One thing should never be forgotten in shoeing a horse,—first that, although the hoof is a hard horny covering, it has an inside portion which is very tender and liable to be hurt; and secondly, that the hoof itself expands as the weight of the horse presses upon it.
Anvil. Stool. Staple. Pointing Stake. Punch. Shoe.
Nippers. Drawing Knife. Rasp. Buffer.
The Farrier’s shed is fitted with a forge, or furnace where the iron is heated, and in which the fire is blown to great heat by the huge bellows fastened above it; it also contains an anvil, on which the horseshoes are made or shaped, a stool on which the Farrier sometimes sits to examine a horse’s hoof, and staples and rings, to which the horses’ heads are fastened by halters during the process of shoeing. When a horse is taken to be shod, the Farrier should begin by taking off one of the old shoes. He first raises the clenches with a tool called the buffer and if the shoe does not then come off easily, loosens some of the nails with the punch, till it can be gently removed. When the shoe is off he rasps the edge of the hoof all round, and with the nippers or pincers takes out any stubs that may be left in the hoof. He then pares the hard portions of the foot, and this is an operation which requires great care and skill as well as a good deal of practice in the use of the drawing knife. The Farrier must always remember the state of the roads when he is paring the horse’s feet, for if the roads are dry and stony he must take off very little of the horn, or the foot will be bruised.
Fulter. Damper. Slice. Pretchel. Swage. Tongs. Turning Hammer.
The horseshoes are frequently purchased by the Farrier of the Blacksmith who makes them, but some Farriers are also Smiths, and both make and fit the horseshoes. In either case the Farrier keeps a stock of rough shoes which he alters at the time that they are wanted, so that they may fit the horse, and one of the first things to be done is to make the groove all round the shoe, and drill the holes in it for the nails. This groove, in which the heads of the nails sink, is called the “fuller,” and the tool with which it is made is also called the “fuller,” or “fulter.” Having cut off the ends or heels of the shoe, made the fuller, and opened the nail holes, the Farrier next makes what is called the “clip,” which means turning up the toe of the shoe, to prevent its being forced back on the hoof. In these parts of his work he has probably used the chisel, turning hammer, swage and pretchel, while for the work at the forge he has had to employ the poker, the tongs for holding the shoe on the anvil, the slice for taking small things from the fire, and the damper, which is a wisp of wet straw held by wooden tongs for lessening the heat of the shoe during hammering. He next begins to fit the shoe, the horse being tied up to the staple in the wall of the shed. The fitting of the shoe is an operation requiring the greatest care and attention, and the good Farrier will spare no pains to do his work perfectly, as many a valuable horse has been ruined by an ill-fitting shoe. When the shoe is fitted it is “filed up,” by which all roughness is removed from the edges of the nail holes, and the sharp edges of the shoe itself are taken off.
