figures show a
nailless shoe in which a short sharp spike or stud is fixed
on the foot surface of the shoe in addition to the clips.

Fig. 129. (a). — Foot-surface of Nailless Shoe.

The spike assists to give firmness to the attachment. The
following directions are copied, with the figures.

OCCASIONAL SHOES.

157

" The Shoe is fixed in the following simple manner : —

I. Obtain a shoe of the correct size and should it not be
the exact shape of the hoof open or close the forks. This can
be done cold, there being so many sizes that only a very slight
alteration would ever be necessary.

Fig. 129 (c)— Section showing Spike (A) and Clip (B).

2. Put the Studs A — ^which are supplied loose in order to
obtain the exact contour of the hoof more easily, — in their holes
and fasten them. This is done by clenchmg the metal of the
Shoe C over the shoulder of the vStuds A with a blunt chisel
applied at E,

158

THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

3. The Shoe is then placed in position and a blow from
below causes the Studs A to become embedded in bottom of
the wall of the hoof.

4. The foot is then placed on the ground and the clips B
hammered up against the hoof without penetrating it. These
clips can be made to any desired pattern. A portion of the
outer waU of the hoof is thus wedged in between the clips
B and the Studs A, and the shoe is fixed."

It is a safe prophecy to say that this contrivance will
fail — as have all its predecessors. No security of hold can
be obtained by clips unless they are very strong and
hammered down so firmly as to cause lameness.

The Steel-band method of attachment is shown in Fig.
130. Some ingenuity has been displayed in the way in which
the band is attached to the shoe. Sometimes a single
long clip runs from the toe of the shoe upwards and is
bent over the band. In others two or three thin steel

Fig. 130. — A Nailless Shoe.

connections pass from the shoe to the band so as to give
steadiness. Very seldom does this plan give security
enough to prevent frequent loss of shoes. In the only case
in which I have seen shoes retained, a very much worse
injury to the hoof resulted than mere loss of shoe. The
band gradually wore a groove in the horn and as this groove
grew down with the hoof the time soon arrived when the
band could not be fixed,

OCCASIONAL SHOES.

159

Side-weights and Toe-weights.— The two shoes
shown in Figs. 131 and 132 are not much used in this coun-
try. They are beheved in by the trotting fraternity of the
United States, who imagine that some curious alterations in

Fig. 132. — Toe-weighted Shoe.

the action of horses can be effected by increasing or decreas-
ing the weight of iron at different parts of the shoe. No care-
ful experiments have been made to prove the theories ; but

160 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

when a horse has from any cause increased his pace on
the track and coincidently been shod with some cm'ious
pattern of shoe the credit has been given to the shoe.
When deahng with Hving animals great difficulty is ex-
perienced in tracing effects to causes. Horses, like men,
are affected by their surroundings, and by their internal
arrangements. Work, food, excitement, and constitu-
tional changes all affect the performances of animals, and
lead to the invention of theories to account for the varia-
tions. Without going so far as to assert that no shoe can
be relied upon to increase or decrease the length of stride
made by a horse during progression, I may say that until
careful experiments demonstrate the possibility I decline
to believe it. I also confess to a strong disbelief in the
ability of weighted shoes to widen the action. That heavy
shoes or weights on the hoof cause a horse to lift his feet
higher I know is a fact, and therefore young horses may
be trained by their aid to bend the knee and lift the foot.
The position of the weight of the shoe for this purpose is
immaterial and is best applied evenly over the whole shoe.
I willingly grant that effects are produced by means
which we adopt, but which we do not understand. If T
am convinced by empirical experience that a certain thing
causes a definite effect I accept the fact even if I am
unable to explain it. If toe or side weights were found by
experiments, carefully conducted, to do what they are
supposed to do I should acknowledge the fact, and might
try to find an explanation. But they do not. The facts
are contradictory and the explanations ridiculous. The
general acceptance of the queer-shaped shoes by the trot-
ting men is no argument in their favour. Horsemen are
among the most credulous of human beings, and never
more prone to accept error than when it is accompanied
by mystery.

