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A
NEW SYSTEM
OF
SHOEING HORSES:
WITH
AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS MODES
PRACTISED BY
DIFFERENT' NATIONS;
MORE PARTICULARLY
A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH METHODS;
AND OBSERVATIONS ON
THE DISEASES OF THE FEET,
CONNECTED WITH SHOEING.
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By JOSEPH GOODWIN,
LATH
VETERINARY SURGEON TO HIS MAJESTY,
AND MEMBER OP THE ROYAL COLLEGE OP SURGEONS. |
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SECOND EDITION.
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LONGMAN.
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HURST, RE^'pySfgisBROWf^A^
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GREEN,
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TJCiEitffO$tjEityL&w ; V '
V AND J. P^TERl'S'.AI.LtMALL.C
B U^Cm Si
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<£v
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LondoK :
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-S<juare.
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A
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TO
HIS MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY
GEORGE THE FOURTH,
THIS WORK,
OF WHICH THE PRINCIPAL MATERIALS HAVE BEEN
COLLECTED FROM PRACTICE
IN HIS MAJESTY'S ROYAL ESTABLISHMENT,
IS,
BY MOST GRACIOUS PERMISSION, INSCRIBED, WITH THE HIGHEST SENSE OF DUTY, BY HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HUMBLE AND DEVOTED SERVANT,
JOSEPH GOODWIN.
The King's Stables, Carlton Palace,
February, 1824. |
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CONTENTS.
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Introduction - - Page I
CHAPTER I.
General Observations on the Structure of the Foot 27
CHAPTER II.
On Perfect Hoofs - - - 32
CHAPTER III.
On Imperfect Hoofs — - - 40
CHAPTER IV.
On Contraction - - 46 CHAPTER V.
On Thrush - - -63 CHAPTER VI.
On Corns - - - - 70 CHAPTER VII.
On Sand Cracks - - - 78
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CONTENTS.
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VI
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CHAPTER VIII.
On Pumiced Feet or Convex Soles -" Page 83
CHAPTER IX.
On Soles unnaturally Concave - - 97
CHAPTER X.
On Founder - - - 101
CHAPTER X.*
On Fever in the Feet - - 96* CHAPTER XI.
On the Nerve Operation - - 108
CHAPTER XII.
Observations on some of the Tools used by Shoeing
Smiths - - - -123 CHAPTER XIII.
On the ordinary Methods of Shoeing Horses in
England - - - 129 CHAPTER XIV.
On the Seated Shoe - - - 136
CHAPTER XV.
On Professor Coleman's System of Shoeing - 141
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CONTENTS. vii
CHAPTER XVI.
On Mr. Bracy Clark's System of Shoeing Page 174 CHAPTER XVII.
On the French System - - 188 CHAPTER XVIII.
On the Persian and other Foreign Systems - 197
CHAPTER XIX.
On the Frencli Shoe modified - - 203 CHAPTER XX.
On Bar Shoes - - - 228. CHAPTER XXL
On the Patten Shoe - - 235
CHAPTER XXII.
On Screw Shoes ... 239
CHAPTER XXIII.
On Grass Shoes, or Tips - - 248
CHAPTER XXIV.
On Shoes with moveable Toes - - 253
CHAPTER XXV.
On the Hunting Shoe - - - 257 |
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viii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVI.
On the Racing Shoe, or Plate - Page 266
CHAPTER XXVII.
On Fullering - 270 CHAPTER XXVIII.
On Punching ... - 273 CHAPTER XXIX.
On Frosting - - - . - 279
CHAPTER XXX.
On Nails - - - - - 287
CHAPTER XXXI.
On Nailing - ... - 298
CHAPTER XXXII.
On the Patent malleable Cast-iron Horse-Shoes 317
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Paving Stalls, Gratings, &c. - - 333
CHAPTER XXXIV.
On the Management of Feet in the Stable - 338
CHAPTER XXXV.
On the cutting Shoe and Boot - - 344
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CONTENTS. be
CHAPTER XXXVI.
On Water and Poultice Boots - Page 352
CHAPTER XXXVII.
On Shoeing Smiths - - - 363
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
On the Concave-seated Shoe - 376
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a
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INTRODUCTION
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In the year 1820, when I first ventured
to publish on a system of shoeing the horse, entirely different in principle to any in the United Kingdom, I was fearful the preju- dices and opposition common to every im- provement, or deviation from the beaten track, would have rendered but a slow de- mand for my book. A large impression, however, having
been disposed of in three years, I have ieen lnduced by so flattering a reception, and the patronage it has so generally met n' to offer a second edition, containing many new observations and considerable |
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ri.i.
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P&bltsfud by Longman.. Hurst. &&$, Orme, &-Htov,t; .jS'24
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INTRODUCTION.
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additions, which have suggested themselves
since the first was published. In the former edition I stated the origin
and period of my having commenced this new practice. An essential part of the system, the method of nailing, I am happy to add, has since become very generally adopted; and I feel great pleasure in re- peating that it fell to my lot first to intro- duce it into this country, in the year 1814. Having devoted the whole of my atten-
tion to the improvement and practice of the veterinary profession, since the year 1798, in attending to the management and treatment of horses in extensive private establishments, in the army, and in private practice, I feel deeply interested in every thing which relates to the progress and welfare of the profession ; and this, I trust, |
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Tl.2.
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Published fyZetig"ia.n,Hk'vt,2teej;Crme,S.'3!vn/i.i^2^.
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INTRODUCTION. 6
wiH be a sufficient apology for the follow-
ing remarks upon the defects ' of our Veterinary College. «
The establishment of a veterinary insti- tution, founded upon a scientific basis, to be conducted upon just principles, and af- fording facilities for the instruction of pupils at a moderate expense, must have been regarded as an important era in the advancement of veterinary knowledge in this country. The difficulties and prejudices which at
first opposed the Veterinary College being surmounted, it might have been expected that a more liberal policy would have been adopted in an establishment of such na- tional importance. But it is to be regretted, and especially
by the profession, that many obstacles still b 2
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-p7 1
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Tu-frlis-hsd fy Zen?-man,Jrun£,-Reej, Or?ne,£sBtvivj?.JSZ±.
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INTRODUCTION.
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exist, prejudicial both to the regular and
systematic education a pupil has a right to expect from such an institution, and to the candour and gupport, as a practitioner, he is afterwards entitled to look forward to. Periodical publications have repeatedly suggested such improvements as the pro- fession and pupils deemed expedient and considered requisite. Among others, a Demonstrator has been loudly called for, to aid the pupils in the prosecution of their dissections and anatomical researches; for at present they are allowed to remain ig- norant, and to make their own way with the scanty assistance, the few correct books we have on veterinary subjects may afford them. And, surely, a national institution, like the Veterinary College, ought to have both a library and museum free of access, at least to those attending it. The continental schools possess far su-
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n. 4.
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Fy /.
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w
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jPtLdlished fyL<?naman.,Ifu.rjt,lt££S. 0Tm4,fc%rewn,l'P&4..
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INTRODUCTION. 5
perior advantages to ours, trom the eluci-
dations and references which pupils there meet with, in books, extensive collections of preparations, casts, models, and drawings, with such instruments, and every kind of mechanical apparatus, as are likely to be serviceable in different cases. These must certainly add much to the facilities afforded the pupils, and tend greatiy to the im_ provement of their practice.
Clinical lectures, in every other medical
school, are considered as a stepping stone to good practice, but unfortunately not so in this, for there are none regularly given ; although the veterinary students attending the College are under many disadvantages which others are not; for instance, medical pupils have various teachers in each branch of their studies, and are enabled to compare the theories and discuss the doctrines of their various professors, but the veterinary b 3
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PL.S.
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?M&llrAedr fyZe?ipman,7ru.rsZ,-Kees,0r™e,&£rown,,lJ24.. ,
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6
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INTRODUCTION.
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pupil is limited to the notions and practice
of one individual, who is the only lecturer on veterinary subjects. This renders essential the great necessity
of making the only course of lectures which is given in the season as full and explicit as possible, though it cannot be expected, that the whole of the diseases and economy of the horse should be explained in a single course of lectures of one hour's duration^ only three times a week. , Instead of pursuing the plan of other me-
dical institutions for instruction, viz. of giv- ing distinct lectures on anatomy, pathology, chemistry, and materia medica, these sub- jects are treated on indiscriminately, when least expected by the pupil, and the lectures are consequently irregular and confused. The anatomy of the brain and nerves is never given at all, the muscles but imper- |
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FL 6.
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TuWished hj-Z.-v- wreaw,7?u,-st,Rets, t?rnit.3c3rvwn, JS24.
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INTRODUCTION. 7
fectly described, and the structure and dis-
eases of cattle and other animals, which, in foreign veterinary schools are particularly and individually treated on, are wholly omitted in ours. Therefore a veterinary surgeon leaves the College entirely ignorant of the anatomy and pathology of the cow, sheep, dog, or any other animal he may be called upon to attend, and consequently his treatment is often erroneous; and he suffers the mortification of finding ignorant men in possession of nostrums and secret remedies, which are often successful, when his treat- ment is of no avail, through a deficiency of education in what ought to be consi- dered, and strictly is, veterinary knowledge. Still do we find, on a reference to the pro- spectus of the Institution, the following paragraph : — " The grand object of the Institution has
- been and is to form a school of veterinary b 4
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n. 7-
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JUilished iyZt<n#man.,2fu.-Kst,7Ues,Orme,&-3rl?.
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8
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INTRODUCTION.
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" science, in which the anatomical structure
" of quadrupeds of all kinds, horses, cattle, " sheep, dogs, &c. the diseases to which " they are liable, and the remedies proper " to be applied might be investigated and " regularly taught, in order that by this " means enlightened practitioners of liberal " education, whose whole study has been " devoted to the veterinary art in all its- " branches, may be gradually dispersed over " the kingdom, on whose skill and experience " confidence may be securely placed." I have already stated that the members
of the profession have a strong claim to be admitted to take an equal share in the Committee of Examination. The present examiners are all lecturers
on some branch of medical education, and are all highly distinguished and eminent in their respective professions ; but I will ven- |
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Pi. ,9.
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Fia. /
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~3<J-li.sAt>d £ry2,onfi7nan,Ifurj-Z;Jicef, Cl7->m,&.''3r<?wn,l<?k.4
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INTRODUCTION. 9
ture to affirm that no confidence would be
reposed in their practice as veterinarians. Yet are the pupils taught to believe the signatures of the present examiners to be of more value to them, and to have greater weight with the public, than the names of any eminent and experienced veterinary practitioners. To such arbitrary opinion I cannot as-
sent, and am quite unwilling to admit that a medical man, who has not made the veter- inary art his particular study, can be as capable of examining a veterinary pupil, in either the theoretical or practical part of his profession as an experienced veterinary practitioner. And I wm ask, how a physician or sur-
geon would reconcile being examined by a committee of veterinary surgeons? no more, than veterinary surgeons do, who |
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Tufrtcj-Aed fyZff>i0man,3u r&JUtg, Ortrte. ArBrewn, Mz &
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10 INTRODUCTION.
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are at present obliged to submit to the con-
troul which the medical professors hold over them, by their presiding at the Vete- rinary Medical Board, to the exclusion of its own members. Necessity, thirty years ago, and not
choice, indicated the selection of eminent medical teachers to form a committee of examiners; but what was obligatory at that time ought not to be so, after a lapse of so many years. And to suppose that thirty years' tuition and experience have not produced any competent members in the profession, would be casting a reflection on the school itself as well as on the members. It has been stated, that if any alteration
were to take place in constituting the com- mittee of examination, that the present examiners would withdraw. If this be cor-
16 |
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Tul!Mtd .;-■ /.. n. '~.,„J{,,,:■!./!.■ v., ■:-,„.:.t-3nm,,i
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INTRODUCTION. 11
rect, which I am little inclined to give credit
> A am still of opinion the veterinary pro- fession could furnish a committee quite as competent to the purpose, and who, for the respectability and interest of the profession, would, if they had the same controul, be more tenacious in admitting and suffering to be encouraged the ignorant individuals who present themselves to be made pupils. But, I fear, we must not expect either
the respectability or progress of the pro- lession to be materially enhanced under the auspices of the Professor, who, to give his own words, has publicly avowed : " We must look to the sons of grooms and far-
' ners for practical veterinarians." t may be to the Professor's interest to
encourage SUch a class of men ; and it is very unlikely that he will ever suggest any alteration to the Committee, however expe- |
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fan.
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R9. 1.
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Fig. 2.
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12
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INTRODUCTION.
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client, while the present members of it
contribute so largely to his benefit, by lecturing gratuitously to his pupils. The generous manner in which most of
the medical public teachers have issued tickets to the veterinary pupils must be ever acknowledged to be most liberal on their part, who, no doubt, conceived they were at the same time promoting the ad- vancement of the profession ; and, pro- bably, the veterinary art would never have reached its present state, had it not been for the great collateral support it has de- rived from them ; and the veterinary pro- fession must be ever grateful for the inform- ation they have received from the public lectures. But were they now to withdraw their aid, and the College to possess its own professors of the various sciences the veterinary surgeon is required to know, I am persuaded the pupil would be better |
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Fl. Ht.
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Ta&Ushtd /;:'■', ■'■■;■■■'■.Re&s,0rme,6 • ,
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INTRODUCTION. 13
able to attend his lectures, gain more
^formation, and lose less time in going to ana irom the various lecture-rooms, which are all very distant from the institution. -I he present fee for entrance would very
well bear the additional expence of pro- viding other professors, if fairly distributed. The practice of the stables at the College may very justly be said to be furnished by the governors and subscribers to the institution; therefore the whole of the entrance-money, twenty guineas at present, must be considered as payment only for the annual course of lectures, although there are no other medical lectures in the metropolis whose entrance-fee exceeds half that sum. lhere is something repugnant to the
eelings of young men in being considered
gratuitous pupils ; and were thev allowed
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14
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INTRODUCTION.
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to enter for a single course of lectures, and
to pay but the same fee as at other ana- tomical schools (three guineas per course), the pupil would then have ample means left him to appropriate to other lecturers, whom it might be deemed necessary for him to attend, and he would no longer be considered a charity-pupil, at the same time that he is paying liberally for all the in- formation he acquires. I should not have offered so much on
the subject of the Examining Committee, but that on making application to request the Committee's consideration of the pro- priety of veterinary surgeons taking a share at the examination, I received for answer the subjoined letter: " Sir, Veterinary College, Feb. 28. 1823.
" I am directed by the Medical Examin-
" ing Committee of the College to acknow- |
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INTRODUCTION. 15
' ledge the receipt of yours of the24th hist.,
' and to inform you, that by the existing ' laws of the institution they are precluded ' °m taking any alteration in the con- ' stitution of their Board. |
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' I am desired to add, that as veterinary
science has for thirty years eminently
< flourished under the present system of
'education and examination, the Com-
' mittee are decidedly of opinion, that they
' cannot with propriety recommend to the
' general meeting of the Governors of the
College the adoption of the alteration you
Propose, as they are persuaded it would
* not tend to promote either the reputation
" of the College, or improvement of the
c pupils.
' I have the honour to be,
" Sir,
Your obedient humble servant, (Signed) « W. Sewell." |
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16
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INTRODUCTION.
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Can any thing be more contradictory
than the contents of this letter ? boasting of the flourishing state of the profession, at the same time that we are still under the necessity of requiring the assistance of other professions to preside at our Board of Examination. Delicacy, it is said, precludes teachers
of anatomy becoming examiners at the Royal College of Surgeons; but at the Veterinary College the effect of such ex- ample cannot have had much influence, or we should not have to remark, that the only teacher is the only veterinary ex- aminer in the present committee, to whom most of the questions, and, indeed, all practical ones, must be referred. When we consider the number of pupils
(generally upwards of fifty) who enter |
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INTRODUCTION; 17
annually at the Veterinary College, the
P oiessor s lectureship may very justly be said to be the most profitable in this metro- polis, and the only one which admits of a teacher's taking a further fee for the pupil's examination. It is not my inten- tjon to enter more fully into the detail °r this department of the profession, as it has already been announced to the public to be the subject of a work in a state of forward preparation for the press, by the author of Percival's Elementary Lectures, on the Veterinary Art, Nevertheless, as I proceed I shall have
occasion to refer to the state of it at different
periods, in order to compare the doctrines
notions of former times with those of
present, which will serve to give some
ea as to the progress the profession has,
since made.
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18
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INTRODUCTION.
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The promulgation of veterinary know-
ledge by established scientific institutions is but of modern date ; those on the con- tinent are under the auspices of the govern- ment, and well conducted. They were instituted in France in the reign of Louis XIV., and are allowed to be superior to ours in every respect; and this I state on the authority of several persons eminent in the profession, who have had opportunities of making the comparison. Various veterinary works testify that
since the use of horses has been required, it has always been a maxim to attend to their feet; for a fine horse without sound feet may be very justly compared to a fine building without a good foundation,—in constant danger of falling. Various expedients have been at different
periods devised to keep horses' feet in good |
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INTRODUCTION. 19
er' even before it was deemed necessary
3 defend them with iron ; and when neces- S1ty indicated the use of iron shoes, the diseases which were found to arise from them were noticed, and methods of treai ment recommended to remove such tem- porary inconveniences, as they were then considered to be; but it was not for some time suspected that shoes alone could be productive of any serious mischief, nor has it been an object of strict enquiry till of late years. At, however, became manifest, and no
one now, I believe, doubts that the use of shoes of any kind when nailed to the hoof, an outrage on nature's laws, and will iways be productive of such consequences, as often to baffle the skill of the most eminent Veterinarians. |
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INTRODUCTION.
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This has rendered it a subject of much
enquiry to discover the best form of shoe, or that which is the least calculated to interfere with the natural functions of the various parts of the foot. On the principles of shoeing horses,
Veterinary Surgeons are at issue, and much controversy has been excited by the vari- ous opinions entertained by many, who are too often led away with a favorite, and per- haps erroneous, theory. It is to be lamented that at this moment by far the greater number of horses in the United Kingdom are shod in a rough and clumsy manner, indiscriminately with any kind of shoe the smith chances to fix upon which he thinks will take the least time in fitting out and hammering on. A great deal of this rough work has however been occasioned by limiting the shoeing-smiths to a low price; |
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INTRODUCTION. 21
he therefore cannot afford to bestow either
much labour in making the shoes as they ought to be, or give up his time to fitting them on properly; and so accustomed are the generality of smiths to rough and ready work, as to be incapable of working other^ wise when required. There needs no greater argument than
the daily proofs to be met with in the feet of horses to establish the necessity that persons, interested in their welfare, should promulgate knowledge, and elicit every information on this essential and interest ing part of the Veterinary art. As the improvement of any branch of
science can be estimated only by compa- rison, I shall occasionally enter into the theories and illustrations of some who have published on this subject. Authors, of any c 3
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INTRODUCTION.
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note, have generally taken for the basis of
their theories and speculations, the foot of the horse in a state of nature. Contem- plating the exterior of the foot, it may be observed that the whole weight of the animal is unequally borne on its base, for it is evident from the conformation, that more weight must be determined to some parts than to others. The convexities and concavities of the
hoof give rise to a form admirably calcu- lated to embrace the ground with a firm and secure grasp ; the projecting parts pe- netrate the earth, while the hollow parts of the hoof admit the earth to fill up their cavities, and to form as it were a kind of dovetail. When the feet are shod, the weight and
bearings of the animal are totally different 18
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23
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INTRODUCTION.
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and unlike the condition of feet without
shoes ; for more labour is required of those parts which have more weight imposed on them, and consequently less when weight has been removed. And when we compel particular parts to
bear more weight than they are required to sustain in a state of nature, we equally dispose them to disease, as when we remove from other parts that weight which they were intended by nature to support. Hence the importance of strictly scruti-
nizing the principles and properties of the different kinds of shoes, to ascertain which are calculated to produce the least mischief to the feet, and therefore most entitled to general adoption. For it is a well-known fact among Veterinarians and strict observers of the feet of horses, that c 4 |
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24
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INTRODUCTION.
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shoes, of whatever description, sooner or
later must produce mischief and incon- venience to the animal. An enquiry into the structure of the foot will alone shew that it is impossible to suggest a form of shoe which can admit of all the functions of the foot being duly performed. Veterinarians, I believe, generally agree
that the uncovered parts of the foot when shod should bear more or less pressure, but they are at issue as to the parts which re- quire it, the degree of pressure necessary, and the means to be employed to obtain it. But, as I have before stated, that shoe is the most entitled to our notice which gives the least inconvenience to the animal, and allows of the most natural position to the feet, either when in action or at rest. I have not thought it necessary to enter
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INTRODUCTION. 25
into a precise account of the anatomy of
the horse's foot, as it has already been laid before the public by Professor Coleman, Freeman, and others ; nevertheless I shall give a summary description of the general conformation, to enable persons unac- quainted with the subject to understand the common terms made use of. The greatest impediment to the general
introduction of any new system of shoeing is the difficulty to induce smiths to comply with a new line of work; for masters in the shoeing business are constantly chang- ing their journeymen, and therefore find it a troublesome task to be continually teach- ing new comers. When the principles and practice I have
recommended have been strictly followed, I have ever witnessed its good effects; and *c5
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26 INTRODUCTION.
benefit is sure to be the result of its ado-
tion when fairly put into practice. Professor Coleman has taken out a pa-
tent for a shoe of a peculiar construction, and I shall hereafter make a few comments on its principles. For information on the subject of the
patent cast malleable iron horse-shoes, see the chapter on that head, page 317. |
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27
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CHAP. I.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRUCTURE
OF THE FOOT. A minute detail of the anatomy of the
foot of the horse, and of the process of na- ture for the formation of the hoof, I consider unnecessary in this work, as these subjects have been already laid before the public with much ability by preceding writers. But I do not concur with them in many important physiological points, and the reasons for my difference of opinion will be stated hereafter, From the difference of opinion among
authors upon this subject have arisen so |
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28
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STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT.
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many various notions as to the best method
of protecting the feet of horses when re- quired to work, I shall therefore briefly describe the names by which the different parts of the hoof are distinguished, to faci- litate any references in the future part of this work. The hoof may be considered as a box of
horn firmly connected in all its parts, which are each distinguished by particular names. Beginning at the top of the foot, where
the hair of the leg terminates, the hoof first makes its appearance, and this part is called the coronet. The coronet continues as far down the hoof as the inner concave surface, which receives the coronary ring. It then takes the name of crust or wall, which forms the whole external surface of the foot, and is all that can be seen, if a horse |
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STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 29
be standing on a flat surface ; excepting a
small portion of horn at the heel. The crust or wall is subdivided into the quar- ters, or parts of the crust on each side of the foot, the toe, and the heel. (See Plate ix. fig. 1.) On taking up the foot (Plate viii. fig. 1.)
a continuation of the horn is seen, which is Uneven in its surface, convex in some places and concave in others, and is united in all its parts, thus completing the box. The crust or wall descends below the sole, and extends nearly all round the foot, forming that part on which a horse rests when standing without shoes. The crust after- wards makes a reflection at both heels, and takes a direction towards the centre of the loot, where both portions of it meet, as- suming the form of a V. These two ridges °1 horn, which arc called the bars, or |
||||
|
30
|
|||||||
|
STBUCTUKE OF THE FOOT.
|
|||||||
|
binders, are united to the sole below, and
the frog and sole above. The part joined to the crust, and extending, and also united to the bars, is called the sole, and is a principal part of the bottom of the box. Between the bars there is a convex pro-
jecting portion, which begins at the heel, and terminates about the centre of the foot, where its point unites with the sole, and on each side with the bars in their whole length ; this part is called the frog. Between each side of the frog and the
bars, there are two considerable cavities, usually called the space between the bars and the frog. On viewing the internal surface of the
dead hoof there are numerous thin horny partitions, which pervade the whole inner |
|||||||
|
STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 31
surface of the crust, excepting the concave
space, appropriated for the coronary ring : these are called the horny laminae ; they are elastic, and firmly connected with the inner part of the crust; and, in their ap- pearance, are not unlike the gills of a mushroom. The contents of the hoof in the living
animal are highly sensible, being composed of bones, tendons, ligaments, nerves, ar- teries, veins, &c. all of which, from dis- ease, undergo changes in their structure, separately or conjointly. |
||||
|
32
|
||||||
|
CHAP. II.
ON PERFECT HOOFS.
[See Plate IX. fig. 1., and Plate VIII. fig. I.] The hoofs of horses are elastic and fibrous,
and intended by nature as a protection to the sensible internal parts; it is necessary that they should be strong, thick, tough, and firmly connected. A perfect foot has the shape of a coner
except at the heel. The front, which com- prises the largest portion of the wall or crust, is the most cone like, and the quar- ters are less so. When a horse is standing on a flat pavement, the foot, at its base or bottom, is much larger than at the top or coronet, and the crust descends from the |
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|
J
|
||||||
|
ON PERFECT HOOFS. 33
coronet to the bottom in a regular slope, at
an angle of about 45 degrees in the front. The hoof should be smooth and even on
its surface, tough, elastic, and strong in its appearance ; the heels should be well back, and the nearer they approach to the back part of the frog the better; and the more the quarters and heels approach to a per- pendicular position, the more they are cal- culated to support the weight above. The space appropriated for the frog should be wide and open. Having described as much of a perfect
foot as can be seen when the horse is stand- ing, I proceed to describe the appearance and shape of a perfect hoof, when the foot ls taken up. — The first circumstance that deserves attention is the uniform box of horn, which, being divested of all its su- |
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|
D
|
|||||
|
34
|
||||||||
|
ON PERFECT HOOFS.
|
||||||||
|
perfluous or exuberant parts, approaches to
the form of a circle, but all the appearances before stated must be combined with the circular form to give it the denomination and character of a perfect foot. The words " superfluous parts," may re-
quire some explanation. Suppose a horse to have run in the fields until he is four or five years old, and that his feet have never been touched by any instrument, this state of the feet would, by many persons, be called a state of nature, and the foot would therefore be thought perfect; but it ought to be considered like any other production of horn, which has grown into a state of exuberance in some parts, and is worn and broken in others- When the hoof is di- vested of these exuberances, in the same way as we cut our nails to keep them in a fit state, I consider the proper time to |
||||||||
|
J
|
||||||||
|
ON PERFECT HOOFS. 35
look at the hoof to observe its natural
shape. It will then appear that the base or bottom of the crust descends to the lowest part of the foot, projects below the sole, and is the part which the horse rests upon. It should therefore be thick, firm, strong, and elastic: in its natural state, it is rather thicker at the toe than at the quarters and heels ; but the nearer it approaches at these parts to the thickness at the toe, the more it is calculated to resist the effects of shoes. Sometimes it is perceived that the thickness of the crust varies ; the inward quarters being thinner than the outward, and that in some cases, though rarely, this is reversed. As the crust is the part on which the shoe rests, arid to which it is nailed, it is very important that it should be perfect in thickness and strength. The bars or binders which I have already mentioned, as being a reflec- d 2
|
|||||
|
i
|
|||||
|
36 ON PERFECT HOOFS.
tion or continuation of the crust, should be
firm and strong, and have an oblique posi- tion in the descent to their union with the frog. The sole should also be firmly and uniformly united with the crust and bars, and be strong, concave, and elastic. The frog, which is uneven in its surface, being convex on each side, concave in the centre for about half its length, and then convex to its termination, should be full of horn, elastic, prominent and firm in its appearance, open in the centre or cleft, and full on its sides and point. The space between the frog and bars should be open, distinct, and clear, and the heels of the crust should come as far back, or nearly so, as the heel of the frog. The hoofs of horses are constantly grow-
ing, the crust is secreted or produced by the coronary ring, the horny sole is secreted |
||||
|
ON PERFECT HOOFS. 37
|
|||||
|
by the sensible sole, the horny frog by the
sensible frog, and the horny laminae by the sensible laminae, all of which are elastic, and have motion. The weight of the horse is sustained by the internal and superior part of the crust, the laminae con- necting the coffin bone to it, and the weight is in this way suspended to the in- side of the hoof. When the navicular and coffin bones
are pressed down by the superincumbent weight of the animal, the laminae elongate and the crust is drawn downward at the same moment; as these bones descend, the horny sole also descends and flattens, which forces the heels, quarters, and bars to expand, at the time that the weight is removed, as when the horse is in action, and the foot is off the ground, these parts again contract, producing an alternate ex- d S |
|||||
|
38 ON PERFECT HOOPS.
pansion and contraction. The extent of
motion in the crust when supporting the weight of the animal, will depend on its thickness and power to sustain it. This is well shown by the difference of appearance between a strong hoof and a weak one, the former presents a regular slope from the coronet to the lower part, whereas, the lat- ter becomes hollow, wrinkled, and deviates greatly from the straight line, and the curve is oftentimes so great as to give to the hoof the appearance of turning up at the toe. Horses' hoofs are of different colours,
black, white, and a variety of gradations in shade; in many instances there is a mix- ture of colours, which not unfrequently resemble the variegations of a piece of mar- ble. It is generally remarked that white hoofs are not so durable as those which are |
||||
|
39
|
||||||||
|
ON PERFECT HOOFS.
|
||||||||
|
dark coloured, and that they are more
prone to disease. I have, reason to think there is some foundation for the observ- ation. As it is the custom in this country to
begin to shoe horses from one year and a half to two years old, an age when the hoofs, like the other parts of the body, have not arrived at maturity, it is not a matter of surprise that very few feet are to be met with, which can be considered even tolerably perfect. |
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|
» 4
|
||||||||
|
40
|
|||||
|
CHAP. III.
