Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/507

 before, but particularly in the latter, because the weight of the body falls heaviest there. The shorter the shoe is the less the horse slips, and the frog has the same influence in preventing this that an old hat placed under our own shoes would have in protecting us from slipping on ice.

'It is necessary, nevertheless, that hoofs which have weak walls should be a little longer shod, so that the gradually thinning branches reach to the heels, though not resting upon them. For horses which have thin convex soles (pieds combles), these long shoes should be also used, and the toes should be more covered to prevent the sole touching the ground; at the same time, the shoe must be so fitted that it does not press upon the sole, and the heels and frog rest upon the ground; this is the only true method of preserving the foot and restoring it.' 'A horse which has its heels weak and sensitive ought to be shod as short as possible, and with thin branches (éponges), so that the frog comes in contact with the ground; because the heels, having nothing beneath them, are benefitted and relieved (fig. 183).

'Crescent shoes are all the more needful for a horse which has weak incurvated quarters, as they not only relieve them, but also restore them to their natural condition. Horses which have contusions at the heels (bleimes, corns) should also be shod in this manner, and for cracks (seimes, sand-