The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-09-01
The Horses Hoof-IIow TO Preserve II.

The horses hoof necessarily sees the
hardest service of any portion of his
structure and is the only part that can
be mutilatcd by cutting and burning, rs
IS the common practice. by men calling
themselves shocrs, and by nails made too
large and driven too deep. Every horse
owner of experience will, when he has
occasion for the first time to have colt
shod, select "A smith who will do rs the
owner directs. and not follow the prac-
ticc generally in vogue in times past and
still too commonly practiced. 1t IS prob
able that outside of the farm, more horses
are defective in the feet than in any
other part. This comes from the COM
bined influences of hard usage and nut
tlation in shooting. Largely from the
latter. because a hoof properly trimmed
and shod Will stand an extraordinary
amount of contact, however rough, with
every sort of pavement in use.
Ii is within the power of the farmer to
breed horses with properly-formedh oofs,
and equally in his powertO preserve these
in proper form, 10y seeing that they are
kept in the shape chat Nature gave them.
If fiat-footed sire or dam is bred from,
then. of course. the penalty is incurred
of having pretty good soft ground hoOf.
but i'm no wise such a one as viii stand
use upon hard roads and paved streets.
The Young horse on whom IS bred \
properly shaped foot, goes TO the smith
for the first time, carrying a wide heel,
n smooth outer surface, and 4 sharp ring
at the outer circle below The man who
is we'll informed as TO the foot goes to
the avera@e smith the first time with a
feeling of dread.
4 properly-formcd hoof. ON the we'll
bred colt. is straight from the top down
wards. and has exactly the circular form
that should be maintained the shoe in
every case being fitted TO the foot, and
not. rs is the practice with the average
smith. who cuts and rasps the hoof to
fit the shoe With the botch, it is much
easier to do the latter than the former,
for when the shoe is once made fast, 1t
is but the work of moment to cut away
and rasp down the projecting rim of
horny structure.
The forward portion of the hoof is
firm. and somewhat thick, rs compared
to the lamina at the heel. and cuts much
harder Hence it IS easier for the smith
to pare down the heel at the bottom of
the foot than to cut away the toe in like
manner.
The directions should be, to cut, with
Il SiaIll DtAlIGSS- llOtll tic tOtbCAtA VI Viz
hoof, till it is of the right depth from
top downwards. At this stage of the
cutting, the hoof Will assume the circular
form, and to this form the shoe should
be accurately fitted-so accurately, that
no rim of hoof will project beyond the
Shoe--at any rate, not more than an
eighth Of an inch, except where, as IS
often the ease. a point of hoof on one
side projects further than the opposite
side. in which case the foot requires to
be made true.
The nails for well-bred horse, having
a tough hoof, should be considerably less
in size than are proper to be used on a
draft-horse; and in the case of the former
they should not extend upwards into the
hoof more than fiye-eighths of an inch
For the horse of medium size and the
heavy draft-horse three-fourths to seven
eiohfhs of an inch will be admissible. The
face of the hoof should under no pre-
tence be rasped or filed, neither should
any smith be allowed to hold hot shoe
to the bottom of the foot. The surface
remains. rs i'm the unshod colt, elastic,
through the oil and moisture furnished
10 IT. But when raspcd, this escapes,
and the foot becomes brittle and liable
10 fever. The burning of the bottom OF
tbe hoof is barbarous, and destructlvet to
The tissues National Lire Stock Jour
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