ON IMPERFECT HOOFS.
I shall first consider those imperfections
in the hoofs of horses, which are not the effect of any particular system of shoeing, but which occur from natural deformity. Weak feet.—(See Plate viii. fig. 4.) The
natural imperfections of most frequent oc- currence are those which are denominated " weak feet," and the term is not inappro- priate, as in such there is not horn enough to answer the purpose of wear and tear; the hoof is thin, and not sufficiently strong to support the weight of the animal; and when a horse is in action, it proves insuffi- cient for the defence of the internal sensible parts. Feet of this description are fre- |
|||||
|
41
|
|||||||
|
ON IMPERFECT HOOFS.
|
|||||||
|
quently large, flat, and thin, though there
are also some which are thin, but not out of proportion in size : both kinds are uni- formly concave on the front part of the crust, and curl up at the toe in proportion to the extent of the defect. (See Plate viii. fig. 4.) It is equally observable, that the crust, in feet of this description, is uneven on the surface, being frequently indented, wrinkled, and having a ring-like appear- ance. They generally have a small coronet, the diameter of which is not in proportion to the base or bottom of the foot, which is in many cases unusually broad, flat, thin, and for the most part circular. Much has been said by Mr. Coleman
about the circular form of the hoof being an unerring principle of nature, and when so formed, it is by him considered as a test of its perfection ; but as the class of hoofs |
|||||||
|
42 ON IMPERFECT HOOFS.
which I have here described is numerous,
and very generally circular, I contend that a circular form furnishes no proof of the perfection of the foot. It will be observed, that when the crust
at the bottom is thin and weak, the sole also is thin, weak, and flat, the bars or binders scarcely appearing, the heels are weak and feeble, and in many instances almost wanting. In others they are in- dented and distorted, instead of forming two distinct pillars of horn, as is observable in the perfect hoof. The frogs of hoofs of this kind are gene-
rally the parts best protected by horn ; but this is not always the case. Horses with hoofs thus formed are nu-
merous, and it has been said that this im- |
||||
|
ON IMPERFECT HOOFS. 43
perfection is principally confined to dray-
horses ; but I have observed that weak feet are met with as frequently in every other class of horses, with the exception of ponies, among whom such a form is very rare. Small feet. — The next imperfection
necessary to mention, is where the foot is altogether too small, but without having any particular appearance in the form. It is not unfrequent to see large horses, but chiefly among those which are thorough- bred, with small feet. The base of the feet of these horses not being broad enough to support the super-incumbent weight, they are consequently insecure on their legs, and soon break down. Large feet. —There is likewise a class of
horses with feet of a form the reverse of that last described, having no peculiar |
||||
|
44 ON IMPERFECT HOOFS.
malformation, but being too large and
unwieldly. When such horses are required to work, the weight of the foot has a manifest effect on their action, rendering it slow and clumsy. Some Veterinarians have stated, that
horses bred in low and marshy situations, have uniformly weak, thin, and flat feet; the truth of this has not, however, been proved by my own observation. A con- tinued state of moisture, with so much weight on the feet of horses, certainly disposes them to flatness ; but I have not remarked it to be a maxim, that less horn is produced in these situations than in others. Having considered the natural imper-
fections of horses' feet, I shall next give an account of those defects and diseases |
||||
|
ON IMPERFECT HOOFS. 45
which are produced by an improper me-
thod of shoeing and treatment of the feet. These are contractions, corns, sand-cracks, thrushes, concave and convex soles, founder, &c. After having entered into the consider-
ation of these diseases, I shall describe the instruments principally in use by shoeing- smiths, and then enumerate the causes that produce those diseases, which will lead to a description of the present method of English shoeing. |
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|
46
|
|||||
|
CHAP. IV.
ON CONTRACTION.
As the hoofs of horses are elastic, it is ma-
nifest they must be susceptible of changes in their natural form and appearance. Contraction is every where to be observed among horses in this country, and it is a rare occurrence to meet with feet, that have not partaken more or less of this prevail- ing disease. (See Plate viii. fig. 2.) This state of the foot is observed in a
variety of forms ; sometimes it is perceived that both heels are approaching near to- gether, and that the space appropriated for the frog, and the frog itself, is diminishing in its diameter; the frog also becomes rag- ged, dwindles away, and has little or no horn ; the quarters and heels at the same |
|||||
|
ON CONTRACTION. 47
time lose their shape, and finally, the foot
becomes larger round the coronet than at the base. In some cases it is seen that one heel is inclined to contract more than the other, and this happens more frequently with the inner quarter and heel than with the outward. In other cases, contraction begins at the
coronet, and as the hoofs grow down, there appear many deep grooves round the foot; the soles are generally thick, and the quar- ters and heels high ; — the term, high, is rather an improper one, but it originates in the horse being raised in consequence of the descent of the heels below the frog. As the sides or quarters come nearer
together, the foot increases in length at the toe, and frequently assumes the appearance °f a mule's foot. — Contracted hoofs are |
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|
48
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
generally dry and hot, which may be ascer-
tained by comparing with the hand the heat of a contracted hoof with the heat of a per- fect one. Let a contracted hoof be im- mersed in water, and also another which is not contracted; it will then be seen that the contracted foot dries much sooner than the other. Horses that have an abundance of horn
are more prone to this disease than those where horn is in a less proportion ; but it occasionally affects all denominations of hoofs. On the first appearance of this disease,
a horse is continually changing the position of his feet in the stable; thus evincing more or less pain and internal inflammation. He first advances one leg and then the other, if the disease is in both feet; but if one 15 |
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|
49
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
only be affected, it is invariably that which
is stretched forward. When required to work, on first coming
out of the stable, he appears stiff and in pain, but after having been ridden for some time, and become warm with exercise, he goes better, but sweats much sooner than a sound horse ; he goes near the ground, is afraid to lift his feet up, appears foot-sore, tender, and goes very unsafely; he frequently trips, blunders, and ultimately falls. In this manner the disease goes on, till the horse becomes permanently lame. If the contraction be in one foot, that
soon becomes smaller than the other ; and if in both, they both diminish in size. It is distressing to witness the action of
horses in this state ; the pain they endure E
|
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|
50
|
||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
||||||
|
induces them to throw as much weight on
their haunches as they can in order to re- - lieve their fore-feet; they consequently stretch out their fore-legs, bend their hocks, and lower their croups nearer to the ground. When in the stable they continually lie down, and will scarcely get up to feed ; in this deplorable state, and it is lamentable to know that it is frequent, the animal is doomed to the slaughter-house. In the early stage of this disease, various
attempts have been made to relieve it, as drawing the soles, which is a cruel and barbarous operation, and often has a ten- dency to aggravate instead of mitigating the symptoms; blistering and firing round the coronet, removing the contracted parts, grooving with a drawing knife in various directions, and turning out into marshy places until the hoofs are grown down again, and a variety of other expedients. |
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|
51
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
Attention should be paid to the dis-
section of the horse during the time of its growth; this may succeed, so far as to remove the morbid alterations in the ex- ternal hoof, and the new horn may be made to assume the appearance of perfec- tion from a very distorted state : the animal goes to work again sound, but the sound- ness in such cases is but of short duration, for I have observed out of a very great number, that lameness, sooner or later, in- variably returned. This evinces that, how- ever easy the means may be of restoring the natural form of the hoof, yet where derangement has taken place in the sen- sible parts within, all attempts at perma- nent relief are unavailable. It is not unfrequently seen, that this dis-
ease takes place at an early age, and pro- duces lameness; on the other hand, we e 2
|
|||||||
|
52
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
occasionally observe an old horse with his
feet contracted, and otherwise out of shape, who is nevertheless very sound, but, in the majority of cases, lameness takes place at the commencement of the disease. This disease is commonly known by the
term groggy, founder, &c, and when the hoofs are not much deformed, it is called chest founder, and it is generally considered to be seated in the chest. The hind-feet of horses are not liable to
this disease, or, perhaps, speaking more properly, they do not suffer from the effects of it: we occasionally see the hind-feet of a bad form, but I never saw a horse labour under any permanent lameness in the hind- feet, similar to what has been described respecting the fore-feet. |
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|
53
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
There are several causes which contribute
to bring on contraction ; but there is no one which has come within my observation that is so clearly manifest as the mechanical effects of the present modes of shoeing. If we consider that the hoofs of horses
are elastic and yielding, and that iron is a solid unyielding body, we may readily con- ceive when an elastic body is bound on, or nailed to an inelastic one, if there be much action or motion, or much weight to sup- port, that the yielding body will give way, and consequently that the horn of the foot must be continually undergoing a change in its form, which is occasioned by the shape of the English shoe now in common use. Having stated that the foot surface of the shoe is invariably a plane inclining from the outward to the inward edge, and that the ground surface is convex, and also |
|||||||
|
54 ON CONTRACTION.
that a piece of solid iron of the form de-
scribed is nailed on to the hoof, it necessa- rily follows, as the horse treads on the shoe which is convex on the ground surface, that the whole weight must be supported and borne on an edge, and by the nails and clinches. Thus the weight of the animal is continually squeezing the sides of the hoofs together ; and all the horn, at the quarters and heels behind the last nails, has no power to prevent the weight above from pressing them down the inclined plane. It has been stated, that if a shoe were
carefully fitted to the hoof, and nailed all the way round, to the extremity of the heels, that the diameter and form of the foot could not be altered, and contraction consequently could not take place. How- ever plausible this reasoning may appear to be, we every day witness the ill effects in |
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|
55
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
those cases where the nails are driven too
near the extremity of the heels; and the author of such theory must have overlooked the motion and functions which various parts of the hoof possess. To exemplify this idea, suppose a horse's
foot to be put into the mouth of an iron box the size of the foot, and of a conical shape, and that it is pressed by a heavy weight; the iron box being of an unyield- ing substance, and the hoof elastic, it must, by degrees, assume the form of a cone. Now this is precisely the principle of Eng- lish shoeing, and it is evident that the base, or bottom of the foot, is gradually made less and less, and becomes variously distorted in its form. Some are of opinion, that if horses were
shod by the worst smiths, and were not e 4
|
|||||||
|
56 ON CONTRACTION.
allowed to come into a stable, but were kept
at grass, that their feet would not contract or undergo any change in form, but would remain sound. Unless these horses were kept at regular work on pavements or turn- pike roads, no fair conclusion could be made from such an experiment; it is probable, however, that lameness might thus be di- minished in the same proportion as the feet are injured by confinement in the stable; but still the animal would be subject to all the bad effects of an ill-formed shoe. Another cause of contraction is found in
the heat of stables, and more particularly in the litter being allowed to remain too long in the stalls. The ordinary custom of stablemen is to remove the wet and heated part of the litter from the stalls twice a week, but in many instances only once, which, being soaked in urine and dung, |
|||||
|
A
|
|||||
|
57
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
soon ferments and forms a complete hot-
bed. This has a powerful effect on the hoofs of horses ; and the contrast of a state of nature, and of a bed so heated, must be obvious. There is also another cause which mate-
rially contributes to the production of this disease, which is the bad mode of paving the stalls of stables so much higher before than behind. When stables are constructed, this circumstance is too frequently left to the discretion of architects. It must be evident, that in stalls paved in the usual manner, the weight of the animal is thrown very unequally on the fore legs and feet, with the toes up much above the heels ; the horse being compelled to stand in this strained position, his weight is irregularly distributed, and the bad effects are soon discovered, not only in the tendons and |
|||||||
|
58 ON CONTRACTION.
|
||||
|
ligaments, but even in the feet them-
selves. Much has been said about paring the
frogs and cutting out the bars of the hoof, as having a powerful effect in producing contraction, and strong injunctions have been given, that they should not be touched by any instrument. It has not, however, come within my observation, if the frogs and bars are pared with discretion, that any tendency to produce contraction is occa- sioned ; on the contrary, it is generally necessary. Contraction appears to me, in some in-
stances, to be a cause of inflammation, and in others to be an effect. In the first instance this is demonstrated by a manifest alteration in the form of the foot previous to lameness ; in the latter instance, lame- |
||||
|
ON CONTRACTION. 59
ness precedes, for some time, any change
in the form or appearance of the hoof. It is the opinion of Mr. Coleman, that
as heavy dray and cart horses are not so liable to contraction, as those of other denominations, that weight and pressure on the frogs and feet are a specific against it; but when it is considered, that these horses are mostly used in a very slow pace, and that their action necessarily employs the toe in a much greater degree than the heel, the circumstance is sufficiently explained; and I have no doubt, if dray-horses were subjected to the same work and treatment in their feet, as those are where the defect is most frequent, that they would be equally liable to contraction and all its consequences. And when it is also considered that
small ponies scarcely ever suffer from con- |
||||
|
60
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
traction, I do not think Mr. Coleman's
reasoning on the effect of great weight on the fore-feet in preventing this disease, can be easily admitted. Another cause of contraction may be
added, which is the great concussion the feet receive when hunting and going fast over pavement or gravelled roads; which inclines them to inflammation and contrac- tion. Contracted feet, when dissected, exhibit
a variety of diseased appearances : in some instances considerable ossifications and an- chylosis of the joints; and in others, the bones within the hoofs have lost their solidity, and have become spongy from the absorption occasioned by the great pres- sure from the contracted horn. See Plate VIII. fig. 6. which exemplifies
this more clearly. |
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION. 61
I have before observed, that various
expedients have been resorted to for the relief of contraction and its effects ; but it is of much greater moment to suggest a method of shoeing calculated to counteract so prevailing and destructive a disease; and I trust I shall not be considered too sanguine in believing that I have arrived, after long perseverance, at something like such a result. In cases, where there are deformities in
the feet, and still the horse remains sound and useful, it is best to let 'well alone, though there are persons, under such cir- cumstances, who are desirous to do some- thing towards restoring the hoof to its natural form. But were all horses whose hoofs are deformed to be under treatment, three fourths of those in the United King- dom would be put out of work. Never- |
||||
|
62
|
|||||||
|
ON CONTRACTION.
|
|||||||
|
theless the feet may be much benefited
and improved by shoeing, and this may be done without taking horses out of work, if the change be made gradually and with discretion. With regard to the treatment of this dis-
ease, on the first appearance of contrac- tion, bleeding both generally and locally to counteract inflammation ought to be employed, and the veins which ramify over the cartilages of the coffin-bone will afford a plentiful local evacuation ; purging, spare feeding, the abstraction of heat by the ap- plication of moisture, and the plan of shoe- ing subsequently recommended, appear to me calculated in some instances to cure this disease, and in most cases to relieve and mitigate the symptoms. |
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|
63
|
|||||
|
CHAR V.
ON THEUSH.
1 he Thrush, a very common disease, makes
its appearance in the cleft or centre of the frog. I have already stated, that a sound frog is full of horn, and is firmly united in all its parts; but on the appearance of a thrush it is separated in the cleft, making a complete division of the horn, and pene- trating through its whole substance to the sensible frog (which is the seat of this dis- ease), where its depth is terminated. In- flammation and suppuration take place in the sensible frog, and a discharge of foetid matter, more or less, according to the state of the disease, issues through the division °f the horn in the frog. This division often |
|||||
|
64
|
|||||||
|
ON THRUSH.
|
|||||||
|
extends as far back as the hair of the heels,
but seldom further forward than the cleft of the frog. The thrush is found in all horses ; some-
times in one foot only, on other occasions in both fore-feet; though the disease is more frequent in the hind than in the fore-feet. If it be allowed to continue long, the frog begins to diminish in size ; it grows ragged and uneven on its surface ; it loses the tough and elastic property of the sound frog, and becomes dry, hard, and brittle ; eventually little or no horn is produced, and the whole frog is a mass of filth and disease. As the disease advances, the heels and quarters close in nearer and nearer to- gether, and the space which nature appro- priated for the frog becomes nearly ob- literated. |
|||||||
|
65
|
|||||||
|
ON THRUSH.
|
|||||||
|
Thrushes appear principally to arise from
two causes, viz. the effects of the present mode of shoeing, or continued exposure to moisture. In some cases a thrush produces lameness,
but more frequently it is unaccompanied by it. This circumstance has produced a great variety of opinions, as to the sound- ness of horses in this disease; and it has long been disputed, whether the horse is to be considered sound or unsound. There are certainly a great number of horses with thrushes, where the hoofs have not under- gone any material change in their form, that I should not hesitate to pronounce sound; but if a thrush be accompanied by a change in the form of the foot, I should pronounce the horse to be unsound. Any plan of shoeing which is calculated
F
|
|||||||
|
66
|
|||||||
|
ON THRUSH.
|
|||||||
|
to bring on contraction, is the most likely
to cause thrushes. It has been insisted Upon by modern authors, that a principal cause of thrush is the constant practice that smiths adopt, of paring the frogs previously to shoeing. This, like most things carried to an extreme, is, no doubt, injurious; but if it be done with judgment and discretion, I consider it a necessary and useful practice. For as the foot is continually growing, the exterior parts, in time, become dead, and separate from the horn growing under- neath ; if, therefore, these exuberant and extraneous parts be not occasionally re- moved, a collection of dirt and filth is found between the growing and the dead horn, which, if suffered to continue, fre- quently terminates in a thrush. But if they be removed with judgment, I have always found that the practice is beneficial. On many occasions smiths take hold of a |
|||||||
|
ON THRUSH. 67
|
|||||
|
loose piece of the frog with the pincers,
and tear off a layer from the surface, which had exfoliated. There is one unerring criterion for the
smith's direction in the performance of this operation. When the dead horn is removed from the frog, he will invariably find a whitish, mealy, and crumbly appearance, where the growing horn separates from that which is dead; all, therefore, that the smith has to attend to, is to pass through this crumbly or mealy appearance, and to show the face of the growing horn ; but on no occasion to remove it. The cleft of frogs, or the seat of thrushes,
requires this attention perhaps more than any other part of it i the operation cannot be effected with any accuracy with the smith's sole-knife; it requires a smaller f 2
|
|||||
|
68
|
|||||||
|
ON THRUSH.
|
|||||||
|
one, with a larger turn, which is better
adapted to clear out the cleft and the sides of the frog. (See Plate vi. fig. 3.) If there is much discharge, a few dress-
ings in the cleft with a little Mel iEgyptia- cum, or tincture of myrrh, and a small proportion of vitriolic acid will be useful. Afterwards, a piece of tow saturated with a dressing of equal quantities of tar and hog's lard may be put into the cleft daily. When horses have been long at grass,
or kept in wet places without due attention to their feet, thrushes are often the conse- quence. In these cases it will be necessary to remove all the ragged parts of the frog, and to apply the dressing before mentioned, which in most instances will succeed. In all cases great attention to cleanliness is necessary. |
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|
69
|
||||||||
|
ON THEUSH.
|
||||||||
|
The cause of thrushes in the hind-feet
of horses which are kept in stables, is the continued application of moisture from dung and urine. It is a general observation, that it is
hazardous to stop a thrush; for by so doing it will affect the eyes. If the disease has existed long, it may be advisable to bleed and physic, as a continued drain from any source requires some precaution when stopped. Neglected thrushes sometimes terminate
in canker ; but that is a disease which I do not consider as strictly connected with those which are occasioned by the present system of shoeing. |
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|
F 3
|
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|
70
|
|||||
|
CHAP. VI.
ON CORNS.
Corns are a very frequent disease, and
common to all horses ; but those accus- tomed to slow work are less liable to it than any other class. The hind-feet are not subject to this disease, though on some occasions, a very trifling appearance of a corn shows itself in them; but cases of this kind are very rare, and I have never seen the bad effects produced by corns in the hind-feet, which usually attend that disease in the fore-feet. Corns generally appear in the inner heels
of the fore-feet, at the angle between the bars and the crust; and they seldom occur on the outside heels. |
|||||
|
ON CORNS. 71
|
|||||
|
On removing the superfluous horn, corns
show themselves by a reddish appearance of the horn in the part before named, and if a little more horn be taken away, they will be seen more distinctly, resembling a part bruised and full of blood, which has made its way into the pores of the horn. This appearance sometimes predominates in the direction of the bars, and sometimes between the crust and the sole, taking the direction of the laminae. Corns, like thrushes, are not always ac-
companied by lameness, though that is a very frequent and troublesome consequence of them. It is also in this disease a disputed point,
whether a horse is to be considered sound or unsound. Corns frequently appear at a very early age, and in some instances be- f 4
|
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|
72 ON CORNS.
|
|||||
|
fore the animal has been shod; if, therefore,
every horse were deemed unsound that has an appearance of a corn, there would be very few that could be called sound. I consider this in a similar light to thrushes ; if there be only the appearance of a corn, without any material change in the form of the hoof, or previous lameness, I should not hesitate to pronounce him to be sound; but, on the contrary, if there be a dif- ference in the form of the foot, and if he expresses soreness when pressed by a pair of pincers, I should then consider him to be unsound. It may be opposed to this, that when a disease has shown itself, the horse is no longer to be considered sound ; but I think a necessary distinction may be made where there is only a trifling ap- pearance of disease, without any ill effects, and when this appearance often gradually disappears. |
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|
13
|
|||||||
|
ON CORNS.
|
|||||||
|
When lameness proceeds from corns, it
on some occasions comes on suddenly, but generally by degrees. When a horse is lame, and there is no reason to suspect it to be in any part above the foot, on the shoe being removed, it is often found to be occasioned by corns, and this the draw- ing-knife and pincers soon ascertain. Corns appear to be the effect produced
either by the shoe, or by the horn taking a wrong direction in its growth. The conse- quence in both cases is the same ; but the proportion of those which arise from the former cause, are infinitely more numerous than the latter, viz. an increased pressure from the shoe on the internal sensible heel, which causes an extravasation of blood into the pores of the horn ; and if the pressure be continued, and there be more blood extravasated than can be readily taken into |
|||||||
|
74 ON CORNS.
|
|||||
|
the circulation again by the absorbent
vessels, inflammation and suppuration ge- nerally succeed. In some instances where corns have not
been suspected to exist, and the horse has been lame for some time, it is found that matter has formed under the horn, per- vading the sole and frog. This matter often makes its way up the laminae, and ulti- mately breaks out between the hair and hoof, and terminates in an unhealthy sinus, or in what is termed a quittor. It has been contended, that the only
cause of corns, is from the heel of the shoe lying in close contact with that part of the sole which is between the bar and the crust; and that if a necessary portion of horn were removed at every shoeing, no such effect could occur; but, however |
|||||
|
75
|
|||||||
|
ON CORNS.
|
|||||||
|
cautiously this operation may be performed,
if the shoe itself is of such a form as may produce a morbid change in the form of the hoof, it will be found that corns, with all their troublesome consequences, will continually take place. And I have no doubt, if a plan of shoeing can be suggested which is calculated not to bring on this disease, that it will be considered of far greater importance than any remedy which may be suggested for its cure. I can now, from extensive observation,
state, that, where corns arise in strong hoofs disposed to contraction, if the sole be removed at the angle between the crust and bar, and the safety-shoe be used with a plane inclining outward at the quarters and heels, the corns will gradually disap- pear. But where they are produced in flat feet, with thin weak horn, from the |
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|
76 ON CORNS.
pressure of the shoe, the remedy in such a
case will be to remove the bearing of the shoe from the part affected; and if the horn at the heels be not strong enough to bear a shoe without pressing on the sole, bar-shoes must be employed. To remove any urgent symptoms, if the
horse be very lame, most likely suppuration will have taken place, and it will be proper to pare the horn as closely as the sensible parts will allow,, that the matter may escape. Fomentations and poultices will be neces- sary, with bleeding and physic, and a spare diet; and as the inflammation abates, and the new horn grows down, any simple dressing may be applied. It is sometimes a practice, on the appear-
ance of a corn, to use caustic applications, and even the actual cautery; but it is |
||||
|
ON CORNS. 77
|
|||||
|
obvious, that such a mode can only tend
to aggravate, instead of alleviating the symptoms. If it has been necessary to remove much horn, the animal should be at rest, either in a loose place, or be turned out to grass, till the horn be regenerated. But, on some occasions, where horses are required to work before the new horn, is grown down again, bar-shoes will be of great use. There are a number of cases where the
inflammation does not terminate in sup- puration, and where it has not been requi- site to remove much of the crust: these symptoms are in general removable by the ordinary treatment of inflammation, both general and local. In all cases of lameness, rest in a loose
place is necessary. |
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|
78
|
|||||
|
CHAP. VII.
ON SAND CRACKS.
The Sand Crack is a longitudinal fissure,
or division of the fibres of the crust, which commences at the coronet, and extends, more or less, down the foot in the direction of the fibres, according to the previous state of the hoof; on its first appearance, it is seldom lower than the middle of the foot, and it is generally accompanied by a trifling discharge of blood, which may be perceived oozing through the crack. The inside quarters of the fore-feet are
most frequently the seat of this disease: it is seldom found on the outside quarters, and is rarely to be met with in the hind-feet. |
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|
79
|
|||||||
|
ON SAND CRACKS.
|
|||||||
|
All horses are liable to this disease,
though some are more so than others. Those of the heavy kind, employed in slow work, are least so; and the same reasons will apply here, as in contraction ; for as this class of horses is generally em- ployed in slow draught, the heels are but little called into action: neither are they subject to a high temperature in the stable, nor accustomed to stand on hot litter. This disease is not always, though fre-
quently, attended by lameness. The cause generally arises from an im-
proper method of shoeing ; for that mode, which alters the natural form of the hoof, combined with the absence of moisture and the heat of the stables and litter, by destroying the tough elastic property of the hoof, renders it consequently liable to this disease. |
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|
80
|
|||||||
|
ON SAND CRACKS.
|
|||||||
|
But it sometimes occurs among those
that are never shod; for I have observed it among brood-mares without shoes; with them it generally happens in dry summer months. If this disease be not radically removed,
the horn will not reunite ; but will continue to grow down with the fissure still existing. The part separated is called a false quarter. To effect a cure, it will be necessary to
cauterize the hoof at the coronet with a common firing iron, in a transverse direc- tion, making a line across the crack of two inches in length, about an inch below the termination of the skin; the edge of the iron should pass through the horn to the sensible parts, and the surface of the co- ronary ring should be slightly cauterized with the flat side of the iron, to cause in- |
|||||||
|
ON SAND CRACKS. 81
|
|||||
|
flammation. The iron should also be
applied at the lower end of the crack to prevent it extending further down: If there be much motion going on, and
the sides of the crack be open, so as to allow a place to form for dirt and sand to collect in, it will be right to pare the edges of the separated parts, and to cut out as much horn as may be necessary to prevent it collecting again. A bar shoe should be employed, that the
quarter and heel may not come in contact with the shoe, and to leave the diseased parts at rest. This operation will of course produce
considerable inflammation j the usual re- medies of bleeding, physic, fomentations, poultices and a spare diet, will then be G
|
|||||
|
82 ON SAND CRACKS.
|
|||||
|
necessary. When the inflammation is
abated, the new horn, connected in its. fibres, will be seen growing from the co- ronet, and the hoof will gradually become sound; a run at grass, or a loose place, will be beneficial until the new horn is eompletely grown : and when the horse is again shod for work, a different plan of shoeing, and keeping the foot cool and moist, are remedies which will naturally suggest themselves to prevent a recurrence^ of the disease. |
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|
8S
|
|||||
|
CHAP. VIII.
