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ground. They must be so made, as to be, when driven in, scarcely half an inch above the shoe, and also have four sides ending at the top in a point. They are of great service to prevent shipping on all kinds of places; and by means of them a horse is not thrown out of his proper basis. They must be made of very good iron; if they are not, the heads of them will be perpetually breaking off. From the race horse to the cart horse, the same system of shoeing should be observed. The size, thickness, and weight of them only should differ. The shoe of a race horse must of course be lighter than that of a saddle horse; that of a saddle horse lighter than that of a coach or bat horse; and these last more so than a cart, waggon, or artillery horse. At present all shoes in general are too heavy; if the iron is good, shoes need not be so thick as they are now generally made. The utmost severity ought to be inflicted upon all those who clap shoes on hot. This unpardonable laziness of farriers, in making feet thus fit shoes instead of shoes fitting feet, dries up the hoof, and utterly destroys them. Frequent removals of shoes are detrimental, and tear the foot; but sometimes they are very necessary this is an inconvenience to which half shoes are liable; for the end of the shoe, being very short, is apt to work soon into the foot, and consequently must then be moved.'

In a judicious treatise on this subject, by Mr. Clarke, the common form of shoes, and method of shoeing, are, with great reason, totally exploded, and a new form and method recommended, which seem founded on rational principles, and to have been confirmed by expe

nence.

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In preparing the foot for the shoe,' our author observes, the frog, the sole, and the bars or binders, are pared so much that the blood frequently appears. The shoe by its form (being thick on the inside of the rim, and thin upon the outside), must of consequence be made concave or hollow on that side which is placed immediately next the foot, in order to prevent its resting upon the sole. The shoes are generally of an immoderate weight and length, and every means is used to prevent the frog from resting upon the ground, by making the shoe-heels thick, broad, and strong, or raising cramps or caukers on them. From this form of the shoe, and from this method of treating the hoof, the frog is raised to a considerable height above the ground, the heels are deprived of that substance which was provided by nature to keep the crust extended at a proper wideness, and the foot is fixed as it were in a mould.

'By the pressure from the weight of the body, and resistance from the outer edges of the shoe, the heels are forced together, and retain that shape impressed upon them, which it is impossible ever afterwards to remove; hence a contraction of the heels, and of course lameness. But farther, the heels, as has been observed, being forced together, the crust presses upon the protesses of the coffin and extremities of the nut bone: the frog is confined, and raised so far from the ground, that it cannot have that support upon it which it ought to have: the circulation of the blood is impeded, and a wasting of the frog,

Hence

and frequently of the whole foot, ensues. proceed all those diseases of the feet, known by the names of foundered, hoof-bound, narrow heels, running thrushes, corns, high soles, &c.

'I have likewise frequently observed, from this compression of the internal parts of the foot, a swelling of the legs immediately above the hoof, attended with great pain and inflammation, with a discharge of thin, ichorous, fetid matter: from which symptoms, it is often concluded, that the horse is in a bad habit of body (or what is termed a grease falling down), and must therefore undergo a course of medicine, &c. The bad effects of this practice are still more obvious upon the external part of the hoof. The crust towards the toe, being the only part of the hoof free from compression, enjoys a free circulation of that fluid necessary for its nourishment, and grows broader and longer; from which extraordinary length of toe, the horse stumbles in his going, and cuts his legs. The smaller particles of sand insinuate themselves between the shoe and the heels, which grind them away, and thereby produce lameness. All this is entirely owing to the great spring the heels of the horse must unavoidably have upon the heels of a shoe made in this form.