Fig. 133 shows what is fancied by some persons to be
the acme of invention in toe weights. The weight can be
moved down to the shoe, up to the coronet or fixed any-

OCCASIONAL SHOES.

161

where between those two points. The idea that such pre-
cision is attainable in modifying a horse's action by shift-

Fig. 133. — A Moveable Toe Weight.

ing the weight half an inch is preposterous. The whole
thing is a piece of empiricism.

Mr. Jos. Cairn Simpson published a book at San
Francisco in 1883 on "Tips and Toe Weights." No
writer has approached the subject with more knowledge,
but his work is far from convincing. In his last chapter —
" Unsolved Problems " — he says, " "When I wrote the pre-
ceding chapters of the appendix, about two years ago, I
then thought I had a fair knowledge of weight on the feet
of horses. Now, after that length of time of study, obser-
vation and tests of many experiments, I am in doubt, and
in place of offering rules for the guidance of others, am
forced to admit a want of confidence to make statements
with any degree of authority." A few pages further is the
heading — " Side-weights Useless." His whole position is
summed up in the quotation from page 38 — " Weight is
advantageous in the education of many trotters, but I am
greatly in doubt of any benefit accruing after the schooHng
has progressed to a certain stage. Further than that, I
have faith that the trotter of the future will be relieved^
from the incumbrance of heavy masses of metal on the
feet, whether in the shape of shoes or weights."

In another work on shoeing, published in 1895, the
author — Mr. W. Kussell, of Cincinnati — attempts an

explanation of what he calls " balancing

a horse by

162 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEINC.

alterations of his shoes. He says — " Upon examination
it will be found that the fourteenth dorsal vertebra is the
pivot or axis around which the weight is poised — being the
centre of gravity. It is plain, therefore, that if the sym-
metry of the horse be affected either by disproportionate
construction, by acquired faults or by wrong shoeing, that
his centre of gravity is disturbed, that is, he is unbalanced.

When, therefore, a horse is found with some

fault the all important thing is to determine how he is
unbalanced, and proceed to distribute equally around the
centre of his gravitation the natural and acquired weights
he must carry. No general rule can be given for this."

All I need add to this remarkable mixture of ideas is
that the writer exhibits a want of even an elementary
knowledge of his subject.

I can find neither in practice nor in theory a single
reason to believe that toe-weights and side-weights on
shoes are more than the product of perverted ingenuity,
maintained in practice by ignorance and credulity.

SHOEING COMPETITIONS. 163

Chapter XIII.
Shoeing Competitions.

The Agricultural Societies that have made horse-
shoeing competitions a feature of their annual shows
have distinctly done good to the art. In those districts
which have had the benefit of those competitions for
many years past, horse-shoeing is best done. In those
districts where no competitions have been held, shoeing is
generally badly done. When the farrier takes a pride in
his work he is more careful with details. Provided proper
principles are adopted, no calling is more dependent upon
care in details for the best results than that of the farrier.
Competitions stimulate emulation amongst men. Public
appreciation, as displayed by the prominence given to the
art by the show authorities and by the admiring crowd
that generally assembles to see the men at work, en-
courages a feeling of responsibility and gratifies the natural
and honest pride of the workman. Very few trades have
suffered more from public neglect and indifference than
that of the farrier.

The success of a shoeing competition depends almost
entirely upon the secretary of a show, unless that officer
has amongst his stewards an energetic horseman who has
grasped the importance of good shoeing and who possesses
some organizing powers.

All the arrangements for the competition must be
completed before the work is commenced, and upon their
perfection depends the success of the whole thing. There
should, if possible, be two classes — one for heavy horses
and one for light horses. At large competitions, there
should also be a champion class. There are farriers who

164 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

travel from show to show and generally appear in the
prize list. This handicaps the local men, and is not
encouraging to those who have not quite risen to front
rank. The object of the competition is to improve the
work of the district, and it is quite a question whether the
rules should not exclude men who have taken, say, two
first prizes at any large competition. The only argument
in favour of letting the well-known smith who has taken
many prizes enter a competition is that his work may be
seen, examined, and imitated. By confining prize winners
to the champion class, this good would be attained ; at the
same time, more encouragement would be given to local
men.