ON PUMICED FEET, OR CONVEX SOLES.
[Plate VIII. Fig. 3.] A. pumiced foot is that in which the sole
descends below the crust; if the horse stand without shoes, the sole is the part which will come in contact with the ground instead of the crust; which, as I have stated when treating of the perfect hoof, should be the bearing surface. This disease is invariably accompanied
with a deformity of the crust in the front of the foot ; it loses the full and prominent appearance observable in a sound hoof, becomes hollow and wrinkled, and turns up at the toe. It is a very common disease, and all horses are liable to it; but it pre- g2
|
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|
84 ON PUMICED FEET,
vails principally among those which have
weak, flat, circular, broad feet. There are, however, cases of this disease
in feet, where there is an abundance of horn. As the disease goes on, the sole sinks
lower and lower, the wrinkled hollow ap- pearance in the front increases, and the toe curls up more, till at last the whole hoof becomes completely distorted. This disease, like some others, is not
always accompanied by lameness. Horses with feet of this sort, when in action throw the greater part of their weight on the heels, consequently they seldom or ever trip, but are continually dropping and blundering. |
||||
|
85
|
|||||||
|
OR CONVEX SOLES.
|
|||||||
|
The principal cause of this disease is a
defective production of horn in the sole, crust, and laminse; the frog generally is much stronger than the other parts; it rarely if ever occurs until the horse has been shod. In horses where the secretion of horn
is insufficient to meet all the purposes required, (and my observations lead me to estimate their number at about one half,) it is found, even at an early age, after having been shod a few times only : for as the crust and laminse are thin and weak, they are unequal to support the weight, which nature intended, by the peculiar structure and connection between the horny and sensible laminse, should be chiefly borne by them. This does not wholly arise from a defect of Nature, for Nature did not intend that the animal should be g 3
|
|||||||
|
86 ON PUMICED PEET,
shod, kept in hot stables, or go fast upon
hard roads. As the disease increases, the coffin bone, and the internal contents of the hoof, sink and bear down upon the horny sole, which, being also thin and weak, gives way, soon losing its concave appearance, and becomes convex. It is not unfrequent to observe a considerable separation be- tween the sole and the crust, which in some cases extends upward, towards the coronet; the heels likewise take an oblique, shelving direction forward. When a horse is in a state of nature, and
on a yielding soil, the crust penetrates the earth, and a considerable portion of weight is consequently borne on the frog and sole, which shows that the crust and laminae in this state have not so much to support as when the animal is shod. There is con- sequently, when shod, a double task im- |
||||
|
OR CONVEX SOLES. 87
|
|||||
|
posed upon the crust and laminae; when
this is considered, together with the weak state of the horn, we are not much at a loss to account for the number of feet we observe unequal to support the animal, and the deplorable effects arising from such a state of disease. In the early stage, the crust which is in
contact with the shoe, being unequal to support the weight of the animal, it gives way, bends, and generally curls inwards at the quarters and heels, and not un- frequently rests on the sole, thereby causing lameness. When the feet are not properly pared,
nor kept in order, but are allowed to spread (which they are generally disposed to do), they become large, broad and flat at the g 4
|
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|
88 ON PUMICED FEET,
bottom ; and unwieldy and clumsy when
in action. Horses with feet of this description, if
going over pavement, may generally be dis- tinguished by the hollow clattering noise produced by the broad heavy shoes they usually wear. I cannot omit this opportunity of men-
tioning the absurd instructions which on many occasions I have heard given to smiths, " not to remove a particle of horn from the foot," because, it is said, " Nature never made any thing in vain." Those who give these orders must forget, that as the foot is covered with iron, and is con- tinually growing, no horn being removed, except by the smith, if all were allowed to remain, the feet would soon grow into a variety of distorted forms. |
||||
|
89
|
|||||||
|
OR CONVEX SOLES.
|
|||||||
|
Another cause, which sometimes pro-
duces this disease, is " fever in the feet." This is by no means so common a cause as those before described, but it is not an un- frequent one. When pumiced feet are produced from
this cause, the most distressing effect en- sues, and in some instances it proceeds till the hoofs separate from the sensible parts and drop off. On inspection after death, the horny and sensible laminse, the sole and coffin bone, and all the conti- guous parts, are found to be in a high state of disease. To relieve pumiced feet, the first thing
necessary, if it proceed from a weak, feeble state of the horn, is to assist the crust and lamina in supporting the superincumbent weight, by taking off the shoes and allow- |
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|
90 ON PUMICED PEET,
ing the sole and frog to come in contact
with the ground ; thus, in a great measure, the weight will be taken off the crust and laminae, and they will be comparatively in a state of rest. All the superfluous horn should be removed, and if the case be se- vere, it is probable the foot will be too sore and tender at first for the animal to stand on a hard flat surface without shoes j he should therefore have plenty of clean straw in a loose place, and the whole sur- face of the foot should be rubbed daily with tar and lard ointment. If this plan of treatment be adopted, it
will soon be observed that the prominent parts lessen in convexity, and an increased growth of horn at the coronet takes place. The crust and sole should be kept pared, so as to allow the foot to bear on the con- vex parts, thereby easing the laminae and |
||||
|
OK CONVEX SOLES. 91
|
|||||
|
crust, and affording them sufficient rest to
regain their usual strength. As the bottom of the foot approaches to
flatness, the horse will be able by degrees to bear the standing on a hard level surface several hours in the day. But as a level hard surface is not always to be obtained, a pair of foot boots (see Plate VII. fig. 3.), will be very useful, and they can be used with very great advantage, as the bottom surface of the boot can be easily regulated. In the first instance, some tow saturated in tar and lard ointment may be put into the bottom of the boot, which should be re- peated daily, reducing by degrees the quantity of tow till a hard level surface is finally obtained, which is most congenial to the feet when they are able to bear it. The crust should be rasped down level
|
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|
92 ON PUMICED FEET,
with the sole, and the toes shortened
every fortnight. Proceeding in this way, a tolerable foot may be obtained in time. When horses are not worth much ex-
pense, the best course to be pursued is to turn them out for a few months, observing the directions to rasp the crust and shorten the toes. If the disease be not too far advanced,
the convexity may sometimes be entirely subdued, and the sole will even assume the natural concave form, though in most cases it inclines to flatness; nevertheless, horses of this description, if properly shod, will work well and be effective. They com- monly, however, require to be shod with a bar shoe, in consequence of the crust, from its weakness, bending and curling in dif- ferent directions. If it curl inward it will |
||||
|
OR CONVEX SOLES. 93
|
|||||
|
generally press upon the sole, and if it
bend outward, it is liable to break, and leave a breach in the crust. With a bar shoe, the weight of the animal is borne more equally on the foot, and the bottom of it is also greatly defended. There are many instances where horses
have done their work well for years with bar shoes, and on trying if they would work in plain shoes, the result has invariably terminated in re-applying the bar shoes ; much, however, depends on the manner in which bar shoes are put on, and I refer the reader to the chapter on that subject. As many horses are compelled to work
when this disease has made considerable progress, a broad heavy hollow shoe is ap- plied, and some smiths, who perhaps work better than others, put on what they term |
|||||
|
94
|
|||||||
|
ON PUMICED FEET,
|
|||||||
|
a boxed shoe, which has a bar, and on the
foot side a seat place for the crust to rest on; on the ground surface the nail holes are set down below the raised or hollow part of the shoe ; by this means the con- vex sole is covered and protected from blows, or the pressure of stones and gravel, &c. and if horses are required to be shod when in this state, this is certainly the best plan ; but when the soles become so con- vex as to require expedients of this kind, a still better mode is to put the horse out of work for a time, and to employ the treatment above recommended, till he is able to wear flat shoes. The application of a very narrow and
thick shoe, for feet of this description, has been recommended by Mr. White of Ex- eter ; but I think few persons would ven- ture to ride a horse with thin soles, if shod |
|||||||
|
95
|
|||||||
|
OR CONVEX SOLES,
|
|||||||
|
in this way, on a road exposed to flints
and stones; perhaps over pavement a horse with such a shoe might go better, make less noise, and be more secure on his legs, as he would not be so liable to slip or slide with a large flat shoe. It has been asserted, that a broad flat
shoe renders the horse more secure and safer on his legs, and that he is not so liable to slip or slide about when in action, and that this is to be accounted for, by the increased surface of contact which such a shoe affords. Those who would sustain this opinion, must assume that the pave- ment is flat likewise; but when we consider the stones of all pavements are convex, we shall find the points of contact be- tween a flat shoe and convex stones are but trifling ; and therefore, a horse shod with a narrow thick shoe, or a concave one, |
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|
96 ON PUMICED FEET, &C
will have a better footing, and it will afford
him a securer tread than a broad flat one. The concave shoe is decidedly most calcu- lated to embrace a convex surface, and consequently to prevent slipping or sliding. |
||||
|
9?
CHAP. IX. ON SOLES UNNATURALLY CONCAVE.
As the perfect foot has been described
with a concave sole, I here refer only to those cases where the concavity is such as to be considered a disease. Instances of this kind are by no means so numerous as those where the feet are too convex, at the same time it is not an infrequent disease. It may readily be conceived that this
disease will prevail among those horses which have an abundance of thick, strong, and firm horn.. It never occurs in the hind feet. In contracted feet the soles generally
become too concave as the contraction in- creases, but that degree of concavity be- H
|
||||
|
98 ON SOLES UNNATURALLY CONCAVE.
longs particularly to cases of contraction,
and is quite a distinct disease from that which I am about to describe. It occurs in those feet, where, if a person
had no previous knowledge of the animal being lame, he would think it, on a casual view, a perfect, strong, and firm foot; but, on knowing the animal to be lame, and observing no external cause, on a closer in- spection, and by paring the foot, the cause of the lameness will soon be perceived to arise from an increased concavity of the sole, which will be found to be two or three times the thickness of an ordinary sole, and when thinned to a moderate degree, the bottom of the foot assumes the appearance of a hollow dish. It frequently occurs at an early age, as I
have seen many instances of it at four years |
||||
|
ON SOLES UNNATURALLY CONCAVE. 99
old ; and it most generally occurs in hoofs
of a circular form. The symptoms of lameness in this disease
very much resemble those of contraction ; and the same expedients for the cure of it have often been resorted to, with no better success. This is also called groggy, founder, &c. The immediate cause of lameness arises from the horny sole losing its elas- ticity, and pressing the sensible sole against the coffin bone; so that the highly sensible sole becomes pinched and squeezed be- tween two hard bodies, which produces great inflammation and pain every time the horse sets the foot to the ground. The predisposing causes are a superabundant production of horn, and the too prevailing stable-practice of standing on hot litter in an ill paved stall without any stopping. Thus the horn becomes dry, hard, and un- h 2
|
||||
|
100 ON SOLES UNNATURALLY CONCAVE.
yielding; and if an animal with feet of this
description belong to a person who directs his smith not to remove any horn, the dis- ease will rapidly increase. The most likely means to obtain relief
are the expedients used in inflammation, keeping the feet cool and moist; and that these remedies may have a better effect, the soles should be pared thin once a fortnight, and such shoes applied as are most likely to keep the foot expanded. When the disease has not existed too long, I have seen many cases cured altogether, but it is a troublesome disease to contend with, and the horses generally become fit only for slow draught. If the causes which have been named
were avoided when young horses first come into stables, I am quite satisfied that the disease would rarely occur. |
||||
|
101
CHAP. X. ON FOUNDER.
Founder is a term often made use of to
express different diseases of the foot, and is generally applied in those cases where the cause is not very evident. But there is one disease which more particularly comes under this denomination than any hitherto described. When a horse has been lame for some
time without any apparent cause, this dis- ease is then generally supposed to exist. It prevails among all sorts of horses, but never occurs in the hind feet. I cannot give a better illustration of it
than by relating the following case, which h S
|
||||
|
102
|
|||||||
|
ON FOUNDER.
|
|||||||
|
occurred in a celebrated hunter. When I
saw the horse, he had then been lame two or three years, and it had been supposed that he was merely tender or sore from some slight cause ; but in spite of all the remedies that were adopted, the disease increased progressively until he became excessively lame, exhibiting all the dis- tressing symptoms observed in severe cases of contraction. Various opinions had been formed as to the seat of the disease ; as sil most every part of the fore-legs, shoul- ders, and feet, bore the marks of a variety ,of operations which had been performed; firing, blistering, rowelling, &c. After hav- ing minutely examined into the nature of the case, my opinion led me to state that there was no prospect of relief, and that, notwithstanding the hoofs had every ap- pearance of perfection, the cause of lame- |
|||||||
|
103
|
|||||||
|
ON FOUNDER.
|
|||||||
|
ness would be discovered, on dissection, to
exist in the foot. The gentleman, to whom the horse be-
longed, immediately directed that he might be destroyed, and after death sent me the feet for dissection. There was no reason whatever to believe, that any change of the form or structure of the horn was the cause of the lameness; but on prosecuting the dissection, I found that a considerable de- gree of ossification had taken place in the large flexor tendon, which passes over the navicular bone; adhesions also between the bone and the tendon ; the articular cartilages were denuded, and the body of the bone had become carious. The disease in both feet was nearly similar. The pre- ceding case was selected to shew the symp- toms and appearances, in all cases of that kind of lameness, are much the same. h 4
|
|||||||
|
104 ON FOUNDER.
|
|||||
|
As this disease occurs in feet where no
change of form has taken place to warrant any idea of its arising from such a cause, it can only be attributed to the violent concussions which the feet are subject to when in strong action. This in the first instance produces inflammation, and the .animal being still exposed to the same cause, the disease goes on, and sometimes terminates in a complete anchylosis of the joints of the foot; if the mflammation be not soon arrested, its effects are generally such as to render the animal almost use- less. If this disease be suspected to exist,
the animal should be kept in a perfect state of rest, by turning him into a loose place, taking his shoes off. Bleeding, both general and local, purging, keeping the feet in Water-boots, and thinning the soles fre- |
|||||
|
105
|
|||||||
|
ON FOUNDER.
|
|||||||
|
quently, are remedies likely to subdue the
inflammation. It is manifest, that any plan of shoeing
which is calculated to counteract the effect of concussion must be desirable ; and I am quite satisfied, from much experience, that the plan hereafter explained possesses this property in a great degree. It may not be unworthy of remark, that
much credit has been given to Mr. Turner, of Croydon, for having discovered the seat of this disease, which has been called the " Navicular disease." Though the case here mentioned was dissected before Mr. Turner became a pupil at the Veterinary College, much merit, nevertheless, is due to him for his attention to this particular disease; though it is clear that Osmer and La Fosse were both well acquainted with the disease j |
|||||||
|
106
|
|||||||
|
ON FOUNDER.
|
|||||||
|
for in Osmer's third edition, published in
1766, page 50., he remarks : " Yet I have " seen many instances of sudden lameness " brought on horses, in hunting and in " racing, by a false step, which have con- " tinued lame their whole lifetime ; and " upon examination, I have found the liga- " ments of the nut-bone rendered useless " for want of timely assistance, and know- " ledge of the cause ; from hence the car- " tilages of the same have been sometimes " ossified, and the bones of the foot have " been sometimes wasted, and sometimes '• enlarged."—Page 64. he says, " For lame- " ness arising from a sudden false step, " which, if I rightly understand La Fosse, " he calls ' a compression,' and which he " accounts for by the action of the coronary " bone pushing the nut-bone against the " tendon, and compressing the same as " between an anvil and a hammer." |
|||||||
|
107
|
||||||||
|
ON FOUNDER.
|
||||||||
|
But although this disease was known
before, still we are indebted to him for di- recting our attention towards it, as a fre- quent cause of lameness in the feet of horses. |
||||||||
|
*h 6
|
||||||||
|
96*
|
|||||
|
CHAP. X.*
ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
VVhen I published my first edition, I
omitted to devote a chapter to this sub- ject ; for at that period I did not consider it to be strictly connected with shoeing. However, since then, I see it in a different light, and have been induced to offer some observations on this disease. Fever in the feet, as it is termed, may be
defined to be a violent inflammation of the sensible parts within the hoof, but more particularly of the laminse. It attacks both the fore and hind-feet; is common to all descriptions of horses, and generally comes on suddenly. On its first appearance, the |
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ON FEVF.K IN THE FEET. 97*
horse refuses to feed, his pulse becomes
quickened, and his respiration difficult from irritation. In attempting to move, he appears stiff
and sore, is afraid of stepping forward, and throws or endeavours to sustain his whole weight on the heels. The symptoms gene- rally increase, and are often very rapid in their progress; as the disease proceeds, the horse will be observed to shift and change the position of his feet, evincing great pain. When the attack comes on in the fore-
feet, the horse makes sudden efforts to shrink backwards; he bends his hocks and endeavours to raise his fore extremities, so that for the moment he finds relief by his attempts to support his weight on the hind extremities. In many instances, [h 6] 2 |
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|
98* ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
which I have witnessed, the pain has been
so severe, that the animal has been resting or sitting as it were upon his hocks, with his fore-legs and feet scarcely in contact with the ground. And as the animal's suf- ferings increase, so the pulse becomes more quickened, and his respiration more dis- tressing. In some instances the horse lies down,
and it is scarcely possible to make him get up ; thus the symptoms go on, till either a separation takes place between the horny and sensible parts, and the hoofs drop off, leaving the sensible sole and laminas ex- posed, or, as is often the case, death puts an end to the animal's sufferings. The inflammation more commonly at-
tacks but two feet at a time, and often er occurs in the fore-feet than in the hind. |
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99*
|
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|
ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
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|
The symptoms of this disease taking place
in the hind-feet are much the same as those already enumerated; the horse evinces all the degrees of extreme pain and irrita- tion, and endeavours to relieve himself in shifting his legs, and throwing his weight on his fore extremities. The causes which operate to produce
this disease are various. Frequently it is occasioned by making
the horse stand up an unnatural length of time, as on board a ship, when the animal, in many instances, is not suffered to lie down. I recollect an instance of a troop of horse-artillery, which, after embarking for foreign service, and being on board some months, were ordered to disembark, and to return to headquarters; when the [h 6] 3 |
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|
100* ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
horses were landed, but few out of the
whole troop escaped this disease. Frequently the precaution of taking off
the fore-shoes, previous to shipping horses, is not observed, and the consequence is, the sensible laminae have to sustain the animal's weight for a great length of time, without that rest which nature calls for, when the horse lies down. Thus it is that the great exertion which the laminae are constantly called upon to make, and the fatigue generally of the sensible parts, which combine to render them suscept- ible, at length bring on the inflammation. When the animal is made to stand upon a flat hard surface, even if the shoes are taken off, the sole and frog will still be without the natural bearing they would receive, were the horse to be on a surface that |
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|
101*
|
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|
ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
|
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|
would allow the foot to penetrate in some
degree; and particularly where the crust and heels are high, the condition of the foot, upon an unyielding surface, will be equally unnatural as when the shoes are on. We often find fever in the feet, attacking
horses, whose lungs are or have been in- flamed ; but as the disease seldom comes on in the early stage of inflammation of the lungs, during which illness horses seldom or ever lie down, I am persuaded the great cause in these cases is the length of time the horse remains on his legs, operating as I have already mentioned: though it is believed by some to be merely a metastasis, or sudden removal of a dis- ease from one part to another. However this may be, I am still of opinion, the great exertion which the laminae are called [h 6] 4 |
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|
102* ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
upon to make, is the great cause of the
inflammation taking place. It sometimes attacks horses, otherwise in health, without any apparent cause; in these, I can at- tribute it only to be occasioned by the condition of the feet when shod, the frog and sole not taking any share in the support of the superincumbent weight, which they in a natural and uncovered state would participate in. When hunters are compelled to take
high leaps on hard ground, or to go fast over stones or flinty roads, the concussion of the feet sometimes brings on the disease. And the practice of riding the animal into a pond when heated and sweating, is fre- quently the occasion of it. In the com- mencement of the disease, the natural secretion of horn from the sensible parts ceases ; and a separation takes place be- |
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|
ON FEVER, IN THE FEET. ' 103
|
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|
tween the horn j and sensible laminae; their
connection being destroyed, the coffin-bone is no longer supported and suspended to the crust, but the weight of the animal forces it down upon the horny sole, which soon flattens and becomes convex. As the sole descends, if the hoofs do not slough off, a new growth of horn from the coronet in a different direction commences, the fore part of the hoof becomes wrinkled and hollow, the toes turn up, and the coffin-bone is forced backward, and loses all natural rela- tive situation. On the first appearance of symptoms of
this disease, the treatment for its relief should be bold and decided. Copious blood-letting from the neck, from the arm or thigh, and sometimes from the feet, should be practised; and a brisk purge, without delay, should be administered. |
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|
104* ON FEVER IN THE EEET.
When the horny sole is very thick, it
should be pared thin, to give more effect to poultices and fomentations. If the symptoms do not materially abate in the course of a few hours, blood-letting should be repeated, and rowels inserted in the breast and under the belly; the horse should be in a loose place, well ventilated, and should have a good litter of straw; his diet should be very spare, and consist chiefly of bran mashes, without corn ; he may be allowed to drink freely of bran water. Should the symptoms continue, the
bleedings must be repeated as the ur- gency of the case indicates; and in the course of a few days, blistering the coronet should be had recourse to. |
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|
In cases where the treatment has been
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1
|
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|
ON FEVER IN THE FEET. 105*
prompt and judicious, in the earliest stage
of the disease, I have often seen perfect cures the result. The troop of horse-ar- tillery I have before alluded to afforded a striking instance of what can be effected, when it is taken in time; for although the troop were all more or less affected, they were all cured, and resumed their work, with the exception of three or four only. A remarkable case of this disease hap-
pened to come under my treatment in a celebrated dun horse, given by His Ma- jesty, then Prince of Wales, to the late Colonel Newton, who resided at Lewes. The horse manifested the most distressing symptoms of the disease, and to such a degree, that it was the opinion of several, who witnessed the pain and irritation the animal v/as in, that he could not live many hours. However, by pursuing promptly |
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|
106* ON FEVER IN THE FEET.
the treatment I have laid down, and fol-
lowing it up without delay, the horse was cured, and able to resume his work in the course of six weeks. Another remarkable case which occurred
to me, was in a celebrated horse, called Tom Trino;. When at exercise in a hard frost, on the Woodstock road, he ran away for several miles, before his rider could stop him. The concussion his feet sus- tained in galloping upon the hard frozen surface, brought on fever in the fore-feet, and with so much violence, that the hoofs separated and came off. He, however, perfectly recovered, hunted for several years, and afterwards becarhe a covering stallion. In cases where immediate attention is
not paid, and the symptoms suffered to |
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|
ON FEVER IN THE FEET. 107*
increase, the disease will go on, and as-
sume the character of convex or pumice feet. For information on which subject, see the chapter on that disease, p. 83. |
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|
108
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CHAP. XL
ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
A recent publication on the veterinary
art, of great merit, entitled Elementary Lectures, has designated this operation " Neurotomy ;" but as I am averse to the introduction of terms which are often more calculated to puzzle than to facilitate our knowledge, I shall continue the title as before. Having treated on some of the most im-
portant diseases of the feet of horses, which arise from the various modes of shoeing now in use, as well as from other causes, and having also pointed out the most reasonable means of averting those diseases, |
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ON THE NERVE OPERATION. 109
as well as for their relief, I shall hereafter
describe the different plans of shoeing which have produced them. But as I have, in the preceding part of this work, shown that there are numerous cases of lameness where no rational hope can be entertained of obtaining relief from any method of treatment hitherto known or adopted, in this or any other country, and a remedy having been discovered for the relief of cases of this kind, it may, I think, fairly be considered as very important to the veterinary art. In cases of lameness, hitherto considered as admitting of no relief, viz. all those permanent diseases of the feet which have been so frequently ad- verted to, it has been proposed by Mr. Sewell of the Veterinary College, to divide, or rather to amputate a part of the nerves which go to the foot. This operation is, on some occasions, performed below the fet- |
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110 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
lock-joint on both sides, and on other occa-
sions above the joint. The success that has attended this novel and great discovery most decidedly claims not only the praise of every professional man, but of the public at large. After a number of successful cases re-
sulting from this operation, some persons have attempted to take away the merit of the discovery from Mr. Sewell, by stating that Mr. Moorcroft had performed the oper- ation twenty years ago. Admitting that as fact, what does it show ? That no bene- ficial result originated from Mr. Moorcroft's attempt; for if there had, we should have heard of it either from him or his successor. It therefore appears, that if Mr. Sewell had not shown its utility, we should never have heard of Mr. Moorcroft having performed it. I have also heard Professor Coleman |
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|
ON THE NERVE OPERATION. Ill
|
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|
say, that he performed the operation more
than twenty years back ; but when he said so, he by no means intended to lessen the credit due to Mr. Sewell; on the contrary, he imputed blame to himself for not per- severing in it. I have heard there are other persons who have attempted to insinuate a sort of claim as having suggested this oper- ation. It is, however, in my opinion, all without any foundation in truth. I have considered it necessary to make these re- marks to oppose any insidious attempts to rob Mr. Sewell of the fame he has so justly acquired. Some evils certainly attend the performance of this operation ; but I look at them as I should on the explosion of a powder-mill, a steam-engine, a gas-appa- ratus, or any serious evil which may occa- sionally attend any useful and important invention; and however such accidents may be lamented, powder and gas will |
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|
112 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
be made, and steam applied as a mechani-
cal power. The fair way of balancing the account is,
to put the evils in one scale and the ad- vantages in the other; and, as far as my observation goes, and from all the inform- ation I have received, they are greatly in favour of the latter. The evils I allude to are the loss of hoofs, consequently a loss of the animal. Two cases which occurred at the royal stud may serve to illustrate others : a mare seven years lame, and an- other five, were operated on for experi- ment. They both became sound ; but about nine months after the operation, there ap- peared in one case a trifling separation between the horny and sensible sole at the toe. This increased daily, notwithstanding all my endeavours to subdue inflammation ; it then extended to the coronet, and at this |
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|
ON THE NERVE OPERATION. 113
time there was considerable inflammation
and swelling of the leg: the separation in- creased round the coronet, and in a short time there was a separation between the horny and sensible laminas. I should have rather said insensible laminae, as there was not the least sensation in the foot at this time. In this state the coffin bone was let through the hoof, and was fractured in many pieces. The other case was very similar to this, and I have heard of other cases, where the animals, as it were, walked or stepped out of their hoofs. The pro- gress and result of these cases are very distressing; but on any future occasion, and where a similar fate appears inevitable, the slaughter-house is the only humane course for adoption. I have heard of many similar cases in different parts of the coun- try; but, on the other hand, I see many fine and valuable hordes at work, that were |
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i
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|
114
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|
ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
|
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|
of no use to the owner before the oper-
ation, and have continued at severe work now five years without any return of lame- ness ; and I see no reason why they may not be as effective as they now are many years to come. It therefore becomes a question with the owners of lame horses, where no other remedy offers to be of any advantage, whether they will work them lame, sell them for little or nothing, or risk the chances of the nerve operation. A de- termination of these alternatives will much depend on the kind of work a horse under these circumstances may be required to perform. If a lameness is not severe, a horse may do slow draught without having recourse to the operation; but, on the other hand, if a horse be required for quick draught or for riding, I conceive there are few persons that would not risk the chances of the operation. With stallions |
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|
ON THE NERVE OPERATION. 115
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|
and brood-mares there can be no necessity
to risk it, except in cases of extreme lame- ness. The two instances mentioned of failure in brood-mares that had been some years previously lame, but on becoming sound again never performed any sort of work, proves the experiment to have been made under very favourable circumstances, it however shows, that success much de- pends on the state of the feet previous to the operation. Though Mr. Percivall, in his Elementary
Lectures, mentions two instances of sterility having been removed by the operation, in the cases he alludes to, the animals, from extreme pain and lameness, had entirely lost their procreative powers, which were completely restored by the operation. In lameness of very long standing, where
i 2 |
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116 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
a change of structure has taken place to
any considerable extent, and more parti- cularly on the state of the joints within the foot, if the disease does not amount to the destruction of a joint, but a secretion of the synovia or joint oil has been stopped, and the cartilaginous covering of the ends of the bones are in a state of erosion, the animal is enabled, by the loss of sensation in the foot, to bear a greater degree of weight on these parts than they have been for a long time accustomed to ; by which means are brought on all the distressing symptoms previously described. It there- fore appears that the chance of success depends much on the length of time the disease may have existed previously to the operation. With horses with thin flat feet and weak laminae, the operation is not so likely to succeed as with those where horn abounds. The structure of the horse's foot |
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ON THE NERVE OPERATION. 117
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|
is particularly favourable to the success of
this operation, as there are no muscles within the horny box; therefore as the powers which put the foot in motion are situated at a distance, a division of the nerve going to the foot has no effect in paralyzing any parts which are necessary to its motion; which might have been the case had it been otherwise constructed. It has been imagined, that the foot, after this operation, would become a mere block, and that the animal would be rendered dan- gerous to ride or to drive. On making close observations on this point, I am glad to find that it exists only in the imagin- ation, as horses that we have now at work, who have undergone the operation five years, are considered quite as effective, in every respect, as those which have not re- quired it. It has also been stated, that the i 3
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118 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
hoof and foot waste after the operation ;
but I am glad to know that this observation is imaginary also. I have observed in hoofs where the operation has been per- formed, a more plentiful production of horn than before, and a greater disposition to grow in the natural form ; and I think this is a consequence to be expected, as the irritable state of the foot being destroyed by the division of the nerve, the secretion of horn is more likely to go on freely. When the operation has been performed before any considerable change of structure has taken place, I have no doubt that the original cause is in time removed altogether, by the animal being enabled to bear the full proportion of weight on the lame foot; as I have shown, that if the foot, from any cause, be long kept in a state of relaxation, the horn soon contracts, and tightens on |
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ON THE NERVE OPERATION. 119
the internal contents, and hence arises the
utility of the patten shoe being applied on the sound foot in cases of lameness. I consider the nerve operation an im-
portant discovery, and have no doubt that it will stand the test of ages. Some vete- rinarians exclaim against it, who never- theless continually perform it, and assign as a reason, that they operate because it appears to be the only remaining resource; and that if they declined, others would not. Others condemn it as barbarous and cruel, and call it tearing out the nerve. I rather suspect that this disapprobation originates in the circumstance of the discovery not having been made by those who thus op- pose it. Opinions of this kind from per- sons long in the profession may, perhaps, conceal the usefulness of this operation among their individual friends, but the i 4
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120 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
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important benefit it has already produced
is, I trust, too great to be overlooked by the public. The term tearing is also in- appropriate, as in the operation, which is momentary, the nerve is divided with a knife. It is useful to know that where the
nervous influence is restored, which gene- rally is perceptible at the end of a year, and lameness, as in some cases, returns, that a repetition of the operation has been attended with the same advantages as in the first instance. The operation itself is very simple.