"This concave shoe in time wears thin at the toe, and, yielding to the pressure made upon it, is forced wider, and of consequence breaks off all that part of the crust on the outside of the nails. Instances of this kind daily occur, insomuch that there hardly remains crust sufficient to fix a shoe upon them. It is generally thought that the broader a shoe is, and the more it covers the sole and frog, a horse will travel the better. But, as has been formerly remarked, the broader a shoe is of this form, it must be made the more concave; and, of consequence, the contracting power upon the heels must be the greater. It is likewise to be observed that, by using strong broad-rimmed concave shoes in the summer season, when the weather is hot and the roads very dry and hard, if a horse is obliged to ride fast, the shoes, by repeated strokes or frictions against the ground, acquire a great degree of heat, which is communicated to the internal parts of the foot, and together with the contraction upon the heels, occasioned by the form of the shoe, must certainly cause exquisite pain. This is frequently succeeded by a violent inflammation in the internal parts of the hoof, and is the cause of that disease in the feet, so fatal to the very best of our horses, commonly termed a founder. This is also the reason why horses, after a journey of a hard ride, are observed to shift their feet so frequently and to lie down much. If we attend further to the convex surface of this shoe, and the convexity of the pavement upon which horses walk, it will then be evident, that it is impossible for them to keep their feet from slipping in this form of shoe, especially upon declivities of streets.

It is also a common practice to turn up the heels of the shoes into what is called cramps or caukers, by which means the weight of the horse is confined to a very narrow surface, viz. the inner round edge of the shoe-rim and the points or caukers of each heel, which soon wear round and blunt; besides, they for the most part are made by far too thick and long. The consequence

is, that it throws the horse forward upon the toes, and is apt to make him slip and stumble. To this cause we must likewise ascribe the frequent and sudden lameness horses are subject to in the legs, by twisting the ligaments of the joints, tendons, &c. I do not affirm that caukers are always hurtful, and ought to be laid aside: on the contrary, I grant that they, or some such like contrivance, are extremely necessary, and may be used with advantage upon flat shoes where the ground is slippery; but they should be made thinner and sharper than those commonly used, so as to sink into the ground, otherwise they will rather be hurtful than of any advantage.

The Chinese are said to account a small foot an ornament in their women, and for that purpose, when young, their feet are confined in small shoes. This, no doubt, produces the desired effect; but must necessarily be very prejudicial to them in walking, and apt to render them entirely lame. This practice, however, very much resembles our method of shoeing horses; for if we looked upon it as an advantage to them to have long feet, with narrow low heels, and supposing we observed no inconvenience to attend, or bad consequence to follow it, we could not possibly use a more effectual means to bring it about than by following the method already described.

In shoeing a horse, therefore, we should in this, as in every other case, study to follow nature and certainly that shoe which is made of such a form as to resemble as near as possible the natural tread and shape of the foot, must be preferable to any other. But it is extremely difficult to lay down fixed rules with respect to the proper method to be observed in treating the hoofs of different horses: it is equally difficult to lay down any certain rule for determining the precise form to be given their shoes. This will be obvious to every judicious practitioner, from the various constructions of their feet, from disease, and from other causes that may occur; so that a great deal must depend upon the discretion and judgment of the operator, in proportioning the shoe to the foot, by imitating the natural tread, to prevent the hoof from contracting a bad shape. In order, therefore, to give some general idea of what may be thought most necessary in this matter, I shall endeavour to describe that form of shoe and method of treat ing the hoofs of horses, which from experience I have found most beneficial.

It is to be remembered that a horse's shoe ought by no means to rest upon the sole, since this it will occasion lameness; therefore it must rest entirely on the crust; and, in order that we may imitate the natural tread of the foot, the shoe must be made flat (if the height of the sole does not forbid it); it must be of an equal thickness all round the outside of the rim. For a draught horse about half an inch thick, and larger in proportion for a saddle horse. And on that part of it which is to be placed immediately next the foot, a narrow rim or margin is to be formed, not exceeding the breadth of the crust upon which it is to rest, with the nail-holes placed exactly in the middle; and from this narrow rim the shoe

is to be made gradually thinner towards its inner edge. See plate FARRIERY, fig. 1.

