Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/688

 and forwards several ounces, or even pounds, attached to the extremity of each limb at every step.

Lightness and durability can only be attained by employing the best material. If the sole of the foot is not mutilated, it does not require to be covered by the shoe, as nature has furnished an infinitely better protection. Wide-surfaced shoes can therefore be at once dispensed with, and a narrow rim, fabricated from the very toughest and best iron, and adapted for travelling on slippery roads, while aiding foot and limb, and sufficient to sustain wear for four or five weeks, is all that is required. Here again the skilful artisan is needed, and science steps in to aid him. We have seen that the sole was destined, particularly at its junction with the crust, to sustain weight, if not cut away by the drawing-knife. We also know that it is advantageous to the whole foot and limb to give the sole as wide and general a bearing as possible; so that the one part may relieve the other—the sole coming to the aid of the crust, and the frog interposing to share the strain imposed upon both, as well as to relieve the strain on the posterior parts of the foot, flexor tendon, and limb, and keep a firm grasp of the ground by its resilient and adhesive properties.

It would, then, appear to be indicated, that the shoe applied to the foot should have its upper or hoof surface plane, in order that it might sustain the crust, and as much of this strong part of the sole as its width permitted. This is contrary to the usual practice, which only allows the crust to rest on a narrow level surface, and bevels off the remainder of the shoe to prevent contact with the sole. But the sole in these cases is mutilated, and in this