Having first ascertained the course of the artery by the pulsation, an incision is made through the skin, about an inch and a half or two inches in length ; and on removing the cellular substance, the artery, vein, |
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ON THE NEBVE OPERATION. 121
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and nerve are all shown running together,
the nerve on the inside of the artery and close to it. A needle may be readily passed under it, leaving a thread, which, on pulling a little, enables the operator to separate the nerve from the artery with ease, and to take out as much as is considered neces- sary; the skin should then be closed with adhesive plaister or a stitch, which some- times heals by the first intention ; after which bleeding and physic are useful. Since writing the preceding remarks on
this useful operation, the subject of one of the cases I have alluded to as having worked sound nearly two years, has re- ceived a deep wound through the point of the frog, in that foot which had been operated on above the fetlock joint. Con- siderable inflammation came on, and the horse was very lame; however, through |
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122 ON THE NERVE OPERATION.
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the means usually adopted to subdue in-
flammation, he became sound again in a few days. This at once establishes the fact of sensation being again restored ; and I have no doubt that this is one of those cases where the original cause of lameness has been removed by the operation, and that now he is no longer liable to those dis- astrous consequences, which on some oc- casions attend the performance of this operation. When it is performed below the fetlock joint, there is less chance of the part operated on being struck by the op- posite leg. It likewise leaves a small branch of the nerve undivided, which sup- plies the fore-part of the foot, so that sen- sation will not be wholly destroyed, though I find it succeeds best to divide the nerve above the joint on the outside of the leg. |
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123
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CHAP. XII.
OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE TOOLS USED
BY SHOEING SMITHS. [See Plate VI.]
1 he " butteris" (see fig. 1.) is in very
general use in most parts of this kingdom, with the exception of London and its vici- nity. It is an awkward instrument, used for the purpose of cutting out or removing any superfluous parts of the horn, previ- ously to the application of a shoe: the cutting part of it is not unlike a thistle- spud, having a crooked iron shank fixed in a wooden handle, which has a round knob at the end: on this the smith puts his shoulder, and then taking hold of the crooked part of the shank and applying the spud to the foot, he, with the force of |
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124 ON SOME OP THE TOOLS
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his shoulder, digs out not only the part
intended, but often other parts, making a deep cut into the horn, and not unfre- quently into the flesh ; thus rendering the animal for some time unserviceable, and producing a troublesome wound, often dif- ficult to heal. The " drawing-knife" is an instrument
which was long in use for the purpose of what is termed " searching the foot;" and when horses became lame from nailing, or pressure on the sole, this knife was used to ascertain if any matter was confined under the horn ; but, since the establishment of the Veterinary College, this instrument has been used in shoeing as a substitute for the butteris : it is now universally employed in the metropolis, and is found to be far superior to it. The drawing-knife, though a simple instrument, has been greatly im- |
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USED BY SHOEING SMITHS. 125
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proved by a very ingenious instrument-
maker, Mr. Long*; in justice to whom I feel it proper to state, that from the zeal which he has shown in suggesting and im- proving many useful and important instru- ments, the Veterinary Art is considerably indebted to him. Since the drawing-knife has been used
by smiths as a substitute for the butteris,
it is found requisite to employ it of three
or four different sizes. A large one, (see
Plate vi. fig. 2.) having a broad blade with
a small turn, which is principally used for
removing inequalities of the sole or crust;
the others (fig. 3. and 4.) are smaller, and
of different sizes, with narrower blades, but
larger turns. Much depends on the shape
of these instruments and their turns being
made of a suitable curvature ; as the large
knife, though very convenient for the quar-
* No. 217, Holborn.
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126 ON SOME OF THE. TOOLS
ters and sole, would be awkward and un-
suitable to use about the frog, or on that part of the sole called " the seat of corns." The two parts last mentioned require a less knife with a larger turn ; and here I must remark, that smiths are too much disposed to attempt to prepare the whole foot with the large knife, to avoid the trouble of keeping two or more ready, and in good order ; this negligence sometimes arises from the instruments not being sufficiently sharp, or that the shape has been materially altered in whetting or setting them; they are generally sharpened with a rag stone, which is by no means calculated to keep them in their original form, for this ought to be the guide, supposing the knife to have been properly made. On inspecting shoeing boxes, it will be seen that the drawing-knives in use have generally lost the circular evenness in the cutting part of the turn, by continual whetting; which |
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USED BY SHOEING SMITHS. 127
gives them a hook or bill-like appearance,
and that the large or sole knife has usually inequalities on the edge. With knives so altered in their shape, smiths continually attempt to cut the frog, but instead of cut- ting, they tear the part, and remove also, in consequence of the awkwardness of the instrument, more horn than is requisite in some places, and not enough in others. All these inconveniences are easily remedied, if a smith, when he observes an inequality either in the blade or turn of the knife, would apply it to the grind-stone (which is in every forge) for a few seconds : an even surface, both in the blade and turn, would thus be obtained; and afterwards a rag stone, which should be made flat and thin on its edge, can with facility be applied to the inward edge of the turn. With a stone so shaped, after the inequalities have been removed from the edge by a grind-stone, a knife is soon put into proper order; and |
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128 ON SOME OP THE TOOLS, &C.
the smith who does not pay due attention
to the state of his tools, cannot be anxious about the manner in which his work is finished. The hand or turning hammer, which, in
London, the shoeing smiths have brought to great perfection, has three working faces, which are rounded, (see Plate vi. fig. 6.) and it has also a strong bill-point. This form is better than that of the ordinary hammers used in the country, which have only one flat-working surface, and a bill- end (see Plate vi. fig. 5.); with hammers of this description, shoes cannot be accu- rately turned. I have thought it proper to describe
these instruments, which are important in the art of shoeing, but of others, which are also used, no particular notice is necessary. |
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129
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CHAP. XIII.
ON THE ORDINARY METHODS OF SHOEING
HORSES IN ENGLAND. To attempt a particular description of the
infinite variety of modes of shoeing horses in this country would be an insurmountable task, as there are not two forges whose methods are similar: I shall therefore con- fine my observations to those principles which are in general practice. Horses are too frequently shod in a rough, slovenly manner, evincing that form and shape are the effect of chance more than of design; a piece of iron bent, punched with holes, and nailed on at random, is more frequently to be seen than any thing like method. There are, however, many forges in London K
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130 ON THE COMMON METHODS
that do adopt a system ; though in these, as
well as in all others in England that I have seen or heard of, a form of shoe is in use which proves highly destructive to horses' feet. The ordinary shoe (see Plate II. fig. 1, 2.) of most forges is a flat piece of iron, bent to the form of the foot, but often differing in width and length, frequently much longer than the heels, and often much shorter ; the wearing surface has a groove or " fuller" all round the outward edge, in which there are usually four holes on each side, and these are kept to the out- ward rim of the shoe as near as the iron will admit; the holes are punched near together, leaving a space at the toe, and also a considerable distance between the last nail and the termination of the shoe. Though often the nail holes are continued to the extremity of the heels. The shoe on the ground side is convex : the iuward |
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OP SHOEING HORSES IN ENGLAND. 131
rim, when the foot is on the ground, is the
lowest part; from which to the outward edge it describes an inclined plane. It is therefore evident, as the weight first comes on the inward rim of the ground side, and the crust bears only on an extreme edge of the shoe, that the whole weight must be sustained by the nails and the clinches. It is a common principle of all English shoes to be straight from the toe to the heel. On the foot side of the shoe, the nail-holes are made as near to the outward edge of the shoe as possible, in order to drive the nails through into the centre of the crust. The whole inward surface is an inclined plane from the outward to the inward rim, leaving an edge all round for the crust to rest on. Though this form of shoe is more fre-
quently met with than any other, yet thefe k 2
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132 ON THE COMMON METHODS
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are some forges which make the wearing
or ground surface flat. The shoes are generally thicker at the
heels than at the toes; and the edges, for the most part, are what smiths call under- hammered, which leaves the ground edge wider than the hoof, while the under part appears to be exactly of the size of the hoof; this is often a cause of cutting. The shoe being thus formed, the hoof is
divested of the superfluous horn from the crust, sole, and frog, and there is a never- failing practice of what smiths term open- ing the heels, which is cutting a great notch out of every heel, whether wide or narrow, and paring them unnecessarily. The shoe is next heated and applied to the foot, which is burnt to the form of the shoe, giving it what is called a seat: in |
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OF SHOEING HORSES IN ENGLAND. 133
order to soften the horn and render it easy
to remove, with the knife or butteris, a shovel full of red-hot embers is taken from the forge and applied to the base of the foot for some minutes : this will certainly answer that purpose, but the destructive consequences of such practice cannot be too much reprobated. Others who do not get the seat by burning, when they have hammered the shoes to their fancy, cut the hoof and rasp it so as to fit it to that form, whatever it may be ; if it happens that the shoe is much less than the foot, the horn is struck off with a toe-knife, and rasped to make it the size of the shoe, after which the shoe is nailed on. The London smiths have a peculiar method of shoeing horses for dealers, particularly those with con- tracted feet. They " open the heels," as before stated, taking away the crust and bars, and by applying a shoe straight at the K S
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184
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|
ON THE COMMON METHODS
|
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quarters and heels, and much wider than
the foot, they give it an appearance of being open, and approaching towards the shape of a natural foot; but this artificial appearance only lasts till the horn grows down, when the contracted form again appears. The ordinary bar-shoe is generally ap-
plied in cases of lameness, but more particularly in those arising from corns, sand-cracks, pumiced feet, &c. The only difference between the bar and the ordi- nary shoe is, that in the former the iron is continued from the one heel to the other across the frog, the bar part being much narrower than the rest of the shoe, and its shape on the foot-side an inclined plane. It is usual to apply a piece of sole-leather ri vetted on the bar for the frog to rest on, |
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OF SHOEING HORSES IN ENGLAND. 135
and thereby to raise the shoe from the part
affected. The preceding observations have only a
reference to the ordinary method of shoeing the fore-feet of horses. As the hind-feet are not liable to those
diseases which produce the distressing ef- fects found in the fore-feet, and as on this important fact observations will be made hereafter, it is not necessary now to enter on any particular description of the form of shoe for the hind-feet; to obviate pricking, pressure on the sole, cutting, forging, and over-reaching being all that is requisite to attend to — accidents which will be treated of in the course of the work. |
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k 4
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136
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CHAP. XIV.
ON THE SEATED SHOE.
[Plate II. fig. 3.] The seated-shoe was introduced into this
country by Mr. Osmer, as being much superior to the principle of the shoe then in practice; but notwithstanding it might be considered as a real and important im- provement, it did not at that time become very general. After a lapse of some years, the subject was renewed in a publication by Mr. Clark, of Edinburgh, who also highly recommended it. But still it did not appear to attract the public attention, until Mr. Moorcroft, who established a forge in this metropolis, pointed out the great advantages likely to be derived by its |
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187
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ON THE SEATED-SHOE.
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adoption. It then began to be very gene-
rally used, and has since maintained its ground from its superiority over the com- mon shoe. This shoe is of an equal thickness, quite
flat, and parallel from the toe to the heel, deviating in width according to the necessity of the case, and similar to the ordinarv shoe with regard to the fullering, nailing, &c. The foot-surface of the shoe differs in having a narrow plain rim, about the width of the crust, all round the outward edge of the shoe, except at the heel, which, for about an inch, is a flat surface, the whole width, and the remaining part of the shoe is hammered or hollowed out, sloping from the inward edge of the seat, making it thin, except at the heel, which has the same thickness throughout. It is intended, that the crust should bear upon and be sup- |
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138
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ON THE SEATED-SHOE.
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ported by the seat of the shoe, the nail-
holes are placed in the inward part of the seat, but the principle of nailing is the same as in the common shoe. Mr. Moor- croft recommended, that the crust should be rasped down to a level with the sole, before the shoe was applied : this is cer- tainly objectionable, as there would be a great probability of the shoe coming in con- tact with the sole, and producing pressure on the sensible parts ; but if a portion of the horny sole be removed previous to the application of the shoe, no such inconve- nience can arise. The great advantage of this shoe, when
compared with the ordinary shoe, is, that as the crust rests on a flat surface, instead of an inclined plane and bearing on an edge, contraction is by no means so likely to take place. |
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139
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ON THE SEATED-SHOE.
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Still there are many objections to its use;
the shoe being flat without the proper degree of curvature, and the manner of nailing, by pitching the nails inward, is equally destructive to the crust, although there is no strain upon the nails and clinches as in the common shoe. I have also observed, that the number of corns, when this shoe has been used, has by no means been diminished, which arises from the quarters being removed to fit the flat shoe, and the weight is then supported more by the heels than the quarters. The seated-shoe is also more difficult to
make than any other, which is a great ob- jection to its becoming in more general use than it now is. Mr. Moorcroft invented an ingenious
machine for the manufacture of these |
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140 ON THE SEATED-SHOE.
shoes, which would have eventually reduced
their price; but unfortunately the invention failed of success. I have understood, that some part of the tools could not be made sufficiently strong to withstand the great force required to cut out and stamp the shoe ; and that, when the shoe was made, if it were put on without any alteration at the toe, the iron was so soft from having un- dergone no hammering after being heated, as to cause it to wear out in a short time. |
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J
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141
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CHAP. XV.
ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SYSTEM OF
SHOEING. [Plate II. fig. 4.]
1 he shoe recommended by Mr. Coleman
for general use, is about the width of the common English shoe, quite flat and straight from the toe to the heel on the foot-side, and on the ground-side rather concave, with a deep fuller or groove all round as near to the exterior edge as the iron will admit; about eight nail-holes rather in the front part of the shoe, so that the last holes are at some distance from the heels. The most remarkable peculiarity of this shoe is, that it is three times thicker at the toe than at the heels; having a gradually sloping declination from the toe to the heels, something in the form of a wedge. |
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142 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE.
The method of fullering and nailing will
be treated of under their distinct heads, as well as the advantages arising from the shoe being flat on the foot-side, and con- cave on the ground-side. I shall therefore here endeavour to point out the great evils arising from the chief peculiarity of this shoe, viz. the thin heels. Being aware that Mr. Coleman's idea
with regard to the foot, is, that the frog should come in contact with the ground, and in a great measure support the weight of the horse, I am not at a loss to con- jecture the intention of this peculiarly shaped shoe, which is so well adapted to its purpose. When a horse is shod with this thin-
heeled shoe, the position of the leg and foot is unnatural, and continually upon the |
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J
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE. 143
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strain, when the toes are raised so much
above the heels. And this must be the situ- ation of all horses shod thus, excepting those which have become mule shaped by contraction ; therefore it is these only which will bear a diminution of horn at the toe equal to the reduction of the shoe at the heels, which Mr. Coleman urges the neces- sity of paying due attention to. Sprains in the tendons and ligaments
often occur from their being unusually exerted; fatigue in the muscles of the leg soon shews itself in the action of the horse, by the inability to move the fore- legs quick enough to be out of the way of the hind ones, which often strike either the heels or some other part of the shoe of the fore-foot. The foot, in consequence of being brought so near to the ground, is |
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144 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
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more liable to suffer from the effects of
blows, bruises, &c.; and I have never ob- served that horses thus shod are less liable either to contraction or to corns. On the contrary, I have remarked that it is par- ticularly injurious to weak feet, and dis- poses the heels to shelve forward, the foot in consequence loses its equilibrium, and the horse goes unsafe, and is con- tinually tripping and blundering in his paces. There is but one situation where the
horse may be quite as much at his ease with thin heels and thick toes, and perhaps more so than with common shoes, viz. when going down hill; but in no other po- sition can this wedge-like shoe be conve- nient, either for the feet or the legs : on the other hand, when going up hill, the strain |
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on professor coleman's shoe. 145
on the sinews and ligaments must be severe
indeed. And certainly tripping must be a consequence where the toes are thus thickened, and the heels lowered. I am aware that Mr. Coleman attributes
all these untoward effects to a misrepre- sentation of the principles he has laid down, and to a want of judgment in putting them into practice; but the particular instruc- tions, which he has so repeatedly urged, have only a reference to those feet which have been shod some time on the common English plan. But supposing we commence with this
plan of shoeing, and that no other has been adopted, would it be otherwise ? My own experience has taught me that no benefit arises from its use. And why, if it be con- sidered superior, has it not shown its pre- L
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146 on professor coleman's shoe.
eminence after twenty years' trial, and that
extensively too, both in and out of the army ? Had it proved itself to be a prefer- able plan, it would certainly, with the tria,l it has had, have been adopted at this period in every forge, instead of which, I believe, it would be difficult to find even one in any part of the kingdom where it is generally employed. And how many cavalry regi- ments are there, (who buy their horses young enough to begin fairly with any plan,) that have not deviated from the Pro- fessor's system, notwithstanding he is their principal veterinary surgeon. During the time I was in the Ordnance,
and from the opportunities I have since had of observing the plan as adopted in some regiments, and from enquiries that I have made, I believe there are few, if any, where the thin-heeled system is in full force. |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 147
On the Continent, I am informed, that
not only the cavalry but the whole country employ that system only, which is taught and promulgated at their public schools. As the thin-heeled plan of shoeing has
certainly not succeeded, I shall offer some reasons, which, in my opinion, have oper- ated against it. Mr. Coleman states, that the base of the
natural and perfect hoof is a circle, and that this circular form cannot be maintained without uniform pressure on the frogs; and, that if they have not this pressure, they must become diseased, and the horse con- sequently lame. In the chapters on flat and convex feet I
have stated, that a circular form is by no means a proof of perfection, diseases oc- l 2
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148 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
curring as frequently in them as in other
forms. It is also part of Mr. Coleman's theory,
that, without pressure on the frogs, the cartilages of the coffin bone no longer act upon the coronary ring ; and, that as the horn is secreted, it takes a wrong direction in consequence of this want of action on the cartilages. Hence, he says, all the disease which takes place. If this were really the case, a sound horse
would scarcely be found; as there are very few which have had this supposed benefit of thin-heeled shoes and pressure on the frogs. In my opinion, it is unreasonable to expect that pressure on so soft a body as the frog will be able to keep open the heels, which are so much more solid and compact, and we often see old horses with sound, though |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 149
not circular feet, which have never been shod
upon the thin-heeled system. Mr. Coleman remarks, " the proportion of weight on the hind-feet is trifling to that of the fore-feet;" but makes no observation on the absence of pressure, and the consequences attending neglect of the frogs of the hind-feet. He further observes, " if pressure were inju- rious to the frog, it would follow, that where there is most pressure, there would be most disease, and where there is least pressure, the least disease. If this position be correct, all the horses
that have been shod on the common system would be diseased ; and how is it that we seldom observe the hind-feet to be dis- eased, though the frogs in them scarcely by any chance receive pressure; and if it be pressure in the natural state that is the specific against disease, why do we see so L S
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150 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN^ SHOE.
much in those feet which never have been
shod ? The total absence of all the perma- nent diseases in the hind-feet, which are so common and so destructive in the fore-feet, is a fact familiar to every person accustomed to horses. The cause of this difference Mr. Coleman has not attempted to elucidate, and it is a fact which it appears has baffled every writer upon the subject. I shall, however, presume to offer a few remarks upon it. Some persons have urged as a reason,
that, as the hind-feet are generally well sa- turated with dung and urine, they are thereby rendered free from the diseases so common in the fore-feet. If such an idea could for a moment be
entertained, the beneficial effects of stop- ping the fore-feet with dung, mixed up |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE. 151
with urine, I consider, would not have
been overlooked; but, as yet, no person has ventured to recommend the practice. I remember, when a pupil at the Vete-
rinary College in the year 1798, that great care was taken to let the frogs of the hind- feet have as much pressure as those of the fore-feet, and roughing or turning up the heel of the hind-shoe was; condemned ex- ceedingly ; the objections being want of pressure on the frogs, no action in the cartilages, &c. At this period, pressure on the frogs was so much in fashion, that Mr. Coleman obtained a patent for an artificial iron frog, which was applied to give an increased pressure to the frogs when standing in the stables. This, I be^ lieve, is now quite out of use. Since then, Mr. Coleman obtained another patent for a method of making a claw on each heel l 4
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152 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE.
of the shoe, to act as a clip on the bars of
the hoof, which was said to have the pro- perty of averting contraction. But why have recourse to these expedients, if pres- sure alone on the frog be sufficient ? — Recently Mr. Coleman has taken out
another patent for a " frog," or " anchor shoe;" it is thus denominated, from its bearing some resemblance to an anchor, and from its pressing principally upon the frog. It consists of a tip or wearing piece round the toe, to the center of which a triangular flat piece of iron is welded ; this extends over and bears upon the frog; sometimes it is made to bear upon the heels, and sometimes to bear upon one heel only, leaving the quarters and heels uncovered in those places to which the bar does not extend. I must confess myself at a loss to comprehend how this singu- larly formed shoe is to keep the foot in |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAn's SHOE. 153
health. In the few cases that have come
under my notice, in which it has been tried, extreme lameness has been the re- sult, from the severity of pressure it im- posed upon the frog ; and I am of opinion, that such a shoe, bearing upon the frog only, the quarters and heels being without covering or defence, cannot be applied for any length of time without producing inconvenience. When we consider the only point of union this bar has with the shoe or tip, and the length of it, extending to the back part of the foot, without either nails or fixture of any kind, it must be evi- dent the bar on the frog, when the foot is upon the ground, must act forcibly as a lever, in loosening the shoe ; the extent of motion in the lever will be in proportion to the resistance the frog is capable of making, when it has to support the weight of the animal. |
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154 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN^ SHOE.
The natural and concave form of the
healthy foot is at once destroyed by the bar of iron extending over its center, which renders the horse insecure and unsafe in his tread, and is perverting Nature's laws more even than the common English shoe. As a hunting shoe, I should think it little calculated to remain long upon a foot going across a heavy country, and, from its construction, stones and gravel are very likely to lodge and give inconve- nience to the horse. La Fosse, a French veterinarian, who
published more than half a century back, recommended the use of a half-moon shoe, leaving the quarters and heels bare. This, he remarks, allows the frog to have a bearing on the ground at every step, and this bearing, he says, is necessary, when the weight of the body compresses the frog, |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 155
and compels it to yield and give way up-
wards; and as the flexor tendon, which is fixed to the coffin bone, is descending by the weight of the body also, the frog in its ascent meets and limits the descent of the tendon. He therefore considers, that where the frog is not in contact with the ground, the tendon is in danger of being ruptured or strained. It thus appears that La Fosse and Mr. Coleman both recommend the frog to be in contact with the ground at every step ; nevertheless they differ in their views as to the function of the frog. When I left the Veterinary College, fully believ- ing in the theory as it was taught by Mr. Coleman, I began to practise the system with as much zeal as any of my contem- poraries, adhering strictly to the principle of it. But in a few years, after a number of unsuccessful attempts to relieve or pre- |
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156 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
vent contraction, corns, &c. by the ap-
plication of it, I was led to suspect the correctness of the theory. The facts which gave me reason to doubt
the truth of it were, that notwithstanding the frogs of the hind-feet seldom, if ever, receive any pressure, in consequence of the heels being allowed to grow (which they generally are) more than those of the fore- feet, and also the turn-up of the shoe, and the nails carried nearer to the extremities of the heels j that we still had no permanent diseases like those which occurred in the fore-feet. As the structure of the hind-feet is the
same as of the fore-feet, it is natural to suppose, that the causes which produce so much mischief in the one, would have the |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE. 157
same effect in the other; but the diseases
incident to the hind-feet, are almost all of so temporary a nature as to admit of im- mediate relief. These facts operate, in my opinion,
against the success of this system of shoe- ing ; and when the difference of suscepti- bility of disease between the hind and the fore-feet is considei'ed, I think this circum- stance may eventually lead to some useful practical knowledge. I also consider, that if it were possible
to bring the fore-feet under similar cir- cumstances with the hind ones, we might expect to find some beneficial results ; but it will be readily perceived, that there are many reasons, besides shoeing, which tend to produce this extraordinary difference. In the relative situation of the fore and the |
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15'8 on professou coleman's shoe.
hind feet, the weight of the animal, whether
in motion or standing still, is very differ- ently distributed upon them. A much greater part of the body is to be sustained by the fore-feet, as well as the head and neck ; and if the horse be used for the sad- dle, the weight of the i'ider is also to be added. This increase of weight falls, from the position of the limbs, on the quarters and heels of the fore-feet. Whereas in the hind-feet, the weight, which is in itself trifling, is very differently sustained, and falls upon them in parts quite the reverse of the bearing on the fore-feet. For in the hind-feet the toe and quarters are the principal parts employed, either in action or when sustaining the weight of the animal. And I have no doubt, that the general absence of contraction in the fore- feet of dray-horses, when compared with other kinds, is in consequence of the simi- |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 159
larity of the action between them and the
hind-feet. Having stated my ideas, as opposed to
Mr, Coleman's theory of the use of the frog, it may be expected that I should state what I consider to be its functions. If it had been intended by nature, that the frog should have constant pressure, we should certainly have seen the frog in a perfectly natural foot projecting below the heels when standing on a level surface; but this is not the fact: for, on the con- trary, the heels descend lower than the frog, and the crust is that part which first meets the ground. Hence it is, that pres- sure on the frog, or the sole, is but partial, and only when the crust has first made an impression in the ground ; for in a natural state it always descends below either the frog or sole. |
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160 on professor coleman's shoe.