The

The breadth of the shoe is to be regulated by the size of the foot, and the work to which the horse is accustomed; but, in general, should be made rather broad at the toe, and narrow towards the extremity of each heel, in order to let the frog rest with freedom upon the ground. The necessity of this has been already shown. shoe being thus formed, and shaped like the foot, the surface of the crust is to be made smooth, and the shoe fixed on with eight or at most ten nails, the heads of which should be sunk into the holes, so as to be equal with the surface of the shoe. The sole, frog, and bars, as I have already observed, should never be pared, farther than taking off what is ragged from the frog, and any excrescences or inequalities from the sole. And it is very properly remarked by Mr. Osmer, "That the shoe should be made so as to stand a little wider at the extremity of each heel than the foot itself; otherwise as the foot grows in length, the heel of the shoe in a short time gets within the heel of the horse; which pressure often breaks the crust, and produces a temporary lameness, perhaps a corn.' This method of shoeing horses I have followed long before Mr. Osmer's treatise on that subject was published; and for these several years past I have endeavoured to introduce it into practice. But so much are the farriers, grooms, &c., prejudiced in favor of the common method of shoeing and paring out the feet, that it is with difficulty they can even be prevailed upon to make a proper trial of it.

They cannot be satisfied unless the frog be finely shaped, the sole pared, and the bars cut out, in order to make the heels appear wide. Wide open heels are looked upon as a mark of a sound good hoof. This practice gives them a show of wideness for the time; yet that, together with the concave form of the shoe, forwards the contraction of the heels, which, when confirmed, renders the animal lame for life. In this flat form of shoe, its thickest part is upon the outside of the rim, where it is most exposed to be worn ; and being made gradually thinner towards its inner edge, it is therefore much lighter than the common concave shoe; yet it will last equally as long, and with more advantage to the hoof; and as the frog or heel is allowed to rest upon the ground, the foot enjoys the same points of support as in its natural state. It must therefore be much easier for the horse in his way of going, and be a means of making him surer footed. It is likewise evident that, from this shoe, the hoof cannot acquire any bad form; when, at the same time, it receives every advantage that possibly could be expected from shoeing. In this respect it may very properly be said, that we make the shoe to the foot, and not the foot to the shoe, as is but too much the case in the concave shoes, where the foot very much resembles that of a cat's fixed into a walnut-shell.

'It is to be observed, that the hoofs of young horses, before they are shoed, for the most part are wide and open at the heels, and that the crust is sufficiently thick and strong to admit of the nails being fixed very near the extremities of each. But, as I have formerly remarked, fron.

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Fig.10.

Fig.11.

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Londen. Published by Thomas Tegg, 13 Cheapside. June 1.1827.

J. Shury, sculp.

the constant use of concave shoes, the crust of this part of the foot grows thinner and weaker; and when the nails are fixed too far back, especially upon the inside, the horse becomes lame: to avoid this, they are placed more towards the fore part of the hoof. This causes the heels of the horse to have the greater spring upon the heels of the shoe, which is so very detrimental as to occasion lameness; whereas, by using this flat form of shoe, all these inconveniences are avoided; and if the hoofs of young horses, from the first time that they were shoed, were continued to be constantly treated according to the method here recommended, the heels would always retain their natural strength and shape. By following this flat method of shoeing, and manner of treating the hoofs, several horses now under my care, that were formerly tender footed, and frequently lame, while shoed with broad concave shoes, are now quite sound, and their hoofs in as good condition as when the first shoes were put upon them. In particular the horse that wore the broad concave shoes, from which the drawings of figs. 2 and 3 were taken, now goes perfectly sound in the open narrow kind of shoes, as represented figs. 1 and 4.

'If farriers considered attentively the design of shoeing horses, and would take pains to make themselves acquainted with the anatomical structure of the foot, they would then be convinced that this method of treating the hoofs, and this form of shoe, is preferable to that which is so generally practised.

