Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/538

what is called cramps or cankers, by which means the weight of the horse is confined to a very narrow surface—the inner round edge of the shoe-rim, and the points or caukers of each heel; the consequence is, that it throws the weight of the body forward upon the toes, and is apt to make the horse slip and stumble.' The shoes in use appear to have been possessed of every bad quality, and must have inflicted fearful torture upon the unlucky animals compelled to wear them, particularly after the outrageous manner in which their hoofs were pared. 'Farriers, in general, are too desirous to excel one another in making what is termed fine neat work; and that is no other than paring the sole till it yields easily under the pressure of the thumb; and to give the frog a fine shape, it is frequently pared till the blood appears, to prevent the effusion of which the actual cautery is sometimes applied. It is to be observed, that, when the sole is so much pared, it dries and hardens in proportion as it is thinned; and the strong horny substance of the crust, overcoming the resistance from the sole, is thereby contracted. This will produce lameness, the real cause of which is overlooked or little attended to. Among the many disadvantages that attend the common shoes, one is, their being more liable to be pulled off, from their great weight, length, &c., especially in deep ground, in riding fast, or when the toe of the hinder foot strikes against the heel of the fore-shoe. To prevent this inconvenience, sixteen or eighteen nails are frequently made use of, which destroy and weaken the crust by their being placed too near one another; and it is not uncommon, when a shoe nailed in this manner is pulled off, that the crust on the outside of the nails breaks