Fig. 227.
Pair of machine-made ox shoes, viewed from the ground-surface and in profile; a, toe-calk; b, heel-calks.
Great difficulty is often encountered in holding the feet during the operation of shoeing. It is necessary to fasten the head securely against a tree, post, or wall. A front foot may be raised and held by passing a slip-noose in the end of a rope or side-line around the fetlock and carrying the line over the withers to the opposite side, where it is held by an assistant. A hind limb may be controlled by passing a round pole in front of the hock of the leg to be raised, and, with a man at each end of the pole, carrying the limb backward and upward, in which position it is held; or the limb may be bent and controlled by tightening a twitch or tourniquet upon the leg just above the hock ([Fig. 228]). Oxen that continue to resist may sometimes be quieted by light blows of a short stick upon the base of the horns. In parts of the country where many oxen are shod stocks are in common use.
Fig. 228.
Hind foot raised by means of a round pole.
Very satisfactory stocks have been designed by Gutenaecker, of Munich ([Fig. 229]). The four corner-posts (a, a, b, b) are eight inches square and eight feet long, of which three feet four inches are solidly implanted in the ground. They are united by side- and cross-bars (c, c, d). In front of the corner-posts (a, a) and in the middle line stands a head-post (e) of the same dimensions as the corner-posts, provided with a slot four inches wide and twenty inches long beginning three feet from the ground. In this slot is a pulley-wheel (i), and below it a windlass (k) for winding up the rope which is tied around the base of the animal’s horns. The corner-posts are provided with a slot (n) three inches wide and three inches deep, within which are placed two movable side-bars (o, p), which can be set at desired heights and fastened by iron pins. Between the front and rear corner-posts of the right-hand side is an eight-sided roller with a ratchet and click at one end, and having on one of the sides six iron hooks, to which a girth is attached. On the opposite side of the stocks, at the same height, is a stationary bar (f) with six hooks (g, g) on the outer side. The belly girth is six feet long, six inches wide, and terminates at both ends in several strong cords two feet four inches long with iron rings at their ends. Between the front corner-posts are a neck-yoke (h) and a breast-bar which slide in the slots (m) and may be fixed at desired heights by iron pins. On the rear face of each rear corner-post is an iron bracket (s) one foot and a half long, with a ring (t) six inches in diameter, through which passes a round pole padded in the middle and kept in place by two iron pins. Above each bracket is a hook (u) to which the end of the breeching attaches.
Fig. 229.
