CHAPTER SIXTH.

HORSESHOES AND NAILS

The principal parts of the shoe are the two faces, the two edges, the inner and outer; the toe, the front part; the quarters uniting the toe with the heels,- the fullering, the crease in which the nail-holes are made: there are generally eight holes; the calks, projections at the extremities of the heels on the lower face: they serve principally to prevent the horse from slipping: they should be used with caution; the clip, a kind of claw on the outer edge of the shoe, generally on the toe of the hind foot, sometimes on the outer quarter, in which generally a small one is made on the inner one: they are used to keep the shoe in place and to guard the hoof; the bevel, the concavity of the upper face, that the iron play in no case rest on the arch of the sole of the foot.
The hind shoes are generally a little thicker and broader at the toe than the front shoes. The front shoes are punched nearer the toe, the hind shoes nearer the heels.
The principal parts of the nail are the head, the body, and the point. The head ought to fit into the fullering; the blade near the head should not be too thin: it has a slight curve near the point, that it may turn out instead of going into the foot. Reject those nails that are split or have flaws.
Soft iron is best adapted for horseshoes.
Horseshoes made by machinery are generally furnished to the artillery. There are four sizes,-viz. :- Dimensions and Weights of Horseshoes.
In. In. Lbs.
I No. 1. Length, 5.75 Width, 4.5 Weight, 0.875
I 2. " 6.0 " 4.75 " 1.0
Front shoe 1 8. 6.25 " 5.75 1.1875
L 4. " 6.5 " 5.1 " 1.4875
1. " 5.25 " 4.0 " 0.875
I 2. " 5.5 " 4.2 " 1.0
Hind shoe 1 8. " 5.5 " 4.25 " 1.1875
4. " 6.1 " 5.75 " 1.4375
( 2. 112 nails " 1.0
Horseshoe-nails.. 1 3 140 " " 1.0
General Directions for Shoeing Horses.
The shoe should be forged to fit the form of the foot: it should project on the outside at the end of the heel about its thickness, beginning at the last hole; should be flush with the hoof at the toe and on the inside; the heels generally short and thin. The holes in the outer quarter should be farther from the edge, and in the inner quarter nearer the edge; in the front shoe nearer the toe, and in the hind shoe nearer the heel. Make the lower face of the shoe perfectly flat, and try it on an iron table. The shoe should bear equally all around on the wall of the foot, and not at all on the sole.
A judicious preparation of the foot for the shoe is of the greatest importance, strict attention being paid to its peculiarities.
Cut away the wall no more than is necessary to make the shoe fit; pare the sole and the frog very sparingly; in using the buttress, place it flat on the foot, and cut off the hoof evenly. The whole thickness of the wall should be left perfectly flat for the bearing of the shoe, which should never rest on the sole. The bars should never be pared except in cases of contracted feet, and then with judgment.
Do not apply the shoe to the foot when too warm; keep it there but for a short time. Drive the nails in the sound hoof and rivet them solidly, all at the same height.
In rasping the rivets, do not touch the wall of the foot: it weakens the foot. When a nail binds, draw it out and take another. If the horse suddenly jerks his foot after a blow of the hammer, withdraw the nail immediately.
Shoes should not be allowed to remain on more than five weeks, when they should be removed, the useless hoof pared off and the shoe replaced if it be still good. This should be regulated by the length of the hoof rather than by the year of the shoe. In removing shoes, take care to raise the clenches first, that the crust may not be torn or portions of the nail left in the hoof. It is better to remove the shoes one at a time as the new shoe is ready to be put on.
Rough-shoeing differs from ordinary shoeing only in the form of the nails, the heads being longer and more pointed.
The shoe used in all other services is to be preferred to that in use in ours. It has no fullering, but each hole is countersunk to receive the head of the nail, which is less apt to be broken off, as it is well supported on all sides: the shoe is not weakened by fullering.