On the relative degree of pressure, which
nature intended should be borne on the different parts of the base of the foot, Mr. Coleman states, page 114. vol. 2. of his work on the foot, " I have already had occasion " to remark, that the horny frog seemed " to be intended to rest on the ground. On " the contrary, the concave form of the " horny sole, indicated that nature had so " constructed this organ, as not to bear " without mischief either partial or general "permanent pressure." At page 191. he observes, " A philosopher would at once " conclude, that the concave part of the " hoof was not intended by nature to re- " ceive, and therefore could not, without " mischief, receive partial and permanent " pressure." It is difficult to imagine how such
notions as these should have been set |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE. 161
forth by Mr. Coleman, who at the same
time states, that all his theories are founded upon principles consistent with the laws of nature. The philosopher must be short-sighted indeed, who cannot per- ceive, that the sole which extends over two thirds of the base of the foot, takes its proportion of bearing or pressure on the earth, whenever the crust penetrates to the depth of its growth below the sole. This fact is clearly demonstrated, by ob- serving the impression of horse's feet on soft ground, though all Mr. Coleman's theories are founded upon the supposition, that nature intended the weight of the animal should be borne by tKe crust and frog only ; but he has entirely omitted to state that in most instances the sole is bearing or supporting a degree of pressure as well as the frog and crust, for he has observed that the sole canrot receive M
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162 on propessok coleman's shoe.
either partial or permanent pressure with-
out mischief. It is possible for a horse to place his
foot on the ground where neither the sole nor frog will receive any pressure, but then it must be assumed that the surface upon which the foot rests, must be hard and - level, and it is only in this case that Mr. Coleman's theory of the sole in its natural state, being without pressure is at all ad- missible. Xenophon was well aware of the injurious effects of removing the natural bearing from the base of the foot, for he remarks that " it is necessary and useful to allow horses to stand on round stones, which adapt themselves to the hollow form of the foot, and by this means keep the foot round, tough, and durable." The removal of pressure from the sole
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 163
and from other parts of the base of the
hoof will very well elucidate the causes of some diseases which have hitherto been obscure. It will be easily understood how unnatural the state of a horse's foot must be when shod; that part of the sole which is covered by the shoe no longer participates in its share of the functions of the foot, but imposes on the crust and laminse an additional exertion, in sustain- ing the increase of weight upon them. This, no doubt, is often the cause of " con- vex or pumiced soles," " fever in the feet," and other changes of structure which are so commonly occurring within the hoof. There is a degree of partial relief
afforded to the crust and laminae, when the foot becomes clogged with earth, by the support given to the base of the foot, and it is this circumstance, combined with m 2
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164 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
others, which exemplifies why horses used
for agricultural purposes are less liable to diseases of the feet than horses subjected to stable condition. An admirable illus- tration of this fact may be observed, on comparing the feet of a cart-colt and a racing-colt of the same age;—the period of shoeing either is generally at a year and a half or two years old ;—the former will be observed to grow progressively and assume its natural growth, and form, while the latter generally degenerates into a state of disease, and contraction, sand- cracks, corns, and other defects, soon ren- der the blood-colt unfit for any useful purpose. There are race-horses whose hoofs are strong enough to resist these ex- citing causes to disease, nevertheless, the condition of horses' feet that have been in training till four years old, is generally bad. — The comparative absence of disease |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN^ SHOE. 165
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in the plough-horse's foot at the same age
is chiefly owing to his not being subjected to the heat of stables, with dry litter, the want of exposure to moisture, not requir- ing shoeing so often, and, above all, the uncovered parts being clogged continually with earth, allowing a bearing on the base, which relieves the laminae and crust of the additional weight, which shoeing imposes upon them. Hunters derive the benefit of this par-
tial bearing on the uncovered parts of the foot, during the time they are in the field, but when we consider the length of time they are in the stable without this relief, and the violent concussion the feet sustain in hunting, it is a matter of surprise, that they are not even more subject to disease than they are. m 3
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166 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
It is a well known fact, that the sole
cannot with impunity bear pressure from an unyielding substance like a shoe, but a cushion or compress of tow, saturated either with water, or an unguent, may be used with very great advantage to horses' feet when in the stable. An instance of this kind occurred to me
so long as fifteen years ago, in a celebrated racer of Lord Charles Somerset's, called Cerberus, whose feet were thin and weak : I contrived a piece of sole leather, padded with sponge, and adjusted to the size of the uncovered part of the foot, with a small tongue of thin plate-iron fixed to the toe part, and which was placed under the shoe ; a leather lace confined that part behind, which covered the frog, and served to keep the pad in its place by tying round the hoof. The cushion was made |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 167
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to descend below the shoe, in order to
make a partial bearing on the base of the foot. I have since made use of a simi- lar contrivance, and with beneficial effects, where the hoof was weak and the sole thin, indicating a want of support to the base of the foot. India rubber, if well managed, makes the best compress or cushion for this purpose. The frog appears, from its tough and
elastic nature, admirably calculated to de- fend the posterior part of the foot, to di- minish concussion, and to counteract the severity of blows and injuries the feet would otherwise be liable to when a horse is in action. Mr. Coleman observes that the frog af-
fords a spring to the foot: if this were the fact, we should have found it de- al 4 |
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168 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE.
scending much below the heels; but as
the surface of the frog is only on a level with the shoe when shod on his plan, I will ask, what spring does the frog afford, when the weight is sustained on the heels ? I wish to impress on the reader, that I
do not consider uniform and continual pressure on the frog either natural or necessary to the healthy state of the foot, and that the means employed to procure it are generally at the expence of some other part, either of the foot or the leg. Mr. White in his treatise states, that " there can be no doubt, that a horse In a state of nature has his frog almost always in contact with the ground; and then, of course, he feels no inconvenience from it; but when bui'dens are placed upon his back, and he is driven about on |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 169
hard roads, he is certainly in very different
circumstances ; and if the frog in such cases were constantly exposed to this severe pressure, it would sometimes, I believe, occasion lameness." Mr. White further remarks, " There is a kind of de- formity where the hoof loses that oblique direction, and is approaching towards the perpendicular, at the same time the heels become very high. In this case it is necessary to reduce the crust at the heels, and apply the thin-heeled shoe." If I understand Mr. White rightly, this case of deformity is the only instance in which he feels justified in applying the thin- heeled shoe. Since the preceding remarks on Mr.
Coleman's system were written, I have been favoured with the perusal of a book by Mr. Peall, Veterinary Professor and |
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170 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN'S SHOE.
Lecturer to the Dublin Society, on the
Diseases of the Horse, in which one chap- ter is devoted to the general treatment of the feet. In this work Mr. Peall has dis- played great talent and genius ; and, con- sidering the publication generally, it is but justice to observe, that, in my estimation, he has rendered a greater public service, on this important subject, than any pre- ceding writer. In many of his remarks I perfectly coincide; but with some of them my opinions are at variance. Those to which I more particularly
allude, I cannot perhaps do better than give in his own words. At page 153. Mr. Peall says, " As I can lay claim to no discovery
upon this subject, which Professor Cole- man has treated in a way that has done |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 171
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him the greatest honour, in spite of the
cavillings of envy, ignorance, and pre- judice, I must refer my readers for inform- ation on this head, to his very elegant and luminous work on the horse's foot. " Nevertheless it is right that I should
remark in this place, that the unprejudiced experience of many years, made upon a very large scale, has convinced me that no other principles of shoeing than those which Mr. Coleman has laid down, are capable of preserving the foot of the horse from disease, or are so well calculated to ward off to the latest possible period, that slow and gradual contraction which the feet of all horses that are shod are inevitably exposed to." Having read these remarks, I confess 1
was not prepared to meet with the follow- ing observations at the conclusion of the |
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172 ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN S SHOE.
same chapter, and at a distance of only
twenty-eight pages : " I have already dis- claimed the idea of writing a regular trea- tice on shoeing ; but having recommended Mr. Coleman's work, and the principles of shoeing which he has laid down in pre- ference to any others, it would be im- proper for me to close this subject without informing my readers, that the use of the thin^heeled shoes formerly recommended by the ingenious Professor, has been laid aside for some time at the London Veterinary College, from the experience of its inutility." When the reader has reflected on the
tendency of the very opposite opinions Mr. Peall has given on Mr. Coleman's system, at the commencement and at the conclusion of his remarks, I think he will have no difficulty in making up his mind on the use of the thin-heeled shoe and |
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ON PROFESSOR COLEMAN's SHOE. 173
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uniform pressure on the frog. When
Mr. Peall announced the abandonment of the thin-heeled shoe by Mr. Coleman, I expected that we should, at the same time, have been put in possession of some system which had been substituted as an- swering a better purpose. |
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174
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CHAR XVI.
ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S SYSTEM OF SHOEING.
[Plate II. fig. 6.] Mr. Clark published a work on the foot
of the horse in 1817, in three parts: two entitled " Dissertations," and the third " Stereoplea," which I have carefully perused. I feel little inclined to enter particularly
into the merits of this publication, as that would increase the present chapter consi- derably, though I fear not beneficially. I shall, therefore, make some general ob- servations on such points as I consider to be most material. In the first part a plate is given of the
horse's foot, which is described as taken |
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ON MR. BBAC"S CLARIES SHOE. 175
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from a foot that has never been touched by
any instrument, at the period of five years old, and representing its natural form. It is there shown bulging out in some parts, worn away in others, and exhibits a figure by no means either uniform or natural. I have before observed, that this cannot be a correct method of obtaining the natural form of the foot, as the hoofs, like the human nails, are continually growing; and I need not ask what would be their appear- ance, if allowed to grow five years without being touched. Mr. Clark proceeds with taking casts of the same foot, at different periods, after having been shod for some years on the English system ; but they only exhibit what is unfortunately familiar to every person conversant with horses, viz. the alteration in form, which ultimately produces all those diseases Mr. Clark so well describes. |
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176 ON MR. BKACY CLARK S SHOE.
Mr. Clark has taken great credit for
having discovered the elastic property of the hoof. This is a little singular, as the flexible and elastic property of the hoof has been noticed by many preceding wri- ters. In an English translation of La Fosse, published in 1749, page 86., he says, " The heel will touch the shoe-heel, for the hoof is flexible." P. 101., " It is the hoof, by its flexibility, that follows the shoe-heel." P. 107., " The less there is of shoe, the more flexible is the hoof." As Mr. B. Clark has given a plate in his publication of the shoe, which La Fosse recommends, he was of course acquainted with his no- tions about the flexibility of the hoof. Mr. James Clark, of Edinburgh, who pub- lished a book on the foot of the horse in 1782, likewise mentions the elasticity of the hoof. Page 36., he says, " In the middle of the frog is a longitudinal cleft or |
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ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S SHOE. 177
opening, by which the heels have a small
degree of contraction and expansion, at every tread which the horse makes on the ground." Page 96, " If we attend further to the known properties of horn, and of what a flexible nature it is, it will then be evident, that by confining the hoofs of a horse in a mould, they will retain the shape that is impressed upon them." Mr. B. Clark claims also the discovery of the bars; but in page 35. of Mr. James Clark's book, he remarks, " At the extremity of each heel, it reflects inward and forward to the point of the frog; there it is termed the bars or binders of the foot." The pre- ceding quotations, I think, will set Mr. B. Clark's claim at rest, as to the discovery of either the flexible nature of the hoof, or the bars. He also describes various parts of the foot, which, as he states, have hi- therto escaped notice; he not only ascribes N
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178 ON MR. BRACY CLARK S SHOE.
new functions to these parts, but at the
same time designates them with a variety of names not very intelligible. How dif- ferent were Mr. James Clark's ideas, who, in his third edition, observes, " I have avoided all hard words and technical terms, in order to render the book more plain and easy." Osmer, when treating the same subject, remarks, " But, as all words are arbitrary, and at the will of the im- poser, it seems to me of little consequence what choice we make of words, provided always they are used to bear a determinate meaning;" and I confess that I am an ad- mirer of the style of these old and intel- ligent authors, rather than of our modern, who have studied to fill their works with technical, far-fetched, and often unintelli- gible phrases. Mr. Clark was some years endeavouring to prove that shoes were unnecessary, but finding that he could not |
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ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S SHOE. 179
well do without them, he invented several
contrivances to fix on the shoe without nails. Now it is obvious, that a shoe of this
kind would be extremely complicated, and that any means applied to the outward part of the foot sufficiently tight to keep it on when at work, would produce all the com- pression and bad consequences which he says it is so necessary to avoid. He also remarks, that the pernicious consequences of shoeing horses have never till now been rightly considered nor understood, either by veterinarians or smiths. Mr. Clark's ideas, however, with regard
to Mr. Coleman's system, appear to be in unison with my own; for he observes, that the want of success in the application of n 2
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180 ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S SHOE.
the thin-heeled shoe, is a proof that the
theory is unsound. Mr. Clark doubts, that hot litter and the
heat of stables, have a tendency to produce contraction ; nor does he consider, that the common shoe (which he states to be the best) is calculated to produce it, and he thinks there is not so much mischief from the inclined plane of the English shoe as is apprehended, unless it be carried to an extreme; to me these facts appear so plain and self-evident as not to admit of any doubt; and I cannot conceive how the pernicious effects of heat, litter, and the ordinary method of shoeing, should be for a moment mistaken. Mr. Clark remarks, that the French me-
thod of shoeing is more conformable to the |
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ON MB. BRACY CLABk's SHOE. 181
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natural form of the foot, and that it har-
monises with the shape of the coffin-bone, which he illustrates by stating, that if a coffin-bone be placed on a flat table, it will be seen that there is a considerable space between the toe and the table. This is certainly correct; but Mr. Clark's objec- tions to French shoeing are, that if the flat form be departed from, there will be a difficulty in going back to it again. I would ask Mr. Clark, if he considers that the French shoe is more conformable to the natural shape of the foot, what reason there is to go back to a bad system again ? He states, that it is believed French horses are more sure-footed, and go better than ours; and suggests as a reason, that it is probable that " their feet are of a coarser hind than ours" I now introduce to the reader Mr.
N 3
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182 ON MB. BRACY CLARk's SHOE.
Clark's great discovery, which he ob-
serves, will form " a basis for the repose of the profession." I most cordially wish he may not be mistaken in so sanguine an expression ; though his great expectation appears to have been formed from the good effects of the plan in two cases only. The discovery consists of a shoe of the common English shape with a joint at the toe, which he describes to possess very extraordinary properties to relieve the feet from the restraint of the shoe and nails, by admitting the natural expansion of the hoof, and averting thereby all the evils of the common principle. Experience alone can prove the merits of this plan, and Mr. Clark's sanguine expression, would have appeared better at the end of several years of successful practice. He observes, that as no patent has been ob- tained for this invention, it is open to the |
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ON MB. BRACY CLARk's SHOE. 183
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public. How such an observation could
appear in his work, when he acknowledges that shoes with joints at the toes are to be found in every forge, it is difficult to conceive. Mr. Rotch took out a patent about five
years back for a shoe, the principles of which were similar to Mr. Clark's ; but it was found to be unfit for any purpose, from its being in three or more pieces, held together only by a piece of leather in the form of the shoe, to which the pieces were rivetted. Mr. Clark, like Mr. Coleman, has offered
no reasons for the comparative difference of the diseases in the fore and the hind feet. If a jointed shoe should appear to be useful for the fore feet, it is obvious it cannot be necessary for the hind feet, n 4
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184 ON MR. BBACY CLAHk's SHOE.
which Mr. Clark recommends, as they are
free from those diseases which it is in- tended to obviate. If Mr. Clark's reasoning on the prin-
ciples of the shoe and nails (as preventing the natural expanding property of the hoof) be considered as the cause of so much disease, I will ask, what is the reason we observe no such diseases in the hind-feet, which are under the same compression and restraint from the shoe and nails, and even more so than the fore-feet; for the nails in the hind-shoes are generally brought nearer to the end of the heels whereby very little expansion can take place. On further consideration of the principle
of the joint as connected with the motion of the foot, as it is united by a cylindrical rivet, on which it acts, if we mark the |
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ON MK. BRACY CLARk's SHOE. 185
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parts on the foot opposite to the nail-holes
in the shoe, when the foot is in a relaxed state, or when the foot is off the ground, and bearing no weight, the holes would not correspond or be opposed to the same parts of the foot, were it practicable to mark them in the expanded state; or when the foot is on the ground, and sustaining the weight of the animal; for it is obvious that the distance from the holes to the joint, in the relaxed state, must vary ac- cording to the degree of opening or closing of the joint when the foot is in action. This may easily be exemplified by a shoe on a piece of paper : mark the paper oppo- site to the centre of the rivet, and also the part opposed to the last nail-hole, suppos- ing it to be in the relaxed state; then open the joint, the rivet remaining precisely on the same spot, and mark the part opposed to the last nail-hole, take a pair of com- |
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186 ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S SHOE.
passes and strike a circle on the mark first
taken, and then another circle on the- mark last taken when the joint was open. It will then be observed that the last nail- hole in the larger circle, is at a greater distance from the joint than in the smaller circle. If it is then considered, that the shoe is nailed on the foot when in a state of relaxation, and that the nails are firmly fixed and immoveable, it must follow that the supposed expansion and relaxation of the hoof by the action of the joint, is fal- lacious. But if we for a moment admit, that the weight of the animal in action be such as to overcome these eight opposing points, the strain on the nails must how- ever be so great when the joint opens, they must be drawn nearer to it, and con- sequently soon become loose: and also, not improbably, tear out a piece of the |
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ON MR. BRACY CLARk's SHOE. 187
crust, and the shoe no longer be secure on
* the foot. In order to admit of expansion and
relaxation of the hoof by a joint, it would be necessary to make the nail-holes wide enough to allow sufficient play between the shoe and the nails, thus producing an effect similar to the end play of carriage-springs. But even supposing this provision were made, the shoe would soon tear out the nails. Since the publication of my first edition,
I have often witnessed the truth of the preceding observations. |
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188
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CHAP. XVII.
ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM.
[Plate V. fig. 6 & 7.] 1 he French shoe is perhaps rather wider
than the common English shoe; it is con- vex on the ground side, and concave on the foot side, and equally thick throughout. It has eight nail holes at equal distances round the anterior part of the shoe ; but the last hole on the inside quarter is generally at a greater distance from the end of the shoe than the one on the outward quarter; the holes are punched with a square counter- sunk head, deep into the shoe, and at some distance from the outward rim, and they are made obliquely, to give the point of the nail a direction outward. |
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ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM. 189
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On the foot side of the shoe there is
a much greater space between the nail- holes and the outward edge than in the English shoe ; and instead of the shoe being straight from the toe to the heel, it is considerably curved at the toe, which is called by the French veterinarians " the adjusting balancer It has been objected by some persons,
that this shape is unnatural, because it does not correspond with the form of a foal's foot; but this opinion, I think, does not in any way prove it to be so, for the coronet at that age is considerably wider than the base of the foot; hence, if such a notion were correct, we might ex- pect to see the base smaller than the coronet at five years old, when the foot is full grown. |
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190 ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM.
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The advantage of the French method of
nailing on the shoes, is so very superior to the English, and the form of the shoe is so admirable, that I cannot conceive, situated as we are so near to that country, how so superior a system has not long be- fore this period been attempted among us, for we certainly have not seen any plan of shoeing, which possesses so decided a superiority. The advantage of the manner in which
the French nail on the shoes will be noticed in the chapter upon nailing. I shall, therefore, here mention only the benefits of the shape of the shoe. In the work of Monsieur Jauze lately
publised on shoeing, the advantages of the French form are pointed out, and con- trasted with the English. His remarks |
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191
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ON THE FUENCH SYSTEM.
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upon the consequences likely to follow the
use of the common English shoe are cer- tainly substantiated by the deplorable state of our horses' feet. If we refer to the action of the fore-leg,
it will tend to explain some of the advan- tages of the curved shoe. When a horse is about to move, the first
indication of motion in the fore-leg is a bend at the knee, which necessarily raises the heels, and they become more and more elevated, till the toe (which is the last part that leaves the ground) is lifted for the moment that the foot is suspended. The base of the foot, just at its leaving the ground, is almost perpendicular; when the knee is bent to its fullest extent, the foot is then in the same position with the heels of the shoe pointing upwards. If |
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k.
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]92 ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM.
we consider this first part of the motion of
the limb, we find the movement of the foot very nearly describes a semicircle ; and on viewing the form of the joints con- nected with action, the necessity of a curve at the toe is clearly demonstrated : again, the form of a shoe worn out at once shows that it must be more suitable to put on a new one of that form, rather than suffer the action of the leg to be opposed until it is worn to that shape. In the second part of the action, when the foot comes again to the ground, it is first on the base, generally, and not on the toe as has been stated. There may be devi- ations from this general rule, as in those horses that have bad action ; also when horses are drawing heavy weights, it must necessarily differ. The fore-legs may be considered simply as pillars of support, having no power of themselves to propel |
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ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM. 193
the body forward, progression being prin-
cipally performed by the hind parts. If it were not so, the action would be different, as I have before observed it to be in those horses that have great weights to draw, and this may be more readily observed in any draught horse going up hill. I have offered these few remarks upon
action, in order to bring the reader's attention to the curve of the French shoe at the toe. This form of shoe certainly harmonises more with the motion of the fore-foot than the English; it affords a greater surface of bearing at the toe, than the projecting ridge of the straight ordi- nary shoe, and is better calculated to allow the motion of the leg and foot; the labour of the muscles is also dimi- nished, and the limb being in its natural position, the ligaments have less imposed o
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194 ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM.
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upon them ; they are more at ease,
and consequently are not so liable to be strained. It may not be inapplicable to remark
the facility with which the Indian people move in their wooden shoes, which are considerably curved at the toe, when com- pared to the difficulty of moving with those that have a straight unyielding sole. The shape of the coffin-bone is another
proof of the French system being more consistent with the principles of nature, than the straight ordinary shoe.* * If the coffin-bone of a fore-foot be placed upon
a level surface, the quarters and heels are the only parts in contact with it; which proves that they are in- tended by nature to meet the ground first, and to bear the greater proportion of weight; but if the quarters of the hoofs be removed to admit of the straight shoe, the portion of weight intended to be borne on the quarters |
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ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM. 195
If we contrast the curved form of the
French shoe with the straight line of the English, it is obvious that the latter is as much calculated to oppose the action of the leg and foot, as the former is to facilitate it. For in order to apply the straight shoe, the toe is allowed to grow and to project far beyond the extent pro- per and necessary for the protection of the internal contents : and in addition to this, if the shoe be made three times thicker at the toe than at the heels, the opposition to action must be increased in proportion. |
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must be thrown upon the heels, and hence the great
mischief which ensues from the common English shoe. It has been said that the coffin-bone is not of the form I have described it to be : I suspect such opinion has been erroneously formed from an inspection of a bone which has undergone a change from the effects of shoeing. o 2
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196 ON THE FRENCH SYSTEM.
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Notwithstanding I am fully convinced
of the decided superiority of the French method of nailing on the shoes, and of the peculiar advantages of the curve at the toe, still I have two objections to the French system in general, viz. the convex form of the shoe on the ground side, and the concave form on the foot side. I ob- ject to the first because the horse is by no means so safe or secure on his feet, more particularly when going over stones. To the second, I refer for my objections to the chapter on the common English shoe, where the effects of the concave form of the foot side of the shoe are fully described. |
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197
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CHAP. XVIII.
ON THE PERSIAN AND OTHER FOREIGN
SYSTEMS. [Plate V. fig. 2.]
1 he Persian and Turkish shoes resemble
each other in every particular ; they are made of a thin plate of iron, which, as I have been informed, is hammered to the shape when cold. The shoe nearly covers the base of the foot, and has only a small circular hole in the centre, and a project- ing ridge all round the outward edge of the shoe, both on the foot as well as on the ground side. It has four round nail holes on each side, near each other, and is curved both at the toe and the heel, o 3 |
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198
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ON THE BARBARY SHOE.
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The thinness of this plate of iron
shows, 1 conceive, that in these countries the roads are very different from ours. If a shoe of this form wears long enough, there is a material advantage in its light weight, and the defence it affords from loose stones. How far the union and the curve at the heels may be appropriate for those countries I am unable to judge. It will not, however, produce any of those pernicious diseases which are the common effect of the English shoe. The manner of nailing is rather curious, and will be mentioned in the chapter on that subject. On the Barbary Shoe.—The Barbary shoe
is very similar to the Persian : it is made from a thin plate of iron, with the ridge hammered all round the outward edge. The nail-holes are quite similar to those of the Persian; the heels are united, but |
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ON THE BARBARY SHOE. 199
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the space in the centre is of a triangular
form, and the shoe being much narrower than the Persian, the space in the centre is of course of greater extent. The toe is very wide, and more of a square than a circular form. The shoe is concave on the ground-side, and convex, or rather a plane inclining from the inner to the outward rim, on the foot-side, and is considerably curved both at the heel and at the toe. I have great reason to believe, that the shoes here described were made by one of the first workmen of that country, as they came on a horse which was selected, with permission, by the English envoy, from the Dey of Algiers's stud. If this be the form of the shoe in
general use in that country, it is a good specimen of their superior judgment. Its o 4
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200 ON THE PORTUGUESE SHOE.
only similarity to the English shoe is,
that it is made of iron, and is put on with nails; but it possesses very decided ad- vantages in the concave ground surface, the inclined plane, outward on the foot side, and the curve at the toe. How far the square toe, the thin plate, and the union and curve of the heels may be ad- vantageous, I cannot determine. I offer these remarks only on the shoes in my own possession. Portuguese Shoe (Plate V. fig. 4.) is a
flat plate of iron, with a ridge round the outward edge, like the Persian and Barbary shoes; but the plate is thicker. It is quite fiat on both sides, the nail-holes are of an oblong square shape, very large, and extend far into the shoe, which is nearly round, covering the bottom of the foot, |
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SPANISH, FLEMISH, &C. SHOES. 201
except a small hole in the centre, similar
to the Persian ; and the heel, unlike the others, is turned down, as I believe, to give greater security to the foot in travel- ling over the narrow dangerous roads on the edges of precipices. The principle of nailing is the same as the French, and being flat on both sides renders it far superior to the English. The Spanish, Flemish, Italian, and Swiss,
are inferior copies of the French. The German shoe (Plate V. fig. 5.) is
more like the English than any hitherto named ; but it differs from it in being flat on both sides, and the fuller or groove is so far from the edge of the shoe, that the principle of nailing is nearly the same as the French. |
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202 THE DUTCH AND RUSSIAN SHOES.
