If farriers are allowed, they will almost invariably drive as many shoe-nails round the inside quarter as the outside. This is a lamentable mistake, especially regarding the fore feet, as the foot being thus nearly all round confined to the shoe, its proper action is interfered with, preventing a possibility of its natural and gradual expansion in action from the toe towards the heel, as the horse lays his foot upon the ground, with all weight, as well as the act of propulsion, pressed on it.

The reason for liberating the inside quarter in preference to the outside is, that the inside, being more under the centre of gravity, will be found to expand and contract more than the outside, as will be proved by the removal and examination of a shoe that has been in use three or four weeks. On observing the part of the shoe that has been next the foot, it will be distinctly perceived that the friction of the inside quarter of the foot has worn a cavity in the portion of the shoe which has been under that quarter of the foot, while the side that has been under the outside quarter bears comparatively little evidence of friction above it.

This being an established fact, it seems desirable that the full number of nails should be driven round the outside quarter, and not more than one or two (for hunting purposes) on the inside from the toe. (Six nails altogether is the cavalry regulation.)

If your horses are not quick wearers on the road, the fore shoes should be removed within two or three weeks after shoeing (care being taken that the clenches of the nails in the hind feet are at the same time properly levelled to the hoof to prevent brushing), and let them be re-shod every five or six weeks.

In all foot ailments, whenever a horse is lame, although the disease may not apparently be in the foot, let the shoe first be carefully removed, and the shoeless foot examined by as competent a farrier as can be procured (in the absence of a veterinary surgeon), by pincers round the nail-holes, gently pressing wall and sole together, by the hammer tapping the sole, and a judicious use of the drawing-knife, to detect the possible seat of disease.

I have known a lame horse to be brought to a reputedly-experienced amateur horse-doctor, the cause of disease being so evidently inflammation of the sheath of the tendon, that the animal was ordered to be treated accordingly-viz., with cold applications; and this not succeeding, firing the leg was resorted to, after which, the weather being suitable, it was thought expedient to let the beast have a run at grass. As a preliminary the shoes were removed, in the course of which operation a bed of gravel was found to have secreted itself in the foot of the supposed diseased leg, and the inflammation occasioned by the gravel having gone up, caused what appeared to be marked disease about the tendon.

Such were the results of neglecting the precautions here recommended.

Brushing, or cutting, is a very tormenting weakness in the horse, whether behind or before, and often highly dangerous in the latter case.

The ordinary practice of farriers under such circumstances is to rasp away the inside quarter of the offending hoof, as well as doubly thickening the shoe under the weakened wall, leaving the toe to extend itself forward. This is a great mistake, yielding only a tem

porary improvement, not at all tending towards a cure. On the contrary, it would be better to shorten the toes by degrees; and on no account should a rasp be put near the wall of the inside quarter, in order to let it get as strong as possible towards the heel.

I would certainly allow no nails to be driven inside, but let the shoe be fastened round the outer quarter of the foot, the shoe itself being of equal thickness on both quarters as an ordinary shoe; but on putting it on, it should not be suffered to project outside the inside quarter, and the shoes might here be rasped to guard against rough edges, which might injure the pastern of the opposite leg during work.

A strong clip should also be thrown up on the outside quarters of these shoes to catch the wall and effectually prevent them from shifting towards or projecting beyond the inside quarter, which might cause them to come in contact with the opposite pastern-joint while in motion. Until the brushing be somewhat remedied, an india-rubber ring or a bit of leather, and elastic strap round the pastern, will prevent it from receiving present injury. If the above treatment is attended to and persevered in, the probability is that in nine cases out of ten a cure will be effected in course of time.

Corns. Every horse-owner ought to make himself acquainted with the part of the sole between the frog and the wall on the inside quarter of the fore foot, called the seat of corns (see pages 131 and 140), and every time that a horse is shod or removed, in paring the foot the drawing-knife should be used to clean away this cavity (without weakening the adjacent wall), where the disease originates from undue pressure of the shoe on the inside quarter of that susceptible spot, or

from friction of the coffin-bone, on the inside of the sole, above the seat of corn. The shoe ought to rest entirely on the wall of the foot, and not on any part of the sole.

Roughing and Frosting is simply drawing out the old nails about the toes and replacing them with very large sharp-headed ones, called frost-nails. Horse-nails being made purposely of a soft metal, are unfit for frosting, as the heads wear down so quickly. If smiths would steel the heads of frost-nails, they would last much longer. This precaution against slipping, however, is only effectual in slight frosts. In regular frosting, the nails are carried completely round, with the addition of sharp calkins being turned on the heels of all four feet, and sometimes also short spikes or cogs turned down from the toes; but the latter are common only in severe climates, though their use is quite as desirable in England, especially to assist horses in ascending slippery hills, where the cogs on the heels. have little or no hold in the ground. Cogs or calkins should be rasped by the smith, to sharpen them, every couple of days.

Although it may be inconvenient and expensive to have horses prepared in frosty weather, it is highly necessary to do so where work is required of them. The very extraordinary exertion that is needed on the part of the animal to keep his feet when unprepared, as well as the fret to his energies, takes a vast deal more out of him in one day's work than a month's daily use would do under ordinary circumstances, not to speak of the risk of pecuniary loss from accident.

It is a most pitiable thing to see the poor beasts struggling in their high courage and good temper to

do their best, for what I can only call cruel or thoughtless masters, to say nothing of the liability of the animals' breaking their knees and bringing their riders or drivers to serious trouble, smashing harness and vehicles, &c.

I have always found servants most ingenious in making objections to having their horses prepared for frost, the grand secret being their anxiety to keep them in the stable the whole time the frost lasts, that they may be saved from the trouble of cleaning either them or their caparison, carriages, &c. They will alarm you with the stereotyped objections, "tearing the horses' feet to pieces," "driving fresh nail-holes," "ripping off shoes," "his feet won't bear a shoe after," &c. I never knew an ordinary sound foot to be reduced to such a condition, by simply changing shoes, that a good smith could not fasten a shoe on.

The only tangible objection to calkins to which attention need be drawn is, that during their use, unless the horse is moved about in his stable with great caution in cleaning or otherwise, he is apt to tread with them on the coronet of the opposite foot, which is a very serious affair, inflicting a nasty jagged wound on one of the most sensitive vascular parts of the animal.*

The Bar Shoe going all round the foot is intended to protect weak or thrushy heels.

There is a useful and inexpensive contrivance for very temporary roughing, patented and sold by John Coppard & Co., 24 Fleet Street, who, on being communicated with, will forward descriptive particulars. There is also a capital and more permanent arrangement prepared and sold by Mr Morris of 21 Rathbone Place, Oxford Street, being an improvement on Mr White's plan of frosting horses' shoes, by screwing three sharpened cogs into each one at each heel and one at the toe-the shoes when put on being prepared to receive them.

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