Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-02-22

think it best to pare any more than to just
level it for the shoe to set smooth. There Is
a sort of springipg apart of the shoe from
| the heel when the horse is moving about and
the sand and gravel are liable to get between
the two, therefore it causes the heel 10 wear
down. l believe blacksmiths are apt TO rut
on too short shoes. There are, IN my opIn-
ion, a great many horses that become lame
and useless by their heedIessness. l have Ia
ken shoes from horses feet when they would
actually be three-iourths of an inch broader
than they were long. What an idea, that a
man who pretends to be a horse sheer should
put such a shoe as that on a poor dumb an
imal If they cannot speak they have feel
ings. / have seen horses shOd when the
smith would take his scythe point and chop
off about an inch Of the hoof at the toe, IN
order to fit the foot to the shoe instead OF
fitting the shoe to the foot do not claim
that 1t il not necessary to trim oil a little
occasionally around the foot, but | do say
that if the foot Is properly pared at the toe,
and a shoe fitted TO the foot as 1t should be
I there would be less slashing off at the toe as
some smiths do. l believe the shoe should
i he set back on the heel so as to cover the
quarters the heel Of the shoe to he made
about twice the thickness of the toe {: have
a low tie cork ; horses shod in this way Will
not lie very liable to stumble | think the
shoe should be fitted to the heel Of the foot
a. well as the toe.
Many bunglers cut ard carve the frog IN
Ill the cutting edge Of the buttress reaches
the quick OF the foot. This should never be
allowed, as the frog is a tenacious and elastic
material, produced for the express purpose OF
receiving the heavy Jar when the animal Is
travelling q very hard track In rare
cases, the frog may he trimmed a Httle. But
disastrous consequences often follow the ex
cessive dressing Of this important part Of the
foot. As a general rule it Is better 70 let
nature take care or the frog, rather than the
blacksmith
In making the shoe there should be very
great care taken in punching the nail holes.
There should not be any bOles back Of the
center or from the turning point on the quar-
tiers. as the hoof is very thin, especially the
inside Of the foot, which is much thinner
than the outside. Smiths fail very much in
this respect. There are a great many horses
at the present day that are called touudered.
when in my opinion there Is not one mOrsel
Of founder about them. | DO not pretend TO
say that there j. no such thing as founder
"a horse hut in nine cases out Of ten the
founder i caused by the smith and tie own
CT allowing the shoes 10 remain on too long
without being removed. Every horse that
comes to the shop has foot OF peculiar tex
turc and share. The weight, habit, ana
size Of the horse should be taken INTO con
sjderation-the heavy draft horse requiring
a much thicker and heavier shoe than small,
light animals. 4 very prevalent taultamong
smiths is in leaving too much space between
the nails in the toe Of the shoe, as the shoes
stay On much better when taespace is small
this being the strongest part OF the hoof
! would say few words concerning the
length Of tine horses should wear tueir
shoes Horses with soft Or pummiced feet
should not wear them longer than forty VI
forty-lve days Those of Fix or seven years
of age. where their feet are good may wear
them for sixty or seventy days. and OLD Lor-
ses, where their feet are good, may wear
them three n-hs-the extreme length oi
time in any case. Young horses with their
first shoes should not wear them l.rger thar
sixty days There should he great care tax
en- not to let shoes remain TOO long On colts
and Young horses, as they are apt 10 cause
corns and contracted feet if not removed
when they become partly worn-Amerl1aa
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