At all times it is the young man who jnost readily yields
to teaching, and the competitions make no attempt to
cultivate the emulation of the younger men. In these days
when apprenticeship has almost fallen into disuse some
provision might well be made for bringing out the lads
working in farriers' shops. A class for young fellows under
twenty years of age would certainly do good. It would
inspire emulation and afford opportunity for seeing the
best work in the district.

The necessities for a competition include anvils, fires
tools, iron and horses.

For every five men there should be one anvil, with its
accompanying vice and forge. The anvil should be so
placed that the sun is not full on the face of the workman.
The exact relative position of anvil, vice and forge should
be entrusted to a practical farrier, and the whole placed
the night before they are wanted. Coal, nails and iron
should also be provided. If competitors are allowed to
bring their own iron or nails, some poor men may be placed
at a disadvantage, and the habitual competitor, versed in
every detail, is given an advantage. Each man should
bring all smaller tools he may want. In broken weather
a canvas roof should be supplied both for horses and work-
men. At all times, a temporary wooden floor should be
put down for the horses to stand upon . This should be a

SHOEING COMPETITIONS. 165

little longer than the line of anvils, so that each man has
his horse opposite his anvil. It should be at least twelve
feet deep, so that there is room enough behind and in
front of the horses for men to pass. On the side farthest
from the anvils a firm rail must be fixed, to which the
horse's halters may be tied, and outside of this — at least
six feet distant — should be another line of post and rails to
keep back spectators.

Horses have to be borrowed or hired, and one horse is
sufficient for two competitors. Care should be taken not
to have any horse with unusually bad feet. The most
suitable horses are those with over-grown hoofs. Under
no circumstances should a vicious or fidgety horse be
selected.

When time is not an object, the best test of a work-
man is to require him to make a fore and hind shoe and
put them on the horse. At a one-day show, or at a com-
petition when the entries are large, it is sufficient to
require the making of a fore and hind shoe and the fitting
and nailing on of the front one. A reasonable time should
be fixed, and undue haste should be deprecated.

There should always be two judges, who should be
supplied with books in which each division of the opera-
tion of shoeing should be separately marked. There are
only three important divisions of the subject : (1) Pre-
paration of the foot ; ('2) making the shoes ; and (3) fitting
and nailing on.

Sometimes these operations are marked separately for
fore and hind feet. I consider this quite unnecessary.
There is not sufficient difference either in principle or
detail to require each foot to be specially marked. The
judge, of course, notes everything in his mind, and it is
sufficient for him to estimate and mark the value of the
work under the three different operations. The great fault
I find with most competitions is that " the preparation "
of the foot for the shoe is not more strictly defined. The
competitors are permitted to mix up the " preparation "
and the "fitting." Some of them do nothing to the foot

166 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING.

until they commence to fit the shoe. This is wrong, and
every foot should be properly prepared — the bearing-surface
formed and the proportions of the hoof attended to — before
the fitting is attempted. A rule to this effect should be
added to the conditions in the schedule of the competition.
Each judge may perhaps be permitted to fix his own stand-
ard of marking, but a uniform system would be useful for
comparison. If the maximum be indicated by too small a
figure, difficulty often arises in exactly determining the
merits of men who have come out equal in the totals, and
there is too often, in a large class, a number whose marks
are about equal. The three operations — preparing the
foot, making the shoe, fitting and nailing on — are about
equal in value. A maximum of five points in each is too
small a number to make distinctive marking easy, but
there is nothing gained by adopting a higher maximum
than ten. A marking sheet for the judges of a shoeing
competition may be something in this form :

CLASS

No. of
Competitor.

