Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/627

 shoes have been introduced with projections on the ground surface, and one employed by Mr Broad, Veterinary Surgeon, Bath, more than ten years ago, may be said to be identical with this; while in almost every town and city, except London, toe-pieces and calks are regularly worn by draught-horses.

The preparation of the foot and application of the shoe are described as follows: 'A shoe which precisely fits the outline of the hoof is selected from the stock. If a proper fit cannot be found, any slight alteration is made by a few blows on the cold iron; or, if heating be necessary, the shoe is made cold again before it is applied, and care is taken that it remain perfectly level and true. The farrier then prepares the hoof by cutting or rasping away the surface of that portion of the crust on which the iron will rest, leaving the centre of the sole and the frog and bars untouched. Having given what he judges to be a true level to this marginal seating for the shoe, the shoe is applied cold, and the hoof is rasped again and again until horn and iron come into perfect contact in every part. As a guide to the use of the rasp, the surface of the shoe is ruddled, so that any portion of horn not touched by it remain uncoloured. The adjustment being correct, the shoe is nailed on in the ordinary way, and the process is complete Mr Goodenough claims for his system the negative merit that the shoe, being applied cold, does not injure and weaken the horn by burning, as in the common method. He claims the positive merits that "it prevents slipping, over-reaching, and interfering, cutting, or picking up stones, balling snow or mud, contracted feet, corns, sandcracks, thrush, springing of the