'It has been alleged that, in this form of shoe, horses do not go so well as in that commonly used. This objection will easily be laid aside, by attending to the following particulars. There are but few practitioners that can or will endeavour to make this sort of shoe as it ought to be. The iron, in forming it, does not so easily turn into the circular shape necessary as in the common shoe; and perhaps this is the principal reason why farriers object to it, especially where they work much by the piece. And, as many horses that are commonly shoed with concave shoes have their soles considerably higher than the crust, if the shoe is not properly formed, or if it be made too flat, it must unavoidably rest upon the sole and occasion lameness. The practice of paring the sole and frog is also prevalent, and thought so absolutely necessary that it is indiscriminately practised, even to excess, on all kinds of feet: and while this method continues to be followed, it cannot be expected that horses can go upon hard ground (on this open shoe) with that freedom they would do if their soles and frogs were allowed to remain in their full natural strength. Experience teaches us that, in very thin-soled shoes, we feel an acute pain from every sharp-pointed stone we happen to tread upon. Horses are sensible of the same thing in their foot, when their soles, &c., are pared too thin. Hence they who are prejudiced against this method, without ever reflecting on the thin state of the sole, &c. are apt to condemn it, and draw their conclusions more from outward appearances than from any reasoning or knowledge of the structure of the parts. From a due attention likewise to the structure of a horse's foot in

a natural state, it will be obvious, that paring away the sole, frog, &c., must be hurtful, and in reality is destroying that substance provided by nature for the defence of the internal parts of the foot: from such practice it must be more liable to accidents from hard bodies, such as sharp stones, nails, glass, &c. From this consideration we shall likewise find, that a narrow piece of iron, adapted to the shape and size of the foot, is the only thing necessary to protect the crust from breaking or wearing away: the sole &c., require no defence if never pared.

"There is one observation I would farther make, which is, that the shoe should be made of good iron, well worked, or what smiths call hammer-hardened, that is, beaten all over lightly with a hammer when almost cold. The Spaniards and Portuguese farriers use this practice greatly, insomuch that many people, who have seen them at work, have reported that they form their horses shoes without heating them in the fire as we do. It is well known, that heating of iron till it is red softens it greatly; and when shoes thus softened are put upon horses' feet, they wear away like lead. But when the shoes are well hammered, the iron becomes more compact, firm, and hard; so that a well-hammered shoe, though made considerably lighter, yet will last as long as one that is made heavier; the advantage of which is obvious, as the horse will move his feet with more activity, and be in less danger of cutting his legs. The common concave shoes are very faulty in that respect; for, in fitting or shaping them to the foot, they require to be frequently heated, in order to make them bend to the unequal surface which the hoof acquires from the constant use of these shoes: they thereby become soft; and to attempt to harden them by beating or hammering, when they are_shaped to the foot, would undo the whole. But flat shoes, by making them, when heated, a little narrower than the foot, will, by means of hammering become wider, and acquire a degree of elasticity and firmness which it is necessary they should have, but impossible to be given them by any other means whatever; so that any farrier, from practice, will soon be able to judge, from the quality of the iron, how much a shoe, in fitting it to the circumference of the hoof, will stretch by hammering when it is almost cold; this operation, in fitting flat shoes, will be the less difficult, when it is considered, that as there are no inequalities on the surface of the hoof (or at least ought not to be) which require to be bended thereto, shoes of this kind only require to be made smooth and flat; hence they will press equally upon the circumference or crust of the hoof, which is the natural tread of a horse.'

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Mr. St. Bel, the first professor appointed at the Veterinary College, London, constructed a shoe different from the common style, in being somewhat convex on that side which is placed in contact with the horse's foot, but considerably so on that surface which is presented to the ground. On this plan, the horses sent for shoeing to the college were for some time shod; and it cannot be denied, that if every horse so sent had had the advantage of a perfectly natural hoof, Mr. St. Bel's shoe might have been found

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