Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-09-05

shall We shoe our Horses9
have read So much about the feasibility
Of not shooting aor..- thnt u ord.f to settle
it in my own mind Thought that / would
try &C. On the 23d OF May ] took of the
hind shoes of our horses then pared of the
hoofs a. ] would 10 I was going TO put the
shoes on again They have had no shoes on
their hind feet since They have been used
ia doing all kinds OF work on the farm iu
which "a team is used except on horse pow
err they have been driven a good deal on
hard roads. and no town i'm the state has
harder roads beds than this, as our roads are
nearly all rraveled with gravel from the lake
shore and a- it Criuds mp and works into the
soil. they IN time become very hard. Up 90
July oath their feet were not sore nor their
boots ragged
dis no, take their fore shoes of. as we
have only one span. and I could not afford TO
run the risk of having them become lame, as
we have 20 use them nearly every day.
Two years ago we had an extra horse that
was not in the harness for three months but
ran in the pasture. took off an her shoes
Her fore feet became so sore that she could
hardly Get around, and some days would not
come down after water. ] suppose the rea.
son was that it hurt her feet 90 travel over
the hard ground ir The lane Her feet got
so bad that 7 had to shoe them her fore
feet, after which she did not go lame, and
came regularly for water This is as far as
my experience goes In not shoeinr horses.
am satisfied that our farm horses do not
need to bee shoi ON their hind feet. excepting
through the winter months; but should favor
the shoeug of the fore feet ! think that
half moon shoes for the toe would be sutf
Client though have never tried them except
in the winter time Where horses have 20
bs used ON the ice then heel calks are neces-
sary because horse when trOttug strikes
the heels first and consequently would slip
ON the ice If there were no heel calks For
summer. If shoi at all 10 is better not %
have any heel calks because the hoof then be-
comes nearer level with the frog and not so
likely % become contracted thereby causing
the horse 10 become lame Now !
will give you my idea and manner of shoe
ing horses. which 7 have practcel for ia,
last three years and ind to work well and
which ] shall continue 90 do until some bet
ter way presents itself notwithstanding th,
practice of blacksmiths to the contrary IN
setting o. new shoe I first pare the rim Of the
hoOf down level with the sole of the foot
except ar the heel whore I think 10 ought not
10 be pared down quite SO far because IL
pared down level with the sole the bars of the
hoof would have 90 be- cat away SO that there
would bee nothing 90 keep the hcof from
drawing together These bars. 1 think
arc intended TO keep the boot from contract
ing SO ss to pinch the frog This, I think, ).
one Of the greatest faults of blacksmith
pairing the heel too much It should be pared
down to these bars and no farther II yor
20 farther You come to where 50 is tender and
then serious result, follow. After getting tn,
with the rasp, j place the foot on piece of
board and marx around with pencil and
then ft the shoe 20 this mark A shoe fitted
in this way will no, extend way back Of the
heel half AL inch or more TO be- stepped OIL
and torn of and no toe knife is needed
one of the worst things about horse shoeiuc
IT toe knife is used at all 1t should never
be used back OF the quarters Of the hoof, for
here the rim of the noof is very thin and
will not bear cutting without positive injury
and almost all blacksmlihs do It, l never
cinch the nail with the hammer 1t is un,
necessary. besides uluuug the hoof a
horse will finch at every blow struck on the
top Of the hoof with the hammer III,
clinchers should bee turned in the usual man.
uer, and then filed down smooth with IL.
hoof. The shoe will stay on Just As long rs
If the nails were CluChei and then II hy
AtE4lEtAaNH lllN HAl'.- AAt allt Oh ALaaI ILH
nails are driven mp above tho top of the
ho0f there are no sharp edges TO cut the all
kle-. II any one Will attempt 20 draw d mai
that has been driven into the hoof for not
more than hve minutes, he will find that ID
will adhere very strongly A shoe ought NOT
to extend back of the heel over quarter o.!
an inch at most II it does it brings the
strain on the ankle where it ought not to
come as can be shown by wearing a boot
with the heel extending back Of the foot
Farmers show too little care as regards
their horses feet, and let the blacksmith
have their own way too much They use
too heavy shoes sometimes ana not infre-
quenty. My opinion IS, that the shoe should
be rs light a. possible also the nails ]
never use a nail larger than d No. .. I use s.
No. q nail next TO the heel because the hoot
at this point is thinner ana d larger mai,
crowds too much on the quick. Nails should
bee as small rs possible and tough. have
tried several kinds. and ! ind that the Plt-
nam mai is the best Of all that l have tried.
They al. are Of uniform tOugLuess ana never
split al the point. This should be carefully
guarded against. as the splitting Of one ual.
Ia driving into the huot might lulur5 the
horse for life. I think that most blacksmItls
40 no: USE The tutuaM nail, as they cost from
1ve TO eight cents more per pound than 9th
.r nails But they are cheaper at any price
than mai that splits while driving. Among
O other kinds that l have used l nave found
uoge or less that split but have never found
a bad Putnam mai. during the year that / have
Used them But the Putnam nail can be i'm
proved, according 10 my id-a, boy cutting the
head of, instead Of rounding the top
think horse nail heads ought not 10 be over
one-eighth of an inch from the shoulder To
the top Of the head They would then fit
down snug 10 the crease IN the shoe, and o.
weight of the horse would then bee uniform
all the way around the shoe. and the nails
would not work loose so quickly. To sum
up with
LIST. Use as light a shoe as practicable
"a. Fit the shoe 10 the hoof instead Of
the hoOf 10 the shoe
sd. Use as small and tough nails as posi-
bic
4th. Never use larger than No. 6 next 10
the heel.
9TH. Never strike the top Of the hoof
with hammer
9TH. Shoe often rather than at long inter
yais' AouNG FARZIEE