Preparation
of feet.

Making
Shoes.

Fitting and
nailing on.

Total.

Remarks.

The stewards should see that each competitor has a
number, and that the same number is attached to the side
of the horse on which he works. The steward also should
take the time at which each batch of competitors com-
mences work and see that none exceed it.

Excessive rasping of shoes should be prohibited, and
the men should see the sizes and kinds of nails provided,
so that they may make their "fuller" and nail-holes
accordingly.

Shoeing competitions are almost entirely confined to
country districts. It is a great pity that they are not

SHOEING COMPETITIONS. 16?

attempted in large towns. The only difficulty is the
expense. It would well repay large horse-owners to sub-
scribe and support this method of improving the art.

In conclusion, I must say that the best of all ways to
improve the art is by giving practical instruction at the
anvil. A few lessons from a competent, practical teacher
are worth more than all books or lectures, as the work
has then to be done, errors are pointed out and corrected,
and reasons given for each step as it is attempted.

The Berkshire County Council has adopted a travelling
forge — the suggestion of Mr. Albert Wheatley, V.S., of
Reading — which is accompanied by an instructor and
passes from town to town and village to village. In this
way is supplied the tuition which used to be obtained by
apprenticeship to a good workman. Other County Coun-
cils should adopt this method.

[Since writing the paragraph recommending classes
for Apprentices at Competitions, I hear the Yorkshire Agri-
cultural Society have practically tried the idea and that it
has been attended with marked success. — W. H.J

THE END.

INDEX.

Action of the Foot
Advantages of Shoeing
Amateur Instructors

Bad Nail Holes

Bar Pad

Bar Shoes

Bars, the

Bearing Surface of Foot

Bearing Surface of Shoe

Binding by Nails

Blood-vessels

Bones of Foot

Box-seated Shoe

Bruised Heels

Brushing

Burnt Sole

Calkins

Carriage Horse Shoes

Cartilages of Foot

" Charlier " Shoe

Choice of Shoe

Clacking

Clinches

CHps

Close Fitting

Coarse Nail Holes

Coffin Bone

Cold Fitting

Competitions

Concave Shoe

Contracted Feet

Convex Soles

Corns

Coronary Band

Coronary Cushion

Cutting

Deformed Foot

Direction of Nail Holes
Disproportionate Foot
Drawing-knife
Dray-horse Shoes

32
6

77
148

123

25
135
124
128
126

107

131

102

104

163

140

134

124

127

136
76

43
40
88

INDEX.

Driving Nails
" Dropped " Sole

Effects of Foot on Leg .
Elastic Structures
Easing the Heels
Excessive Rasping
Expansion of Foot
Expansion of Shoes

Farriery, definition of
Feet, form of
Fine Nail Holes
Fitting the Shoe ...
Fitting Tips
FitzWygram Shoes
Flat Feet
Foals' Feet
Foot-surface of Shoe
Forging ...

Form and Action of Foot
Form of Shoes
French Clips
Frog, The

,, Point of

„ Cleft

,, Band, The
Frog-pad
Frog Pads
Frost Nails
Fullered Bar- iron
Fullered Shoe

Ground Surface of Shoe
Growth of Hoof

Hack Shoes
Hoof, Form of

,, Quality of

,, Growth of
High Heels
Hinged Shoes
Horn— its Properties
Horny Laminae
Hot Fitting
Hunting Shoes

Injuries from Shoeing
Injury from Clips
" Interfering "

112

134

57
28

155

91
105
153
133

131
32
60

137
15
15
16

17
29

147
116

68
22

84
10
10
22
44

154
24
12

103
82

122
124
128

INDEX.