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The Dutch and Russian shoes are very
rough copies of the German. I have given this brief description of the
shoes of different countries, in order to show that they all partake, more or less, of the French system. |
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203
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CHAP. XIX.
ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
[Hate X. fig. 1, 2, 3, 4.] In the preceding pages the reader will
observe, that I have noticed many advan- tages in the French principle of shoeing, and I have stated it to be superior to any system that has come within my observ- ation ; nevertheless, it may be altered and considerably improved. From the information I have collected
from French authors, from veterinary sur- geons, from cavalry officers, and other per- sons who have attended to the subject when in France, and who have particularly observed the state of the feet of horses in |
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204 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
that country, I am fully borne out by their
testimony, and my own experience. In a conversation with Mr. Sewell, the
Assistant Professor at the Veterinary Col- lege, who has twice visited the Continent to enquire into the state of the veterinary art, he remarked, with a degree of earnest- ness that showed the impression which their mode of shoeing had made on his mind, " That he had seen more lame horses on his return, in the stage-coaches from Harwich to London, than he had met with during both his visits on the Conti- nent." In the report which Mr. Sewell has lately published, addressed to the governors and subscribers to the veterinary college, it appears that he travelled through France, Germany, Prussia, Flanders, and Holland, visiting all the public veterinary schools. |
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ON- THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 205
Mr. Sewell was apprenticed very young
at the Veterinary College, where he has continued to this time; and I think after twenty years' experience in the principles of uniform pressure on the frogs of horses' feet with thin-heeled shoes, it must be ad- mitted that he is fully competent to appre- ciate the merits of such a doctrine. After the foregoing declaration, I will
leave the reader to draw his conclusions on Mr. Sewell's opinion of the thin-heeled system, or of any other at present in gene- ral use in this country. In describing the French method, I ob-
served that there were two great objections to the shoe used in that country, viz. the convex ground surface, and the concave foot surface; my reasons for disagreeing with this form on each side of the shoe, |
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206 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
have been stated in the chapter on the
French system. In the modified shoe, I have reversed the form on each side, making it concave on the ground-surface, and con- vex on the foot-surface, with an inclination from the inward to the outward rim. To effect this form on each side, it is necessary that the shoe should be sloped or bevelled on the ground-side, from the outward to the inward part all round the shoe, except from a quarter to half an inch at the heels. To accomplish this inclination on the foot- side, it is necessary to thicken the inner part at the heels, as far as the flat surface extends. From the extent of flat surface at the
extremity or heel of the shoe, a deep cavity is made with a tool until the inward edge becomes of the same thickness all the way round, except at the heel. This leaves a |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 207
perpendicular shoulder, which serves as a
stop, and is equal to any caulking or turn up, to prevent slipping; but the peculiar advantage of this form at the heel is, that it does not alter the tread of the foot, but retains an uniform bearing, without pro- ducing the well-known inconvenience of elevating the heels by caulking; it likewise increases the concavity, and lessens the weight of the shoe, by a diminution of its substance in a part where it is not re- quired. It may be supposed, that a plane inclin-
ing the reverse of the common English shoe, will produce diseases in the feet of horses which have not appeared before. This is possible, if the inclination be carried to an extreme; but some years have elapsed without an instance of the kind in my prac- tice. I consider, therefore, that it is not |
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208 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
likely to occur. There is only one class of
hoofs that such a shoe could be applied to, viz. those with extremely concave soles, which are invariably strong, and have abundance of horn, and require a greater opposition than any other to counteract contraction by the inclination of the plane. With all other kinds of feet, if the shoe is clear of the sole, it is not practicable to make the inclination to such a degree as to prove injurious. The manner of punching the nail-holes,
and the curve at the toe, are similar to the French; but it is necessary that the out- ward edge of the inside of every shoe should slope inward to avoid cutting. There is, however, a circumstance which
may operate against the use of the modi- fied shoe, which is, the custom of families |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 209
leaving the metropolis many months in the
year, when the common method of shoe- ing will be resorted to, and any advantage which may have arisen during a few months residence in town from the. use of this shoe, would be defeated by the practice qf the old system again in the country. I have now - explained the form of the
shoe I have adopted with so much success; and it is satisfactory to find, that a shoe of this form is not more difficult to forge than a seated or common shoe. For general work, the best English iron will last until the hoof wants paring. From three weeks to a month is a right period for shoes to remain on the feet j but for hard-wearing horses, and those that work hard, English iron will require steeling at the toes, if the shoe be flat; but if it be curved at the toe, |
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p
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210 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
this will be unnecessary: but in such cases
Swedish iron will be the best. No general rule can be offered for regulating the weight, width, or length of the shoe; the smith must be guided by general circum- stances. Having mentioned the peculiar advantages derived from the curve at the toe, I consider it necessary to make some remarks on the advantages of the form of each side of the shoe. The concave ground-surface renders the animal more secure on his legs, and not so liable to slip as it embraces the convex stones of pave- ment, or the ground with a firmer and more secure grasp, than either a convex or flat surface. And by this form the weight is thrown on the crust, or wall, which pre- vents any unnecessary strain on the nails and clinches: the form also corresponds with the natural concave shape of the un- shod foot. |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 211
In a work published nearly a century
since by Soleseil, a French veterinarian, he recommends an inclined plane outward on the foot-side of the shoe, for contracted feet; but his method of obtaining this de- sirable form, is objectionable, inasmuch as he proposes to thicken the inner rim, and to slope or bevil the shoe gradually to the outward, leaving it much thinner than the inner one. No doubt a regular plane in- clining outward may be obtained in this way, but it is at the expense of making the ground-surface very convex; by which means all the points of bearing must neces- sarily be on the inward rim, when thick- ened and raised sufficiently to clear the sole. This form of shoe, though calculated to oppose the disease for which it was in- tended, produces an inconvenience which I have endeavoured to avoid, viz. an unne- cessary strain on the nails and clinches, and p 2
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212 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
all the consequences of their starting; it
besides furnishes a very insecure form for the ground-surface. La Fosse observes, this shoe invariably produced mischief by pressing on the sole. The plane inclining outward on the foot-
side of the shoe, I am aware may by some persons be objected to as impracticable; but as I had formed an opinion, that a shoe so shaped might prevent contraction, and other permanent diseases of the feet, I determined to try it, because it appeared evident, that when the weight of the animal comes on a shoe of this form, it must have a tendency to expand, and allow, without restraint, all the natural motions; instead of contracting the hoof, and I have found, from much experience, that the obstacles opposed to this form existed only in theory, as we find none in practice. |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 213
It is, however, necessary to remark, that
the degree of inclination must be regulated by the previous state of the foot, and its propensity to contraction. There are, as in all other general rules, exceptions to this ; they are, however, very few. When it is recollected that the horny sole, if not dis- eased, is concave, it will admit a flat or a convex surface being applied to it; and when the superfluous and scaly parts of the horny sole produced since the last shoeing are removed, and the crust at the quarters is preserved firm and good, there is scarcely an instance where this mode of shoeing cannot be put in practice, and sufficient room be left to pass a picker between the shoe and the sole to the nails. If this circumstance be strictly attended to there will be no instances of the sole sus- taining injury from the pressure of the shoe. Since the first edition of this work ?3
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214 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
was published, I have known several
horses lamed by smiths attempting to im- itate the French modified system, by placing the shoe flat upon the sole, such practice must be either the result of igno- rance or design. Should a foot, however, be in such a state as not to admit of a shoe of this description, if the horse is valuable, I have before recommended rest in a large loose place or paddock until the horn be restored ; but if he is required to be shod under these circumstances, the state of the foot will in general indicate the form of shoe most suitable for the occasion. Having described the shoe I prefer
and recommend for general use, I must explain the necessary previous preparation of the foot in order to receive it. When hoofs are protected by shoes, the consump- tion of horn by wear and tear is nearly |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 215
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prevented ; but as the growth of the hoof
is constantly going on, it is evident that all the superfluous parts will require to be removed at every period of shoeing, other- wise it would run into a state of ex- uberance similar to the human nails, if they were not cut The first part to be reduced is the toe, which should be re- moved with a knife or rasp on the sole- side of the foot, keeping in view the neces- sary curve : the next parts are the heels, which should, if they descend below the frog, be rasped to bring them on a level with it : having attended to these two points, it will then be seen how much it is necessary to remove from the quarters, leav- ing them full and strong, but in a straight line from the heels to the curve, which allows the foot, when in action, a flat part to land on, and describes a space equal to the landing part of the foot when shod p 4
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216 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
with a straight shoe. This direction differs
a little from the French " adjusting balance," inasmuch as they direct four points of adjustment at the toe, and two at the heels, which leaves the quarters rounded, and renders the foot not so secure on the ground. The sole must next be attended to, the superfluous parts which have appeared since the last shoeing should be removed, this will leave it con- cave, and the crust or wall below the sole. La Fosse states that paring the soles is the chief cause of contraction. Mr. Moor- croft observes, that paring the soles has a tendency to bring on pumiced feet, but I have not observed any such effect; on the contrary, if the sole be pared with discre- tion, removing only the flaky parts, it is of great use, but if allowed to grow too thick, it loses its elastic property, and the sensible sole suffers in proportion to the degree of |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 217
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thickness and want of elasticity. The next
and last part which requires attention is the frog. If it be full of horn, firm, and even on its surface, cleft, and sides, it will not require the use of the knife ; but if it be too large, rough, or uneven in its appearance, all the superfluous parts should be removed in the way I have described in the chapter on thrushes. The foot will now be ready to receive the shoe. It is necessary to observe when a shoe
is nailed on, that it should be about one- eighth of an inch wider than the hoof at the heels, and a trifle longer than the ter- mination of the horn ; or as much wider and longer as is necessary to prevent the shoe imbedding itself within the crust, between the periods of shoeing. This would take place by the growing state of the hoof, if it were an exact fit when first |
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218 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
put on, and often produce corns, &c. ; it is
equally necessary, that the shoe should be neither too wide nor too long, as either would produce a leverage that would be injurious to the foot. It may be supposed that, by leaving the shoe wider than the hoof, cutting would be a consequence, but as the heel is not a part where striking occurs, there is nothing to apprehend. The cutting part of the foot is before the quarter, and approaches nearer to the toe. It is also necessary to remove a small por- tion of the inward edge of the crust at the heels and quarters, leaving it sloping a little inward; this will fit it to the inclin- ation of the shoe, and allow the crust a bearing on its whole thickness. With horses that have long pasterns, it is con- sidered by some useful to increase the thickness of the shoe at the heels, with a view to give support and to counteract too |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 219
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great a bend in that part; nevertheless, if
it be thickened more than usual, it is evi- dent that it would occasion corns by in- creasing the pressure on the heels, and would also give them a shelving forward direction. Having described the shoe, and the pre-
vious preparation of the foot to receive it, I consider it necessary to make some ob- servations on the advantages that attend the adoption of it. When the modified French shoe, is put
into practice with judgment and attention, manifest advantages soon prove them- selves the result of adopting the system. I could enumerate many instances where corns, contraction, and other deformities of the feet have been removed altogether by its use. |
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220 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
Notwithstanding the high opinion I
entertain of the advantages of this method of shoeing horses above any other that has come within my observation, I am pre- pared to expect that we shall occasionally have lame horses, not from causes occa- sioned by this mode of shoeing, but from the battering and concussion of the feet when in quick motion over stones or hard roads. It has been imagined by some persons,
that draft horses, when going up hill in curved shoes, cannot have the firm hold of the ground that the straight English shoe is supposed to afford, and that their fore- feet are more liable to slip back. Now I am convinced, that every one who has noticed the points of wear in the English shoe, will admit, that when the sharp edge of the toe of the common shoe is worn off, |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 221
which is effected in a very few days, the
form then renders it far more likely to slip than the broad surface of the curved toe, which, being at first put on of the shape which the English shoe acquires by wear, is consequently free from the disadvantage of the sudden and smooth slope thereby occasioned. Thus the supposed benefit of the straight shoe is of so short dur- ation, as to be by no means an equi- valent for the great inconvenience produced by it. three-fourths of the time it is in wear, besides also the impediments which an elongated toe opposes to action. Mr. James Clark, who was a minute ob-
server, states, " we should keep the crust at the toe as round and as short as the foot will admit, I will then venture to assure them from experience, (if the foot is |
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222 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
not already diseased,) that they will find it
to their advantage." But on adverting to the advantages of
the curve at the toe or French adjusture of the shoe, I have to observe, that if the fore-legs in action were lifted up in a perpendicular line, without any bend or motion in the joints, the adjusture would be useless, but I still remain of the same opinion that the bend in the shoe at the toe facilitates the flexion of the knee, fetlock, and coronet joints, and assists materially in rendering the action of the horse more natural. It has been asserted, that such a form of shoe is contrary to the natural state, but if investigation be made among horses whose feet have never been shod, as we find in many parts of Prussia, we shall observe them worn very similar to the shape of an old shoe. |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 223
A Gentleman, late a Commanding
Officer of Cavalry, who is considered a great connoisseur in horses, and who has devoted much time to the consideration of different methods of shoeing, observed to me, when speaking of the modified French shoe, " Your improvements in the practice of shoeing horses are very important, and I travel with you 99 miles in 100, but as a shoe for hunting, the adjusture at the toe I do not approve of." His rea- son for disliking it is, he states, that in hunting and in going up hill, the purchase which the straight shoe has in penetrat- ing the ground, affords the animal secu- rity ; but in order to preserve this power, it would be necessary to shoe a horse every week at least, otherwise, the sharp slope which is very soon occasioned by wearing, would afford infinitely less pur- cnase than if the adjusture were adopted. ;■•■ |
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224 ON THE FBENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
Nevertheless, those who prefer a plane
or flat shoe for the foot surface, may very readily straighten the adjusted French shoe with a few blows of the hammer. I have already made some remarks in
the preceding pages, on the ground sur- face of shoes, but I consider it necessary to enlarge on this subject, to meet some objections, which I have heard made, since the publication of my first edition. Those who advocate as a principle, a
flat shoe for a ground surface, reason that two flat surfaces coming together, afford a larger surface, and more points of contact, and consequently less liability to slip or slide, than with a concave shoe. To ad- mit this argument, we must assume street pavements and roads to be as flat as the shoes themselves, when first put on. It is |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 225
scarcely necessary to remark, that pave-
ments and roads oftener afford a convex than a flat surface to the foot of a horse; and if we still consider, that although a shoe be flat when first nailed on, the con- sumption of iron at the toe soon alters its form, and the deviation from a flat surface encreases daily, until the shoe is worn out, therefore such argument does not hold good. It will not be necessary to say much, to
point out the danger and absurdity attend- ing the use of the convex surface of the common English shoe ; the flat surface is certainly better than the convex, but far inferior to the concave or safety shoe. If we look to the condition of horses' feet, that have never been shod, and arrived at a mature age, we observe the base of the foot to be approaching to a circular form, Q
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226 ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED.
and the sole concave, and firm ; now, if we
take nature for our guide, we shall endea- vour to make the shoe correspond with the natural form of the unshod hoof. Those persons who have paid attention
to a horse's going shod with concave shoes, either on the road or pavement, must have remarked the secure and firm tread, and the confidence they afford to the animal, as well as to the rider or driver. As a hunting shoe, some experiments,
the particulars of which are given in the chapter on that shoe, will prove its right of preference. Nevertheless, there are those who still
object to the concave shoe, stating that it appears to them, a horse is more liable to^ |
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ON THE FRENCH SHOE MODIFIED. 227
slide and skate about with it: but a little
experience or reflection will prove that such notions are fallacious, and grounded, as I have before stated, upon the idea, that wherever a horse places his foot the surface is plane and flat. |
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q 2
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228
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CHAP. XX.
ON BAR SHOES.
[Plate III. fig. 3 and 4.] 1 here is no shoe which can be so gene-
rally applied as the bar shoe, and if I were compelled to confine myself to the choice of one, I should most decidedly select the bar; there is, however, a strong prejudice against its use, and I have, on many oc- casions, observed horses crippled, going tender with plain shoes on, and compelled to work in that way rather than have a bar shoe, when, in all probability, it might have enabled the horse to go sound. This prejudice has arisen from its not having been resorted to except in cases of emer- gency ; so that, to see a horse with a bar |
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229
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ON BAR SHOES.
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shoe is considered as a notification of some
imperfection, which materially diminishes his value; and as horses are for the most part a marketable article, it is not a matter of surprise that this circumstance should operate in this way; however, those per- sons, who may have a valuable animal possessing every desirable qualification, can have no reason to get a fresh rather than a good horse> when such a prejudice of fashion will have no influence. Bar shoes are intended to remove pressure from one part of the hoof and to convey it to others, and are used more particularly for corns, sand-cracks, pumiced feet, breaches in the crust, &c. &c. The manner of applying the ordinary bar is, however, objectionable, as it corresponds in every particular with the form of the common shoe, with the exception of being continued all round, and uniting both heels of the shoe together, q 8
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230
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ON BAR SHOES.
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forming a bar which covers the posterior
parts of the foot. This bar is much nar- rower than the other parts, is bevelled, thicker behind, and sloping towards the point of the frog. It is, therefore, similar to a hollow cone, allowing the weight of the animal to bear on an edge only, which produces all the injurious conse- quences of the common shoe. Pieces of sole-leather are frequently rivetted on the bar to raise the shoe further from the part suffering; but in many cases where I have seen this practice resorted to, the increased pressure upon the frog produced more mis- chief than the disease it was intended to relieve ; in other cases, some parts of the bar are what smiths call set down, so as to form considerable shoulders on the foot side, which are intended to take the bear- ing on the nearest sound part, leaving a hollow space opposed to the diseased part. |
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231
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ON BAR SHOES.
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This, however, can only be temporary, as
the additional pressure thrown on the shouldered part is so great, that the strongest crust is not equal to it long. A narrow bar in the centre of the shoe
is on some occasions applied in flinty coun- tries as a defence to the sole, and is said to be useful; but is often the means of stones and dirt collecting, and producing inconvenience. I consider the great use of a bar shoe to consist in affording a greater surface of defence than any other shoe, which enables us to determine the weight of the animal more generally on the foot by equalizing the pressure on more bearing points than a plain shoe. There is a numerous class of horses whose hoofs are thin and weak, and not sufficiently strong to support the weight of the animal in Q 4
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232
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ON BAR SHOES.
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battering over hard roads at a fast pace
without inconvenience. This appears at the heels and quarters, where, instead of the horn having grown much since the last time of shoeing, it will be found to wear faster than it grows ; that the sole is sepa- rating from the crust, which bends in- wards, or projects in a shell outwards, and that the heels take a shelving direction forwards. In all feet of this description these con-
sequences shew themselves more or less, and for such I prefer a bar instead of a plain shoe, to prevent the destructive ef- fects which arise from the use of any plain shoe. I never find any difficulty in keeping
flat-footed horses sound, at work, with bar |
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233
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ON BAB SHOES.
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shoes; but I have frequently found, on a
trial of plain shoes, that I was compelled to return to the use of bars. Instead of raising the bar by rivetting
pieces of leather on it, or of forming shoul- ders or projecting parts (the practice with the common bar shoe), 1 propose to take as much general bearing as the foot will admit, allowing the crust and frog to have an equal bearing to relieve the suffering part; it will only be necessary to remove the horn of that and the contiguous part, leaving a small space between the shoe and the crust. When the heels and quarters have been worn away, and the frog projects below them, it will be necessary to set down the part of the shoe opposed to each heel, so as to admit a slight bearing on the frog, (see Plate III. fig. 3.) otherwise the pres- sure would be too severe; but if the heels |
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234
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ON BAR SHOES.
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and quarters are on a level with the frog,
that precaution will not be required; a plain flat bar (see Plate III. fig. 4.) will in this case be more suitable, and instead of making a narrow bar, which soon imbeds itself in the frog, and produces so much pressure that it cannot be worn long with- out inconvenience, I use a bar wider than any part of the shoe; of an equal thickness in all its parts, and perfectly flat on both sides, which affords a much larger and more even surface to tread on, and gives likewise more points of bearing on the frog. In every other respect a bar shoe corresponds both in form and principle with the plain shoe. |
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235
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CHAP. XXI.
ON THE PATTEN SHOE.
[See Plate III. fig. 1.] 1 he use of a patten shoe is to raise one
foot higher than the other when standing in the stable. In cases of lameness, for any consider
able time, either of the legs or feet, where probably the primary cause may have been removed, there is a want of action in the parts from a long previous state of relaxation; a shoe of this descrip- tion is on such occasions found useful. To bring these parts into action this shoe is put on the sound foot, which raises the limb altogether, and so alters the position of the leg, that the horse can bear but little |
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236 ON THE PATTEN SHOE.
weight on that foot, and is therefore
compelled to bear more weight on the lame leg. It is necessary to begin with this shoe
for a short time, and to increase the use of it by degrees until it can be worn twelve out of twenty-four hours daily. Many clumsy and awkward contrivances are in use for this purpose, most of which are of a piece with the shoe; therefore, when it is put on, it must remain continually until the shoe is taken off again. The evil attending this is, that, on some occasions, the increase of pressure, which is continued constantly, is too great for the suffering limb to bear, and instead of being beneficial, when the shoe is taken off, the lameness is consider- ably increased. A great advantage is therefore obtained by making the patten moveable, which is effected in a simple |
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ON THE PATTEN SHOE. 237
way, and may be applied to any shoe which
has been put on for ordinary wear. The only alteration consists in having a screw hole made on the outside heel, the patten being made of a requisite height from two to four inches from the shoe, with three branches or legs forming an arch from each heel of the shoe; the inside branch fixed on the inward rim of the shoe by a claw; the front or middle branch advanced to- wards the toe of the shoe, where it fixes also by a claw; and, in the outside branch, a round hole opposite to the hole in the shoe, to which it is fastened by a screw. The direction of the middle branch,
where it is connected with the arch of the patten, should be attended to, as other- wise it may lock in the gratings of cess- pools ; the branch from the centre of the arch should be perpendicular for an |
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238 ON THE PATTEN SHOE.
inch or two, to prevent effectually an
accident of that kind. In some cases of lameness, from an injury or inflammation of the joints, it may be useful to raise the heels of the foot to relax the limb during the state of inflammation. In these cases, turning up the heels of the shoe will answer the purpose. There are likewise other cases where the joints be- come diseased from the heels being ele- vated too much, and the weight borne on the toes; here it is necessary to elongate the toe of the shoe agreeably to the neces- sity of the case, observing that the elon- gated part is curved, otherwise it would do more harm than good. |
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■2:39
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CHAP. XXII.
ON SCREW SHOES.
[See Plate III. fig. 2.] In cases of contraction it has been consi-
dered by some persons, that mechanical power presents a simple and easy mode of relief; but the advocates for such a remedy should have well considered the probable consequences of a screw applied to a part though not in itself sensible, yet firmly united with living and sensible parts; and that any immediate alteration in form, pro- duced by the screw, must equally affect the sensible parts which are united to it. In this way I have seen serious injury pro- duced. Though screw shoes are an old invention, they were revived a few years |
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240
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ON SCREW SHOES.
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back by a Mr. Jekyl. If the screw be
judiciously applied, it is in some cases attended with advantage; it should never be attempted with thin or flat feet, as it invariably produces mischief in them ; but where there is plenty of horn, strong and firm, it may be. used with a better chance of success. During the progress of the attempt, a horse must be put out of work, his shoes taken off, and his feet well saturated with water some days previously to the application of the screw. Various conti'ivances of this kind have been recommended by different au- thors, most of which are ill calculated to answer the intended purpose. All, that have come within my observation, have a joint at the toe, with a screw at the heels, the head of which projects from the outside heel of the shoe; by this means the shoe is in continual danger of being torn off by |
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ON SCREW SHOES. 241
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hitching on something, or being entangled
in the litter. The shoe which Mr. Jekyl adopted was of this description, with as many nail holes as could be punched. A screw thick enough to answer this purpose without bending necessarily increased the thickness of the shoe to an unusual degree, and where one heel is more contracted than the other this shoe offers no means of applying the screw to either separately; and it is evident that the whole expanding power with this shoe is determined on the nails and clinches, which, on many occa- sions, tear out the piece before the object is obtained. A shoe, which obviates all these objec-
tions, was suggested to me by Sir B. Bloom- field. It has two joints, one on each side of the toe, and is therefore made in three parts; a centre or toe-piece, which has two B
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242 ON SCREW SHOES.
nail holes in it, and from the centre of this
a branch or flat piece of iron about an inch and a half in width (of the same thickness as the shoe,) which extends over the centre of the foot to the termination of the frog, on which it is intended to bear. As this branch approaches the wide part of the frog it increases in width and thickness in order to receive a circular hole through it, which is made into a female screw on each side. The sides of the shoe have three nail holes in each, with a claw on the in- ward corner of each heel turned upwards, which are fixed on the back part of the re- flection of the crust or wall, and may be called the beginning of the bars. The two joints being completed, the shoe is put on, and as the middle division of the shoe is kept on by two nails at the toe, it affords a fixed point for the action either of the in- side or outside quarter of the shoe, or both, |
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243
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ON SCREW SHOES.
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as may be required. Two short screws are
necessary, which are applied in the female screws of the centre branch, and the op- posite end of each acts in a small groove on the inside of the shoe at each heel. In a shoe of this description there are no projecting parts beyond the rim of the shoe, which is of the usual thickness, and having claws at the heels there can be no strain on the nails and clinches, and con- sequently no injury can be done to the crust during the application of it. It is necessary that the hoof should be
kept in a state of continual moisture; each screw to have half a turn daily, or every other day, as the nature of the case may require. Bleeding and physic are useful during this process, and a diluting diet, as it is not prudent to give exercise under this operation. From two to four weeks r c2
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244
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ON SC15EW SHOES.
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will be sufficient to obtain all the benefit
that this shoe affords. The expansion takes place principally in the centre or cleft of the frog ; if it were at the heels or the quarters, in the same degree as in the cleft of the frog, more mischief would arise by separating the horny from the sensible laminae than any advantage that could be gained by the use of the screw. On the first appearance of expansion in the frog, however diseased (with ordinary clean- liness, and the application of a few simple remedies recommended for the cure of thrushes), new horn soon fills up the dis- eased cleft, and in a short time presents a frog full of sound and strong horn. If the screws are not turned gradually, or if they are applied too long, it will produce great mischief. When the screws are taken off the modified shoe, similar to that I have recommended for general use, will prevent |
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245
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ON SCREW SHOES.
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the heels from contracting again, which
would soon take place with the use of the common English shoe. Exercise should at first commence with walking, and increase by degrees. In cases where I have not had success in the use of the screw for the relief of contraction, I have noticed a deviation in the growth of the hoof at the coronet it- self; and, as it descends, it wrinkles, and grooves appear; where they take place to any considerable degree, I have never seen any good obtained by the use of the screw. On the other hand, I have on many occasions seen benefit from a judi- cious application of it. As L have men- tioned the use of a claw at each heel of the shoe, I may remark, that, as Mr. Coleman has obtained a patent for the adoption of it, he of course thinks its use important, and although I do not agree with him in the propriety of it for general use, I think e 3
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246
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ON SCREW SHOES.
