HINTS ON HORSE SHOEING.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 43, 5 June 1917, Page 7

HINTS ON HORSE SHOEING.

By W. W. Hunter, in "National Stockman and Farmer.”

There is one part of the horse’s body which domestic usage has subjected to more abrupt, radical and unnatural treatment than any other part of his makeup. I mean the hoof which is to my mind one of the most i perfect combinations of extremely deli i cate parts, protecting other delicate 1 and essential parts, to be found in nature. As I am not a professional I I will not attempt to .describe this ! most perfect spring system in the j world that is enclosed within the wall of every horse’s foot. In nature’s economy the horse’s feet rest on mother earth and are washed by the dewy grass and running streams. Under man’s management he stands on solid plank or concrete with never a drop of moisture on his feet. On his native heath his travel is over grassy sward and yielding earth, and instinct compels him to use his feet just enough to keep them in proper shape. Man drives him over hard rough roads, 'and very soon the shell is worn so that shoeing must he resorted tp. Then begins the most radical perversion of nature in our whole domestic animal economy. The shell of the normal hoof extends just a little below the sole, so that the pressure is upon the shell and frog, but when the shell is broken or worn down even with the sole the sensitive lamina which with the small terminal bones make up the body of the hoof is exposed, and soreness is the result. A great deal -has been written on the subject of shoeing, much of it by laymen like myself who have only slight knowledge of the true principles of shoeing to enable the horse to travel without pain or inconvenience. Skilful horseshuicrs have little to say, because they, that there is so much variation in the size, shape, quality and formation of the feet and in the action, usage and the habits of different horses that they cannot follow any hard and fast rules, but must adapt their work to conditions, always aiming to violate nature just as little as possible. Driving horses that do not have to draw heavy loads, or travel over slippery roads, may he shod with light plate shoes and detain the natural shape and pressure of the foot to a large degree, hut the shoes ought to he removed frequency to cut away the growth which but for the shoe would have been worn off. Horses drawing heavy loads must have calks and toes to hold their footing, and the shoes must be heavy to prevent springing, as hut three points under each foot sustain the horse and additional weight of the tractile force he exerts, and the longer the calks and toes the greater will he the unnatural pressure and strain upon the tendons connecting the foot with the leg.

As a rule; horse shoers know how to do the work better than horse owners can tell them, but tbs best informed ones take kindly to intelhand are free to discuss questions connected with the business. Few of them are guilty of the charge of burning the hoof down to fit the shoe, though they often touch the foot with the hot shoe to see where there is a high spot on the shell when truing up the surface and the scorched spots are .pared ofi, and I do not think any injury is done. I have read that in the shop - where Banner had Dexter, Maud S. and his other fliers shod there was a marble slab on which the horse stood when the feet were being fitted' for shoeing and the hoof was dressed until every part of the wall rested equally upon the slab, then the part that touched the slab was smeared with printer’s ink and the foot let down on clean paper, the result was a clearly defined picture of the size and shape the shoe ought to be. While this plan might not be practical in every day horse shoeing there is a good' suggestion in it which means that the surface of the hoof ought to be exactly true, and the shoe must be just as true, and if both foot and shoe are true a perfect fit will result. The impression seems to prevail that a colt ought not to he shod so long as he can do without it, and many colts acquire a short step, dawdling gait, because the feet are tender and this causes them to he afraid to step out freely. So long as they can st a y on the farm they, may get along, but natural feet must not be expected to do duty on unnatural footing such as public roads afford. Most farmers allow shoes to remain on too long. The hoof continues to grow all the time and the shoe that is a perfect fit when it was put on will not fit the hoof after it has grown a month or more, and when shoes are left on for three months, as is sometimes done, the best of feet ere injured and sometimes ruined. One point in controversy between the blacksmith and the farmer is the use of worn shoes. I have already referred to the need for heavy shoes on draught horses, especially when calks and toes are used. A little thought will enable anyone to understand that thin light shoes would not hear the pressure without springing. This fact is more apparent when we realise that in action only two feet at a time support all the weight of horse and tractile force.

Growing ducklings thrive best on a feed composed of equal parts by measure of corn meal, ground peas, bran and middlings, all made into a thick mash either with scalding hot water or milk, the latter being the best. The mash is improved by, adding short cut green grass, clover or some other green stuff, and a few handfuls of coarse sand. ,