Irregular Wear ... ... ... loi

" Knocked-up " Shoes ... ... ... 128

Laminae, Horny ... ... ... 12

,, Sensitive ... ... ... 19

Lateral Cartilages ... ... 28

Leather Soles ... ... ... 145

Length of Shoes ... ... 94

Long Toe ... ... ... 44

Machine-made Shoes ... ... 77

" Martin " Shoes ... ... ... 150

Model Bearing Surface ... ... 100

Moveable Toe- weight ... . ... 161

Movement of Hoof ... ... 35

Nail Holes ... ... ... 74

Nailing on Shoes ... ... in

Nailless Shoes ... ... ... 156

Nails, Form of ... ... ... 74

Narrow Feet ... ... ... 10

Navicular Bone ... ... ... 27

North of England Shoes ... ... 90

Notched Shoes ... ... 70

Omnibus Horse Shoes ... ... ... 87

One-sided Hoof ... ... ... 47

Opening the Heels ... ... ... 54

Outline Fitting ... ... ... 92

Overgrown Foot

Over-reaching ... .. ... 129

Over-reduction of Hoof ... ... 55

Pads for Horse Shoes ... ... 147

Paring the Sole • ... ... ... 53

" Patten " Shoes ... ... 152

Pedal Bone ... ... ... 26

Plantar Cushion ... ... ... 30

Pneumatic Pad ... ... ... 148

Position of Nail Holes ... ... 75

Preparation of Foot ... ... ... 37

Prepared Bar-iron ... ... 79

Prepared Feet ... ... ... 51

Pricking by Nails ... ... 122

Properties of Horn ... ... ... 24

Proportionate Foot, A ... ... 38

"Quick," The ... ... ... 18

Racing Plates ... ... 81

Rasp, The ... ... ... ... 40

INDEX.

Ridged Shoes ... ... ... 70

Ring Leathers ... ... ... 146

" Rodway " Shoe ... ... ... 69

Roughing ... ... ••• 114

Rubber Pads ... ... ... 147

Rubber and Iron Shoes ... ... 149

Sandcrack ... ... ... 137

Saucer-shaped Shoes ... ... ... 98

Scotch Cart Horses ... ... 90

Screw " Sharps " ... ... ... 119

Seated Shoes ... ... 65

Section of Foot ... ... •■■ 25

Seedy Toe ... ... ••■ 141

Selection of Shoes ... ... ... 80

Sensitive Foot, The ... ... 18

,, Laminae ... ... ... 19

„ Sole ... ... ... 21

Sharping Shoes ... ... ... 117

Shoeing Bad Feet ... ... 133

,, Competitions ... ... ... 163

„ Hacks ... ... . ... 82

,, Hunters ... ... ... 82

,, Racehorses ... ... 81

Shoeless Horses ... ... ... 6

Shoes for Vanners ... ... 87

Side-weights ... ... ... 159

Sole, The ... ... ... 14

,, Structure of ... ... ... 15

Speedy cut ... ... ... 130

Steeplechase Plates ... ... ... 81

Stumped-up Toe ... ... ... 52

Surface Fitting ... ... ... 95

Surface of Shoes ... ... ' ... 63

Tapping Shoes ... ... ... 120

Temporary Shoe ... ... 154

Theory of the Charlier System ... ... 108

Thickness of Wall ... ... 13

Thickness of Shoe ... ... ... 62

Three-quarter Shoe ... ... 125

Tips ... ... ... ... 105

Toe-pieces ... ... ... 89

Toe-weights ... ... ... 159

Toeing-knife ... ... ... 40

Treads ... ... ... ... 126

Treatment for Sandcrack ... ... 139

,, of Frog ... ... ... 49

,, of Sole ,., ... 50

I I

INDEX.

Turned-in Wall
Twisted Feet

Uneven Bearing Surfaces
Uneven Feet
Uneven Pressure of Shoe
Unshod Feet

Value of Horse Shoeing
Van- horse Shoes

Wall, The ...
Wear of Shoes
Wedge Pad
Weight of Shoes
Weighted Shoes
White Line, The
Wide Fitting
Width of Shoe
Winter Shoeing

141
141

87
II

lOI

148
61

115

Printed by H. A' W. Brown, 20 Fri,HA:\r Roai>, Lonkox, S.W,

9ic

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