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it is important in a screw shoe, as it re-
lieves the nails and clinches from the pres- sure of the screw. Mr. Coleman has only revived the use of this contrivance ; it is an old invention, as I have in my pos- session a shoe precisely on the same plan, which was introduced by Mr. Snape many years before the veterinary institution com- menced. I have considered it useful to give a
plate, illustrating the state of a horse's foot, a cast of which was taken, (see Plate XI. fig. 1.) in April, 1819. A cast of the same foot, (see Plate XI. fig. 2.) was taken in October, 1819. Fig. 1. exhibits a mass of disease and deformity. Fig. 2. a foot by no means perfect, but greatly improved in form, and assuming a healthy appearance in all its parts. The horse is now at work, perfectly sound, and efficient for any pur- |
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247
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ON SCREW SHOES.
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pose, (December, 1823). It may be in-
teresting to state, that the change was effected, first, by the gradual application of the screw, during which time the foot was kept in constant moisture, by the use of the water-boot, and afterwards, by fol- lowing the plan of shoeing, and the method of managing the feet herein re- commended. |
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R 4
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248
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CHAP. XXIII.
ON GRASS SHOES, OR TIPS.
[See Plate IV. Fig. 1.] The use of these shoes depends much on
the season of the year, the state of the weather, and the situation where horses are turned out. In the months of Novem- ber, December, January, and February, if the weather be open, shoes or tips are quite unnecessary ; but, if the ground be- come hard from frost, or dry weather, a defence is proper ; otherwise the crust will be broken in some places, and split in others ; and from continued pressure of hard and irregular bodies on the sole, the horse becomes foot sore and lame; or if the situation have a number of trees, horses continually break their feet by paw- |
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249
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ON -GRASS SHOES, OR TIPS.
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ing and scraping against the roots ; or if
there be much gravel about the shed-doors or gate-ways, they break their feet from that cause. I have invariably observed, where horses are turned out to grass dur- ing the dry and hot summer months, that, on bringing them up to be put into stable condition, their feet are in a much worse state than they were when they went out; dried up, and so hard and brittle, that, on the application of a tool to bring them into a form fit to receive a shoe, the horn breaks like a piece of glass, and all the naturally tough and elastic property is lost, so that it requires some months to remove the bad effects. If it be necessary that a horse should be put out of work during the dry and hot weather, I prefer a large box or shed, and soiling with green food, by which means two objects are gained, viz. all the injurious effects of a drying |
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C250 ON GRASS SHOES,*
wind or a meridian sun on the hoofs are
avoided, which creates such an excessive evaporation of the natural moisture of the horn from within, that it not only becomes dry, hard, and brittle, but the whole horny box tightens on the sensible parts, and frequently produces great mischief. But in a loose place moisture may be regulated in any desirable way. The other advan- tage of a shed or box is, that horses are in a great degree sheltered from the terrify- ing effects of flies and heat. Horses, when constantly kept in a loose place, without work, (and this applies particularly to covering stallions,) are suffered, as their shoes have little or no wear, to remain a much longer period without having them removed than they should be, and their feet become exceedingly diseased and dis- torted in consequence : the best treatment to follow with horses so situated, is to |
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251
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OR TIPS.
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cover the base of the foot with a strong
leather sole, the heels having been pre- viously rasped to a level with the frog, and the toes shortened ; the leather sole should be soaked in water to render it pliant, and an iron tip of the shape of the foot should be rivetted to it, a compress of tow, saturated in an unguent of hog's-lard and tar, should be placed in the cavities between the bar and frog, and also into the cleft of the frog; the sole with the tip should be then nailed on. This de- fends the frog from the effects of urine and dirt, and preserves it from thrushes, at the same time that it affords an elastic bearing to the sole, and expands the hoof by the pressure it affords to the whole base of the foot; but in dry or frosty weather, when the ground is hard, the leather should be cut away opposite to the frog. Horses at grass are much inclined to have thrushes ; the |
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252 ON GRASS SHOES, OB TIPS.
cause and treatment of which may be re-
ferred to under that head. Whether horses have shoes or tips, or be without either, it is necessary frequently to inspect their feet, and to remove all the superfluous horn, otherwise the hoofs will get into a state of exuberance, and grow out of form. A defence is only necessary for the fore- feet. |
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253
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CHAP. XXIV.
ON SHOES WITH MOVEABLE TOES.
[See Plate III. fig. 5.] \Vhere horses are required for daily ser-
vice, or are unusually hard wearers, a con- trivance of this kind is necessary to pre- vent the necessity of renewing the shoeing too frequently. It is obvious, that when horses are fresh shod, on an average, every ten days, which is nearly the case with those that work daily, no hoof, however strong or firm, can bear it without incon- venience ; with thin and flat-footed horses ruin and destruction follows, as the horn is consumed much faster than it grows. It is desirable that shoes should remain on from three weeks to a month ; but if horses be shod three times in a month instead of |
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254 ON SHOES WITH MOVEABLE TOES.
once, they are shod twenty-four times in a
year oftener than they ought to be. It is thus clear, that the most perfect feet can- not bear this repeated perforation of the nails, and on this account I consider that a shoe with a moveable toe, is on some oc- casions necessary ; but where shoes can be kept on from three weeks to a month, it is not required. When the shoe is made, it should be thinned at the toe gradually, until it is about the thickness of a half- crown, leaving a bur of a semicircular form on the inner rim about the centre, to be the fixed point for the moveable toe-piece; a flat key-hole must then be punched through this bur on a level with the shoe. The moveable toe-piece is of a semicircular form, tapering from the centre each way, and in the centre of the moveable piece is a tongue, on a level with the shoe-side of the piece, and about half its thickness. |
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ON SHOES WITH MOVEABLE TOES. 255
This piece and tongue are forged in a tool;
when fastened to the shoe the tongue is put through the key-hole in the bur, and rivetted on the inside of the shoe ; a thin collar on the tongue before rivetting faci- litates the removal of the toe-piece when necessary, which is easily accomplished with a small chisel made for the purpose. When the shoe is complete, there is no inequality in the thickness of the shoe, which is the same from toe to heel. I have ridden and driven horses many
thousand miles, renewing the toe-pieces when necessary, without stirring a nail, and which enabled me to keep the shoe on the foot a proper time, until the hoof wanted paring. This kind of shoe may be objected to, on account of the expense, which is con- siderably greater than that of the ordinary shoe. The first sets are undoubtedly so, but |
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256 ON SHOES WITH MOVEABLE TOES.
when it is considered that the wearing part is
moveable, and that all the remaining parts of the shoe will last from six to twelve months or more, the expense will be principally in substituting the wearing part. Admit- ting that the expense is more than com- mon, the advantages gained are more than an equivalent to the expense. There is another important advantage in the adop- tion of these shoes in proceeding on a long- journey. In the first place, you are not detained on the road every ten days to get fresh shoes put on by a fresh smith ; in the next place, when the feet want paring, your shoes are already made, and as you have proved that they fit the foot, to rasp the crust and remove any superfluous parts, and nail the shoe on again, is all that is re- quired. |
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257
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CHAP. XXV.
ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
[See Plate II. fig. 5.] 1 his is of the same principle as any other
shoe ; nevertheless, it is proper to attend to a few remarks. A shoe for common road- work would be too heavy for hunting; it is therefore necessary to make them nar- rower and lighter altogether: they should, however, have substance enough to prevent bending in wear, and they should be put on as near the sole as they can with safety. A good criterion of the distance is to, ad- mit a picker freely between the foot and the shoe all the way round to the nails; if there is too much space between the foot and the shoe, in going through deep clays s
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258 ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
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it creates a sucking property which tears
the shoe off. . In order to establish the truth of this
remark, an experiment was made the ]3th February, 1823, in the presence of Mr. Cherry, Veterinary Surgeon, of Clapham, and Mr. T. Dudley, the joint patentee for the manufactory of the mal- leable metal horse-shoes, to ascertain the comparative force requisite to withdraw two shod fore-feet hoofs, filled with a composi- tion, so as to make them about the same weight they were in the living state; one shod with a modified French shoe, the other with a common shoe, having a convex ground surface and round edges, from a bed of clay moderately stiff: both feet were taken from the same horse; their shoes were of equal weight, and alike in size. A pair of steelyards were fixed over the centre of the clay box, and the shod hoofs were |
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259
|
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ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
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each imbedded at an equal distance from
the point indicated by a perpendicular line from the centre, supporting the steelyards. It is, however, but just to state, this expe- riment was first suggested to me by Mr. Waters, a Veterinary Surgeon, residing at Northampton, who has much experience among hunters. Experiment the First.
The two feet were imbedded in the clay
to the depth of the hoofs, by an equal weight, when thirty pounds withdrew the modified French shoe in thirty seconds, and the common shoe required forty pounds and sixty seconds to withdraw it. Experiment the Second.
The same two feet were placed in the
same box of clay, the toes being down- s 2
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260 ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
wards, and the under surface of the foot
at an angle of about 45 degrees to a horizontal line. The modified French shoe was withdrawn by thirty-five pounds in two seconds, and the other, by the same weight, in forty-five seconds. Experiment the Third.
The feet being again placed as in the
last experiment, the withdrawing power was fixed in an opposite direction, equally oblique. The hoof shod with the modified French shoe was lifted by twenty-six pounds in thirty seconds, while the other hoof required sixty pounds to withdraw it in ninety seconds. These experiments prove at once the
advantage of the modified French shoe; and if we consider the established fact, that |
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261
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ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
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a few pounds, more or less, are of great
consideration in racing, we can more easily conceive, that the increase of weight, as it were, upon the feet, at the extremity of the lever, will tire the horse much sooner than placing so many additional pounds upon his back. The heels of the shoe should not be
too long, as in that case they would be frequently torn off by.the toe of the hind- shoe: but they should be as long as the horn ; otherwise, from being short, they would soon be imbedded into the foot, and produce mischief. It is a practice to turn up the outside heel to prevent slip- ping. So long as the ground remains moist this does no harm, as the rough sinks into the ground and brings the foot on a level; but in frost or going over hard roads, the foot is turned on one side, and s 3
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262 ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
produces mischief: this may be obviated,
in some degree, by lowering the horn of the same heel; but where the modified French shoe is used, turning up or rough- ing is totally unnecessary. Notwithstanding the advantages arising
from the use of the French modified shoe are so evident, I shall relate a case to show how forcibly prejudice sometimes operates. A. groom undertook a journey in the sum- mer of 1818, with a horse and buggy, the norse being previously shod with a set of snoes on the the author's principle : after a journey of between three weeks and a month, through Lincolnshire and many parts of Yorkshire, he returned to London. Asking him how he liked the new plan of shoeing, he said he had nothing to say against it, as his horse had the same shoes on, and every nail in their places, as put on |
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ON THE HUNTING SHOE. 263
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in London ; and that he had not had occa-
sion to go to the smithy to have a fresh nail, or a clinch tightened. Making fur- ther remarks on the advantages of such a plan, he observed, that after all, there was nothing equal to the old plan, and that he was sure a horse would slip with the new shoes. When asked if that had happened during his journey, he replied; " No; but then, you know, I travelled over turnpike roads." I then enquired if he had never observed horses slip with the old plan of shoeing : he replied, certainly. To this I observed, that as slipping was so common an occurrence with the old plan, if a horse slipped and fell, no remark was made as to the probability of the convexity of the old shoe being the cause, and that it was there- fore considered as an unavoidable circum- stance, and no more thought about it. s 4
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264 ON THE HUNTING SHOE.
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It is worthy to remark, that the horse
was old when he performed the journey, and his hoofs were strong, though con- tracted, and smaller at the coronet than at the base of the foot; four years have elapsed since that period, and the horse has been in constant work all the time: his feet, from the use of the shoe I have recommended, have become much improved. The toes of the hind-shoes should be
bevelled, sloping inward, and set rather within the horn of the hoof, which should be rounded to the shoe; by this means over-reaching and forging will, in a great degree, be prevented. It has been stated by those well versed in school-riding, that horsemanship, and attention to the break- ing-in of horses, will obviate this defect: |
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ON THE HUNTING SHOE. 265
|
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|
this may be the case with those who have
time and inclination to attend to such rules ; but with the hunter or hack, however well taught, it will have very little effect, when in the field, or riding hard upon the road. It has happened that the fore-shoes have locked in the hind-shoes ; and when this occurs, the horse invariably pitches on his head. I recollect a mare of Lord May- nard's that fell in this way, when one fore- foot was so completely locked in a hind- shoe, that it was necessary to use tools to extricate the animal from so awkward a situation. If the inward edge of the hind- shoes are bevelled and rounded, this acci- dent cannot take place. |
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266
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CHAP. XXVI.
ON THE RACING SHOE, OR PLATE.
[See Plate IV. fig. 2.]
It is material that plates should be made
of the best Swedish iron ; as that will stand the groove and punching better than Eng- lish, and is not so liable to break. In general, I think, plates are made rather too slight; they should have substance enough to prevent, bending when used. They are forged in a tool made for the purpose; and if the groove was made further from the outward edge of the plate, the nail holes would consequently be punched further in, by which means the nail might be driven in the same direction as the French recom- mend. A flat surface on the foot-side is |
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ON THE RACING SHOE, OR PLATE. 267
generally used, which answers very well;
and it is proper to adopt the same form in the plate as in the shoes intended to be put on after the removal of the plates. For instance, if straight shoes are put on when the plates are removed, the plates should be straight also ; and if the horse is wear- ing a shoe curved at the toe, the plates should be curved also. Three or four nails on each side, according to the size of the foot, will be sufficient; and the heels of the plate should not be longer than the horn of the heels, but a trifle shorter, to avoid being torn off by the toe of the hind-foot. As plates remain on the foot so short a time, a particular form is of little import- ance, as far as regards the effect on the foot. All that is necessary is to drive the nails, which should be of the toughest quality* safe, and to avoid pressure on the sole. There is a practice occasionally to •
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268 ON THE EACING SHOE,
cut pieces of old hat or leather the precise
form of the plate which is nailed on be- tween the foot and the plate ; but I could never discover any advantage in this, but rather the contrary, as the plate under such circumstances is by no means so safe or secure on the foot as without it. I have often lamented, that race-horses
are deprived of the great advantage of being taken to a forge to be shod, which is the only place where a horse can be'shod with accuracy. I have, on many occasions, ob- served smiths bring shoes or plates that were far from fitting the foot, and alter them by a blow or two with the nailing- hammer on a stone or the pincers, which is considered sufficient; and any deficiency in fitting, after that, is made up by remov- ing a part of the foot, which, if the horse had been shod at a forge, would have re- |
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269
|
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OR PLATE.
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mained. Hence race-horses and hunters,
which are shod in the stable, are more liable to the destructive practice of fitting the foot to the shoe, than any other class of horses. Mr. Cherry, an ingenious Vete- rinary Surgeon, residing at Clapham, has taken out a patent for a portable forge, which, I think, would be useful for all trainers or gentlemen to have on their premises for the use of the smith who attends their stables, |
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270
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CHAP. XXVII.
ON FULLERING.
Shoeing smiths apply this term to the
groove in the outward edge of the ground- side of the shoe, which is generally con- tinued all round as near to the outward rim as the iron will admit; but in some instances it is made deeper, and is not carried round the toe. In the bottom of this groove the nail-holes are punched. The object of this groove is to receive
the nail-heads, but in general it is too superficial to answer this purpose : when a counter-sink head is used, the groove is made deeper ; but the inward edge of the groove is perpendicular, and the outward |
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ON FULLERING. 271
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edge slopes towards the exterior rim, to
give the point of the nail a slanting direc- tion inward. It is considered, that the smith who can keep this groove nearest to the edge of the shoe is the best work- man, and it is by them denominated fine fullering. If this groove is cut deep into the shoe,
it is evident that it must weaken it; and if the iron is not good, it will crack in the outward edge of the fuller; and if it is su- perficial, it affords no security to the head of the nail; and if made with accuracy, and deep enough to afford security to the head of the nail, it is a tedious process, and takes up much time. The fuller, or groove, has been recently altered at the Veterinary College ; it is now carried further into the shoe, and is similar to the German method of making the groove, which gives an ad- |
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272
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ON FULLERING.
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vantage in taking more, hold, by driving
the nail through a portion of the sole on the inside of the crust similar to the French method of nailing: but latterly, fullering has been abandoned at the Vete- rinary College. Some persons have fancied, that by
making two or three grooves round the shoe, slipping would be prevented; it does not, however, appear to be well founded, as such a practice is rarely seen. |
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278
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CHAP. XXVIII.
ON PUNCHING.
1 he ordinary English punch is square,
and slightly tapering, and is made more for the purpose of getting it readily out of the shoe when the blow is given, than for the se- curity that the form of the hole it makes may give to the nail. It is applied in the centre of the fuller, upon the depth of which the punched part depends. The nail hole is as wide, or nearly so, on the foot side of the shoe, as it is on the ground side; the smith who brings the nail hole on the foot side of the shoe nearest to the exterior edge is considered the best workman. It must be obvious that a hole of this
T
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274
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ON PUNCHING.
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form affords little security to the nail.
Burs are not unfrequently left on the foot side of the shoe, from the smith having omitted to remove or flatten them after punching; which sometimes produce mis- chief. The holes of the Persian, Turkish, and
Barbary shoes are punched round, but not near the edge, as they have no fuller. The German, Dutch, and Russian shoes are punched in the bottom of a coarse fuller. In the Portuguese method, the hole is very large, oblong, and square, extending far into the shoe, is peculiar in itself, and has no fuller. In the Spanish, Flemish, Italian, and Swiss modes, the punch hole is similar to the French. The French hole I consider much the
best, it possesses many important pro- |
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275
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ON PUNCHING.
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perties, and requires two punches to form
it perfectly; the first a small common counter-sink punch, which is struck nearly through the shoe, leaving only what is necessary to be opened by the pritchel; every hole having been opened in this way, a large and deep counter-sink punch is then used to every hole, which must be struck nearly as deep into the shoe as the first punch, to admit the counter-sink part of the head of the nail to be buried in the shoe. Much depends on this last punch being
driven deep enough; if it is not so, a shoulder will be formed in the hole by the first punch being much smaller than the second ; in this case the nail head, instead of being sunk deep into the shoe, will stand out; consequently it will not have t 2
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276
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ON PUNCHING.
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sufficient security, and the shoe will be
more liable to come off. Perhaps there may be a little advantage
in sloping the inward square of the hole rather more than is done in the French method, to obtain a greater degree of obli- quity to the point of the nail. The bottom of the hole is pritchelled in the usual way, only with this difference, that the point of the pritchel should be directed outward instead of inward, and that it makes a hole large and shallow, to receive a flat instead of a square, and to be as near the size of the shank intended to be driven as possible, that the nail may fit and have a direction outwards. Instead of following the French in their number of holes, which is eight, I use seven, four on the outside, and three on the inside ; this leaves the last hole of the inside at a |
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277
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ON PUNCHING.
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greater distance from the heel than the
outside, where they are carried much nearer to the end : this is done with a view to allow without restraint the natural mo- tion of the quarters and heels, which takes place at every step, when the horse is in action ; and instead of carrying the nails all round the front of the foot, I prefer leaving a solid space at the principal point of wear at the toe. On looking at the foot side of the shoe,
the nail holes (unlike the English, which are very near the outward edge) extend a considerable distance into the interior part of the shoe, the use of which will be ex- plained in the chapter on nailing. If the quality of the iron be not good, it
will be put to the test by the application of the punch: it will either burst on the out- t 3
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278 ON PUNCHING.
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ward part of the hole, or cracks flaws
will be seen ; neither of which will appear if the iron be good. It has so long been the practice of shoe-
ing smiths to make the nail holes close to the outward rim of the shoe, that it is with difficulty they are prevailed upon to make the hole further from it; the consequence is, the punch drives out the iron, and makes it bulge on the outward edge. In order to recover the uniformity of the rim, the smith is obliged to hammer the bulging places in again, which invariably spoils the nail hole. This inconvenience may be very readily avoided, by making the nail hole further from the outward edge of the shoe. |
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279
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CHAR XXIX.
ON FROSTING.
X* rosting, like shoeing, is a necessary evil,
but the inconveniences attending it show themselves much sooner than the effects of ordinary shoeing. In order to avoid wounds by treading
one foot on the other, it is the practice to turn up. the outside heel only: it is thus so much raised, that it turns the foot on one side, and brings on an unusual strain on the ligaments of the joints, which often produces lameness. The toes of saddle horses are seldom frosted, therefore an un- usual elevation of the heel, either by one or two frost roughs, alters the tread so much, that it increases the action of some, t 4
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280 ' ON PKOSTING.
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and diminishes the action of other muscles
accustomed to strong exertion ; it is also manifest that a considerable increase of pressure on the heels naturally follows, so that lameness frequently attends the prac- tice of frosting, even for a short time. The ordinary method of frosting is by taking a shoe off, heating it, and turning up the heel and toe; but this being iron only, it lasts, for any efficient purpose, but a short time; and the same process must be repeated, perhaps daily, as long as the frost continues. It is evident the hoof must suffer most severely by such a conti- nued and repeated perforation with the nails, so that if a frost should last a month or two, it is probable there would be scarcely horn enough left to nail a shoe on with safety. When frosting is required, I have found
by steeling the heels, and if a draft horse |
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281
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ON FROSTING.
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the toes also, that they will last consider-
ably longer, and consequently diminish the frequency of driving nails. A much shorter rough also will then answer, and the usual tread will not be so much altered. A rough on the. outside heel is sufficient, for feet where horn abounds, and the horn of the same heel may be removed or lowered with safety, to counteract, in some degree, the depth of the rough ; but with thin feet, and weak low heels, where it is not practicable to remove horn, a bar shoe, with a rough on the centre of the bar, is desirable, or a short rough on both heels, observing to round the corners of the in- side rough, to obviate the effects of tread- ing one foot on the other. Frost nails are frequently used, but the time they last is so short, that the practice is injurious; but if they are on an emergency resorted to, the head of the French nail presents a |
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L
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282
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ON FROSTING.
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considerable substance, and is far better
than the common English nail for that purpose. Many persons have suggested to screw
in the roughs, I have tried screws in all feasible forms for this object, but I have never found that any screw would remain firm enough to answer any good purpose. The most efficacious method of applying a moveable rough (Plate III. fig. 6.) is to make a short square turn-up at both heels of the iron only, through which punch a square hole to receive the shank of a steel rough, which is rivetted at the end of the heels, leaving the steel rough in the inside of the iron one, and about half an inch higher than the iron rough. A steel rough may be rivetted at the toe when required, in the same way, observing to rivet the shank on the outside of the shoe. To take 7
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283
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ON FROSTING.
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these out, a few strokes of the rasp will re-
move the bur of the rivet, and by a trifling- blow with a shoeing hammer they will come out. The steel roughs should have iron shanks, and are easily made in a tool for that purpose. The use of moveable roughs for ordinary purposes, perhaps, may be considered tedious and too expensive, but in a country like Russia, where the frost continues regularly for many months, a previous preparation for the winter, would, I consider, be attended with great advantage. The application of roughs for any considerable time produces corns, and alters the natural form of the heels of the hoof, especially if they are thin or flat, by inclining them to an oblique shelving di- rection forward. Since writing the preceding remarks,
I have devised a plan for a rough, of |
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'284 ON FKOSTING.
which the following is a description: it
will be found simple and adequate to every purpose. In the centre of the permanent rough,
which is made with, and is part of the shoe, a counter-sink hole is punched, and a corresponding hole in the steel moveable rough; through these holes a rivet is passed and fastened. An oblong hole is also punched through the centre of the shoe close to the permanent rough, to receive a corresponding pin from the bot- tom of the moveable rough. When this rough is worn down to a level with the permanent rough, it should be taken out, which is easily done, by applying a file to the head of the rivet, and a fresh one employed as above directed; by which means the shoe is not at all disturbed or misplaced. |
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285
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ON FROSTING.
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These steel moveable roughs should be
hardened, and left at a blue colour or spring temper. The author advises that the permanent
rough on the shoe, as well as the move- able steel roughs and iron rivets, be manufactured in tools, as the parts will then all correspond, and there will be no doubt of their fitting and being easily adjusted. The author is of opinion that this im-
portant, though simple invention, will be of great advantage in all cavalry regi- ments ; and he ventures to recommend, on the commencement of winter, that all horses be shod with permanent roughs, as here described, and that a blunt move- able rough be used to prevent the rivet holes being injured, till the weather makes |
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286
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ON FROSTING.
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the frost rough unnecessary. In the
meantime, a sufficient quantity of the moveable steel roughs and iron rivets should be prepared for immediate use as well as for future supply, and every soldier be instructed in the very simple operation of putting them on and taking them off. Thus any body of cavalry may, in one hour, and without the aid of a smith, be prepared for service in the most severe frost, and be in constant readiness, however long its continuance, if every soldier be supplied with a quantity of the roughs and rivets, the weight of a hundred of which is a mere trifle. |
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287
CHAP. XXX. ON NAILS.
[Plate IV. fig. 5, 6, 7, 8.]
T. he inconvenience and danger occasioned
by casting shoes are too familiar to every horseman to require any comment. Some- times a shoe may be pulled off by accident, but the causes may be principally attri- buted to the unsoundness, together with the bad form of the nail. The first con- sideration should be the quality of the iron ; if it be too brittle, which may be ascertained by bending a nail once or twice, the nails soon break: in endeavouring to point them, as it is termed by the smiths, the fibres split, the nails appear somewhat hollow, and are unfit for use ; the number of nails wasted in ordinary shoeing forges, on an average, amounts to one-third. If |
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288 ON NAILS.
|
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we consider this as general before shoeing,
it cannot excite much surprise that the shoes are continually coming off. This inconvenience arises from two reasons : in the first place, it suits the nailer's interest to make nails from iron which he can ob- tain at low price ; and, in the second, the smith has no objection to use unsound nails, as he has in consequence more shoes to nail on, and therefore allows the nail- maker to furnish them of such inferior quality of iron. The form of the ordinary English nail is
ill adapted to answer the intended pur- pose, as it has a small head with an abrupt shoulder, a square thick shank three- fourths of its length, and the remainder flat, thin, and often too weak, even to bear driving through the horn ; the head usually stands out of the shoe, as the groove or |
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ON NAILS. 289
|
|||||
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fuller in the shoe, in which the nail holes
are punched, is so superficial that it hardly admits the head to sink into it; the nail head therefore soon wears or breaks off, and as the shoe has but little purchase on the remaining shank, from the nature of the hole, the shoe soon comes off. The square, thick form of the shank also ill agrees with the intended purpose; for it is the practice in English shoeing to drive the nails into the crust only, which, in about one-half the horses, is very thin. This form of the shank is calculated to produce compression on the sensible parts ; but to obviate which, smiths, when pointing their nails, hammer the square part of the shank on the nail stake until it becomes flat and sufficiently thin to admit of its being driven with safety ; but this endea- vour to remedy the improper form of the nail produces another inconvenience, which u
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290 ON NAILS.
|
|||||
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facilitates the loss of shoes. Those, who are
acquainted with the nature of metals, know that the hammering required to flatten the square shank compresses the fibres of the metal so closely together, and stiffens it so much, that it brings it to a state approach- ing to hardened steel j when a slight blow or the ordinary concussion of a horse in action is sufficient to break the nails, and to cast the shoe, leaving the shanks in the hoof; and if the flat part of the shank be too thin in proportion to the thickness of the other part, aE the endeavours of the smith to bring this thin part of the nail into a proper form, or stiff enough to drive, are unavailing, and hence arises not only great mischief to the foot, but also a great waste of nails. A nail with a counter-sink head has
been recommended, and, as far as relates |
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ON NAII.S. 291
to the head, it is better than the com-
mon one; but as to the remainder of the nail, there is the same objection still existing. The Persian nail is peculiar, and is unlike
any other, having a raised head, with an abrupt shoulder all round, which is beat out and flattened into three points: the shank is small, square, and taper.; By this peculiar form the nails are locked together. After the first is driven, one of the flattened points of the next rests on the shoulder of the first, and this is continued until the whole are driven ; so that as long as the last-driven nail re- mains firm, the others cannot be displaced. There may be an advantage in this respect, but I fear an inconvenience would attend it, which might overbalance the utility, that if it were necessary ta remove a nail u 2
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|
292 ON NAILS.
between the periods of shoeing, this could
not be well accomplished without taking out others; and should it happen to be the first nail driven that is required to be taken out, the whole must be removed before this could be unlocked from the adjoining nail. Turkish and Barbary nails are similar
to the Persian, with the exception of the locking property. The Portuguese have a thick square head, and the upper part of the shank is appropriate to their peculiar nail hole, which allows a de- gree of play between it and the shoe; but the shank tapers to about half its length. As it is the practice in Portugal to allow the crust to descend far below the sole, the square thick shank approach- ing the head can do no harm. Spa- nish, Flemish, Italian, and Swiss nails |
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|
ON NAILS. 293
|
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|
are inferior* copies of the French. The
German nail has a flattened head on two sides, rounded in the centre to its shoulder, and is not much dissimilar to the English, only that it has a shank broader and flatter. The Dutch and Russian nails are clumsy copies of the German. The French nail has a large square
counter-sink head, which is received into a corresponding hole in the shoe, into which it sinks more than three-fourths of its thickness; a part of the head remains below the level of the shoe, and is flat- tened on four sides, leaving the centre of the head convex. The shank is flat, broad, and regularly tapering to its point; in short, it is similar to the tire nail, with the exception of a flat instead of a square shank. This kind of nail, so admirable and superior in its form, and which is now u 3
|
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294
|
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|
ON NAILS.
|
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|
in common use throughout France, was
first suggested by La Fosse; page 91. of his work, he states, " The head of the nail " being square, and bearing upon the shoe, " consequently prevents it from sinking " into the hole;" page 97. " That the " shoe may last a good while, nails which " I have invented should be made use of; " the head of which is in the form of a " cone, and the holes proportioned to the " nails, so that they may exactly fit the " holes." From this it appears, that pre- vious to the period La Fosse invented the nail now in use, the French made use of a nail similar to the common English nail. The nails should be of different sizes, agreeable to the size and state of the foot. Having described all the nails used in
shoeing, which have come under my notice, I now offer some remarks on their com- |
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|
295
|
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|
ON NAILS.
|
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|
parative merits ; but more particularly
between the English and the French. The latter I consider to possess properties far superior to any other. The large, deep, counter-sink head, as long as the shank remains sound, affords a security to the shoe while any iron is left on the foot; but when the English head is worn off, which soon takes place, the shoe is no longer safe. Another security afforded by the French head is, that it is firmly supported by the four sides of the counter- sink hole ; the English, by two sides only, and very superficially. The shank of the French nail being broad, flat, and taper, does not require the hammering before spoken of as so prejudicial; it therefore can be driven into the hoof with all the natural and genuine properties of the iron, requiring only to be straightened, and stiffened a little at the point ; but none u 4
|
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296 ON NAILS.
|
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|
of the stiffened part remains in the foot
when shod, as that is twisted off by the pincers, and clinched on its appearance through the hoof. As the head of the French nails takes a
little more time and iron, it is reasonable to allow the manufacturer to charge more for them; but when the trifling waste is considered, there will be very little dif- ference of expense between them and the common nails. Having had much difficulty in procuring
a good and efficient nail, it is only just to say, Mr. Watson, of Belper, near Derby, has given me great satisfaction in the ma- nufacture of these nails. In the choice of iron for this purpose,
I believe the Russian which is brought |
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|
297
|
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|
ON NAILS.
|
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|
from Archangel is the best, and it should
possess the properties of malleability and toughness : a good nail of a fair quality will bend backwards and forwards from eight to twelve times or more, before any evident marks of breaking appear on the bent part. After bending a few times, the outside scale will be thrown off, which leaves a white silvery appearance; but if the iron be of an inferior quality, it will not appear bright and silvery, but of a colour similar to that of lead : if the iron be not good, it will crack and break at three or four turns, and split in pointing.; Swede iron, from the superior strength and body of metal, seems to offer great advantages ; but smiths in general prefer the best Rus- sian, because they think that the former, though sound and strong, is too stiff for the manufacture of horse nails. |
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|
298
|
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|
CHAR XXXI.
ON NAILING.
JN ailing is an important part of the art
of shoeing, and deserves mature consider- ation, as upon it very much depends whe- ther a horse goes sound immediately from the hands of the smith. From a defect in its principle, nailing contributes to the production of those permanent diseases so frequently spoken of. If lameness be caused by a direct stab, it will be seen instantly, as it arises from taking too much hold, pitching the nail inward, and at the same time driving too high in the crust; • or from the point of the nail splitting, and taking a contrary direction to what was intended. |
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299
|
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|
ON NAILING.
|
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|
In other cases where the injury is not
severe, but where the nails are driven too near, and press on the sensible parts, lame- ness will not show itself so soon ; and the time of its appearance after shoeing will be in proportion to the degree of pressure. In all cases of lameness, where there is no particular external indication, it is prudent to take the shoe off, when, if it proceeds from the effects of a nail, it will soon be discovered ; the usual remedies to counter- act inflammation will succeed in these cases. Collections of matter on some oc- casions are found, and produce trouble- some ulcers ; they are, however, only of a temporary nature. It must have been observed, from the ordinary fuller being made too near the outward edge of the shoe, and from the manner of punching the holes in the fuller, that the nails are intended to be driven into the crust; and |
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|
300 ON NAILING.
Mr. Coleman observes,. that, so long as
nails are made of iron this must be the practice; nevertheless, since the introduc- tion of the French nail, it has not been so at the College. For instead of driving the nails, as was formerly the case, merely into the crust, the French system is now adopted, and the nails are driven obliquely through the sole and crust. It has, how- ever, been productive of great mischief, in- asmuch as it has a tendency to break down and destroy that defence which nature in- tended to protect the internal sensible con- tents of the hoof. When the diameter of the crust is consi-
dered, even in perfect hoofs, and compared with the diameter of the shank of the or- dinary nail, it cannot excite surprise to see the hoofs of horses split and mutilated in the manner they are ; but when it is further |
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|
301
|
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|
ON NAILING-.
|
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|
considered that one-half of the feet of horses
are defective in the natural production of horn, and have consequently a thin crust, this mode of nailing must add considerably to the number; and as it has been shown by the nature and direction of the hole, that nails must be pitched inward, and as the hole is so near the outward edge of the shoe, the nail must necessarily be driven a considerable height in the crust, to get hold enough to afford the shoe the necessary support; and the nail having been driven inwards, it must, in the course of its direction through the hoof, before the point comes out, have taken a curved direction, when the curved part being the nearest to the sensible contents, it must more or less have a tendency to press, in proportion to the degree of curve and approximation, on the sensible parts. |
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|
302
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
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|
Much depends on the proper size of the
nail. I have on many occasions seen smiths, for want of a proper assortment, drive large clumsy nails into small delicate feet; and on the other hand, small feeble nails, not large enough to fill the clumsy holes of a heavy shoe, for a large foot. The nail holes are generally too near each other; so that the frequency of driving nails so near together, renders that part of the crust a mere shell, full of holes : and the difficulty is great, which smiths fre- quently meet in finding even a sound piece of horn to drive the clinch through. It is not unfrequent to observe a smith drive a nail half or three-fourths of the way, then pull it out again, get a fresh nail, give the point a new direction in search of a bit of sound horn to drive some part of the nail in, and repeat this driving and pulling out again eight, ten, or even twelve times, |
|||||||
|
ON NAILTNG. 303
|
|||||
|
before he considers the nail safe ; and it is
by no means an uncommon occurrence, when shoes are taken off, to find, where the nails have perforated the crust in the way described, the whole piece come off with the shoe as high up as the clinches. The consequence of such a breach in the wall may be readily imagined; the smith is obliged to look to the remaining part of the crust, where it has not been usual to drive nails, to keep the shoe on by any means ; he is therefore driven to the toe and heels, or indeed any part of the wall, where he thinks he can get a nail in, and when the manner in which the weight of the horse is bearing (only on an extreme edge of the shoe) is considered, there must be an unnecessary strain on the nails and clinches, and consequences, like those mentioned, are unavoidable. As I have already stated that a breach in the wall on |
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|
304
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
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|
one side the hoof is frequent, and as it
sometimes happens that both sides of the foot are torn off in this way, the toe and back part of the heels are then the only remaining parts where a nail can be driven, and the weight of the animal is thrown on these two points; it may thence be readily imagined that he will not work long in this state; a run at grass for several months will be necessary to restore this loss and waste of horn. It is, howevr, often the case, that so much mischief has been done to the foot, that a run at grass will not remove the consequences, and that some permanent disease has taken place. In the ordinary manner of nailing, we
either see the nail-heads standing far out of the shoe, or the head is so small, or has been so rasped by the smith to bring it |
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|
305
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
|||||||
|
more on a level with the shoe, that a few
days will wear it off. Mr. B. Clark prefers the common to the counter-sink head, believing that it leaves a degree of room for play between the shoulder and the shoe for the expansion of the hoof I confess, I should not like to commence a journey if there were any play between the shoe and the foot, as it must be quite clear a shoe under such circumstances cannot remain on long: to show that the power of the nails is not always sufficient, the use of clips on the shoe is constantly resorted to. In the seated shoe there is not that strain on the nails and clinches as in the com- mon shoe; for the crust, instead of bear- ing on an edge, is opposed by a flat sur- face ; but as the nails are pitched inward, and driven into the crust, the same de- struction of horn takes place with this as with the ordinary shoe. Grooms and x
|
|||||||
|
306
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
|||||||
|
coachmen have a practice of taking their
horses to the forge between the periods of shoeing, or to require a smith to attend every Sunday morning to knock down and tighten all the clinches, and to renew nails. The starting of the clinches arises from the shoe getting closer to the foot after it has been on a short time; and as the bearing is only on the outward edge, it imbeds itself in some degree within the crust; thus the distance between the nail-hole on the foot- side of the shoe and the clinch must be shortened, so as the shoe gets closer to the foot, the clinches are pushed further through the hoof, which produces the start- ing of the clinches, that invariably attends the English manner of shoeing. It sometimes happens that a nail-head
starts from the shoe, whence it becomes loose and no longer performs its part |
|||||||
|
307
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
|||||||
|
in retaining the shoe on the foot. It is
obvious that any plan of shoeing, which produces a starting of the clinches, must render the shoe very insecure on the foot; for the moment the clinches begin to start, the only remaining support is afforded by the shank alone; and should the shank have been driven through horn already split and shelly, it will account for the number of shoes which are perpetually cast. Since the publication of iny first edition,
I have been informed by a nobleman's groom, that his master's hunters lost twenty-four shoes in twenty-six days dur- ing the winter of 1820. In several hunt- ing establishments of twenty or thirty horses each, the modified French shoe lias been used without an instance of losing one in the last four years. The hunters be- longing to the royal stag-hounds, and of x 2
|
|||||||
|
308 ON NAILING.
|
|||||
|
many other establishments too numerous
to relate, have experienced the same ad- vantages from the use of the modified French shoe. It is too much a practice with smiths to
make a nick in the hoof with an edge of the rasp, under every nail, previous to turning the clinch ; this is done to let the clinch within the hoof, and to give it a finish : but this is a bad practice, as it weakens the hoof. It may be necessary to remove any rough part which the nail may have forced through the horn, and to give the foot a finish the rasp is too liberally applied to the clinch itself, to make it on a level with the hoof, which weakens it: the part of the hoof between the shoe and the clinches always receives this finishing stroke, which is very injurious, as it dimi- nishes the thickness of the crust. It is |
|||||
|
ON NAILING. 309
necessary to round the bottom edge of the
crust to the shoe, but that is all which is required. The ordinary method of taking off shoes
is, when the nails are unclinched, to employ one claw of the pincers under the shoe, and the handles of them as a lever, making the sole of the foot the fulcrum, then with a strong effort, to tear the shoe off. This practice is often the cause of serious injury, particularly in weak feet, from the pressure on the horny sole, producing inflammation in the sensible parts. The method to be employed in taking off a shoe is, first, to carefully remove the clinches : the buffer or tool used to remove the clinches should then be applied to the nail-heads, and a few blows with the shoeing hammer will loosen the nails, when the pincers can easily be used to remove them ; but where the nail- x 3
|
||||
|
3J0 ON NAILING.
|
|||||
|
heads are worn on a level with the shoe, the
small point of the buffer should be applied to the end of the nail after the removal of the clinch, and a slight blow will drive the nail-head sufficiently below the shoe, to allow the pincers to be employed in draw- ing it out: in this way, shoes may be re- moved without risking injury to the feet. Having described the imperfections of
all the plans of nailing that have come within my observation in this country, I shall now explain a practice which appears to me to obviate those inconveniences. The French method has some properties admirably calculated to answer a better purpose, for instead of driving the nails into the crust, a greater hold is taken, as the manner of punching the hole indi- cates j the nail is driven within the crust, and goes through a portion of the sole, |
|||||
|
311
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
|||||||
|
it takes a short oblique outward direc-
tion through the crust, which is the re- verse of the English plan, as has been shown. By taking so much hold, and giving an oblique outward direction, the smith is enabled to bring the clinches much lower in the hoof, and nearer to the shoe : this direction of the nail affords a much stronger hold of the foot, and is less liable to split the crust. An English smith, on a first view of the
distance that the French punch their nail- holes from the outward edge of the shoe, decides, that it cannot be nailed on the foot with safety ; a little practice, however, proves that it is not only a safer, but a far more secure method. What is here said has a reference only to taking more hold, and directing the nail obliquely outward. x 4
|
|||||||
|
212 ON NAILING.
|
|||||
|
The concave or sloping form of the
ground-surface of the modified French shoe affords a peculiar advantage to carry the French plan of nailing into practice; it affords a facility in driving the nail di- rectly outwards, and further gives a pro- tection to the nail-heads, which is not to be obtained with any other form of shoe. The distance of the last nail-hole from the heel on the inward quarter must be regu- lated by the size of the foot; it should be such as to admit of the free and uninter- rupted motion of the heel, and that part of the quarters concerned in the necessary motion of the posterior parts of the foot. I have already mentioned, that I consider
the foot-side of the French shoe objec- tionable, as far as relates to its concave form, which inclines the foot to contrac- tion, and produces an unnecessary strain on |
|||||
|
813
|
|||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
|||||||
|
the nails and clinches by the foot resting
on the outward edge of the shoe, causing the clinches to start, and to produce all the bad effects occasioned by their starting. The modified shoe obviates these incon-
veniences ; and I cannot adduce a proof more convincing of the truth of this than that on an inspection of the feet, when horses are brought into the forge to be shod afresh, I have generally found the clinches firm in the hoof and without any appearance of starting, which I consider to arise from the plane of the shoe inclining outwards, and embracing the crust so firmly at first, that it does not admit of any al- teration in the distance between the shoe and the clinch during the time of wear. Clips on the shoes are frequently brought
into the aid of nails, and which, on some |
|||||||
|
314 ON NAILING.
|
|||||
|
occasions, are necessary. Horses accustom-
ed to remain a long time in one place, as, for instance, the London dray-horses, ac- quire a habit of stamping with their feet with so much force, as to displace their shoes. Clips should not be used, except in such cases where they are actually necessary, and then should never be carried further back on the fore-shoes than the last nail- hole : with the hind-shoes this precaution is not necessary. It therefore appears that the following
important advantages arise from the French method of nailing; viz. preservation of the wall or crust, and a more secure retention of the shoe on the hoof; and when combined with the alteration in the form of the shoe, which I have adopted, it is calculated to prevent contraction and compression of the sensible parts within the hoof. |
|||||
|
ON NAILING. 315
|
|||||
|
In some cases, though rarely, the hoof
is much stronger and more perfect on the inside quarter and heel than on the out- side ; in such instances it is expedient to reverse the general practice of nailing, and to drive four nails on the inside, and three only on the outside. The facility with which smiths nail on
these shoes when fitted, is not one of the least advantages of this system. All the smiths I have met with state, that after a little practice they can nail on three of these shoes with more ease, and in less time, than two of any other form, and it is a rare occurrence to see a nail wasted. Indeed the preservation of the crust by the short and oblique hold, and the security with which shoes are kept on, at once in- dicate all these advantages, and also that at every period of shoeing the hoofs have |
|||||
|
316
|
||||||
|
ON NAILING.
|
||||||
|
grown sufficiently to afford sound horn to
drive the nails through, as well as the great security that the large and deep coun- ter-sink head forms with the shoe. It is not necessary to say more of the
various methods of nailing on the shoes of different countries, as I have before ob- served that they all partake more or less of the French system. |
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|
317
|
|||||
|
CHAP. XXXII.
ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE CAST-IRON
HORSE-SHOES. [See Plate I. fig. 1, 2.]
A he discovery of rendering practicable the
use of cast-iron for the purpose of shoeing horses has excited great alarm, and creates much hostility among the generality of shoeing smiths, who, in the first instance, no doubt, will make every effort, in their power, to oppose its general introduction ; the origin, however, of this invention, takes its rise from the rough and clumsy work- manship so commonly to be met with in every forge, and which has long indicated the necessity of improvement in the art of shoeing. If we refer back to the old works of
farriery, we shall find the subject of shoe- |
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|
318 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
ing a theme of universal complaint; and
when we consider the enormous value of some horses which these rough artists are allowed to handle, it appears extraordinary that improvement in the methods of shoe- ing horses should not have kept pace with the manufactories and mechanics in the present age of invention. For the manu- factory of horse-shoes has not advanced one step towards improvement, but con- tinues to remain in that state which it has been in for years past. Of this I cannot adduce a greater proof than by stating the difficulty which I have myself experienced, in obtaining any thing like a correct pattern of the French modified shoe, and which ought not to present any difficulty to even a moderate workman. Many gentlemen have also informed me, that they have found it quite impracticable to make their shoeing smiths forge any thing like a cor- rect imitation of the shoe which I have |
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|
CAST-IRON HORSE-SHOES. 319
recommended. Those men who are too
careless, or have not skill enough to make themselves acquainted with the principles of this shoe, had much better follow their own plan than attempt an imitation; for all that have come to my notice, with a very few exceptions, instead of being likely to produce benefit, have been more cal- culated to do mischief. Yet, generally, so great is the conceit of the roughest of these smiths, that when you show one of them a well made shoe, he will not scruple to say he can make quite as good a one as the pattern itself. However great may be the acquire-
ments which veterinarians have made in the physiology and pathology of the foot of the horse, it will be of little avail, if they cannot overcome the difficulty which there is in obtaining workmen capable to make any form of shoe which the particularities |
||||
|
320 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
of different cases may require. And hence
arose the necessity of exploring other re- sources, to meet this never-failing obstacle in the progress of this pai't of the veteri- nary art. The great degree of perfection to which
the practice and facility of casting metals has arrived induced the patentees of this invention to have a series of pattern-shoes of every size made; the castings of course corresponded with the patterns, and no dif- ficulty in this part of the manufactory presented itself: the grand obstacle to be overcome, was to render these casts suf- ficiently malleable for the purposes of wear without breaking. This accomplished, by a chemical process, called " annealing:" the inventors conceived themselves justified in securing a patent right for the application of this process to the manufactory of horse- shoes. |
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|
CAST-IRON HOBSE-SHOES. 321
It will interfere and diminish the black-
smiths' forging; and hence their hostility to its introduction, though they will still be required to fit and put them on. It is not contemplated that veterinary sur- geons, or master smiths, will oppose the use of the patent shoes, when they find they can gain as much by them as by making wrought-iron shoes ; for, besides simplifying the management of a forge, the consumption of coals and labour will be reduced to a trifle. It is, however, clear that particular cases will occur, when it will be necessary to forge shoes. The well-known brittle property of cast-
iron, and its tendency to break, furnish the working smith with an argument he hopes will be fatal to the use of the patent shoes : he at once tells his employers that they will break, and cannot be altered if required; and he has it in his power to call into his Y
|
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|
322 ON -THE PATENT MALLEABLE
|
|||||
|
aid a still more powerful opponent to its
introduction, if he is so inclined, — to heat the shoes, when alteration is necessary, to a white or welding heat, destruction of the metal follows: the smith will then pronounce it to be good for nothing, ex- ultingly exhibit its broken pieces; at the same time, that he well knows, that if the shoes were not suffered to attain more than a blood-red heat,—at which degree of heat any alteration in them whatever may be made, — that the shoes will still retain all the genuine properties of the metal. So it is with the use of arsenic, which the medical profession often prescribe in small doses, with very great efficacy, for the re- lief of many diseases ; but were the dose to be increased but a trifle, it would kill in- stead of cure the patient. It too frequently occurs, that inventions
of this kind are opposed, either by the in- |
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|
CAST-IRON HORSE-SHOES. 323
|
|||||
|
terest of some or the prejudices of the
ignorant; and often to the great loss of the inventors, of which numerous instances might be adduced. The patentees of the malleable metal
horse-shoes have had considerable trouble, and been at great expense, in getting sets of different patterns of every size made with peculiar accuracy, such as are beyond the art of a smith to imitate; the castings, of course, will not vary from the patterns : this will enable the public to obtain shoes as well made as the patterns themselves, at a price not exceeding the charge for com- mon shoes. A natural enquiry respecting the use of
the patent shoes as a substitute for the common wrought-iron, is, what are the ad- vantages to be gained by the use of them ? Those persons who regard a piece of iron y 2
|
|||||
|
324 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
of any form stuck upon the foot, merely
with a view to defend it for a stated period, as all that is requisite, it will be difficult to convince, that any advantages are to be derived from their use. But those who have considered the anatomy and functions of the delicate organization of the foot, will have no difficulty to perceive, that not- withstanding the hoof is not sensible, still that any derangement in its form, — which may be easily occasioned by want of skill in shoeing, — will, by disturbing the functions of the internal sensible parts, often render useless the most valuable animal. The advantages the patent shoes afford
are not to be equalled in offering such forms as are most consistent with the na- tural economy of the foot, and calculated to ward off to the latest period the melan- choly diseases to which it is rendered so liable, by the negligent manner in which |
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|
325
|
|||||||||
|
CAST-IKON
|
HOKSE-SHOES.
|
||||||||
|
horses are generally shod. The proprietors
of forges may at any time be provided with a stock of shoes, of all sizes, and of any pattern, so that their customers' horses can be immediately fitted with an exact size; and thus the delay, so usual and tedious in forges, from the necessity of making shoes when wanted, will be avoid- ed, and horses, instead of being detained several hours, will be quickly fitted and shod : for, in many cases, the shoes will require no alteration whatever. It is a common practice in the generality of forges, when shoes are not to be found suitable for horses which are waiting, to cut down a large shoe to serve the purpose of a smaller one, or to beat out a small one to make it answer for a larger size : the consequences in either case are equally injurious. Some have said the patent shoes will
not succeed, because the old ones cannot y 3
|
|||||||||
|
326 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
|
|||||
|
be worked up, as is the case with wrought-
iron, to make new hind shoes. But it has been calculated, the expense of making up old shoes will exceed the cost of new patent ones; besides which, the patentees are willing to purchase the old cast mal- leable shoes at a price little inferior to that which is paid for old wrought-iron. Therefore this objection is but trifling, when maturely considered. When smiths are not employed in shoe-
ing horses their time may be advantage- ously filled up in making nails, or in country forges, as is usual, in the manu- factory of various articles in the iron trade. In forges, where shoeing is not the only business of the smith, the patent shoes will be found to be a great acquisition, for in them there is seldom an assortment of shoes kept; and the employment of the men, in the absence of horses to be shod, will be no obstacle. |
|||||
|
CAST-IRON HORSE-SHOES. 327
In a military point of view, the patent
shoe manufactory cannot fail to be of im- portance. The loss of horses in the late Pe- ninsular war, from the want of a supply of shoes, is still fresh in the recollection of many, and such a destruction of cavalry horses in future may be prevented; for it will enable the Government to obtain any quantity of shoes at a short notice. For commanding officers and army veterinary surgeons, it will be important, as far as it provides them with an exact regulated pat- tern ; and which will often relieve vete- rinary surgeons from a responsibility which they have to bear, and the continual com- plaints of superior officers, of bad and clumsy shoeing; which originates from compelling smiths of regiments to provide iron, nails, and coals, at a low price: and they are necessarily obliged to resort to the cheapest market, to buy any old iron they can procure, without regard to its y 4
|
||||
|
328 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
|
|||||
|
quality; and to make this last the longer, a
clumsy lump of steel is stuck on at the toe, which is renewed as often as the same shoe will admit of, though it may be little adapt- ed to fit the same foot for so long a period. And in spite of all the assiduity and at- tention of veterinary surgeons, this will continue to be the practice. The adoption of the patent shoe in the
cavalry would remove the source of many complaints ; for a regulation shoe might be used, the same as any other regulation equipment, and the veterinary surgeon would only be responsible for the method of putting them on. Professor Coleman considers that a regu-
lation shoe would interfere with the duty of the veterinary surgeon, stating that he ought to be the best judge of what de- scription of shoe should be employed: and |
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V
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CAST-IRON HOKSE-SHOES. 329
I agree, that the talent and discrimination
of a veterinary surgeon are necessary and essential, where deviations are requisite to be made. But, on the other hand, my opinion is quite at variance with the pro- fessor's, as far as regards the sound and effective part of a regiment. The number of cases which would require deviation from the regulated plan of shoeing would be comparatively small, and would interfere but little with the established practice of the method of shoeing in a regiment. Did not the professor himself, with all
the influence which his situation as prin- cipal veterinary surgeon to the cavalry could give, endeavour to establish a regu- lation shoe, with thin heels and a thick toe ? The application of it, however, at this period, either in or out of the army, is rarely to be met with. |
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330 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE
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It has been said, that, unless the patent
shoes can be made saleable at a price so reduced as to put them in competition with the very lowest of those charged for any kind of shoeing, that they will never come into general demand. To this I can only answer, that when the patentees first con- sidered the great advantages which were likely to result from the use of them, that they never contemplated that the price of so superior an article could be rendered, at the same that is paid for any such rough manufacture, as the generality of horse- shoes to be met with. Mr. Moorcroft attempted, at an expense
of many thousands, to make horse-shoes with an engine, which unfortunately failed ; nevertheless, it shows Mr. Moorcroft at- tached great consequence to the possi- bility of manufacturing shoes of a specified form. |
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^
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CAST-IRON HORSE-SHOES. 331
Persons who allow their horses' shoes to
remain on for an improper length of time, when the iron becomes so thin, the nails have scarcely any hold, and which too fre- quently occurs ; they will find that these shoes are then as liable to break as any others in the same condition, but not more so. The malleable metal horse shoes, may
when necessary, be hardened and tem- pered, in all cases where hardening and tempering are required, to a blue colour or spring temper, at the toe or any other wearing part. 1. Heat the whole shoe, all over alike,
to a blood red heat. 2. Only the part required to be tem-
pered is to be hardened, by dipping it in water. |
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L
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332 ON THE PATENT MALLEABLE, &C.
3. On taking it out of the water, rub
the part instantly with a rag-stone or file, until it becomes a little bright; in a few seconds a straw colour will appear, but shortly afterwards changes to a blue. 4. When arrived at that colour, the
tempered part may be dipped in water again, to keep it of the same temper, after- wards left to cool on the ground gradually. In this state the part of the shoe tempered is of a spring quality. Orders for the supply of shoes are re-
ceived at 36. King Street, Soho. A maga- zine and forge, for the accommodation of those who may be desirous of giving the shoes trial, are established at No. 3. Duck- Lane, Edward-Street, near the middle of Wardour-Street, Soho. |
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333
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CHAP. XXXIII.
PAVING STALLS, GRATINGS, &c.
A.s this is a subject so intimately connected
with the welfare of horses' legs and feet, I consider it necessary to offer a few remarks on it. The most remarkable feature in the paving of stalls is the extreme unevenness of their surface, but more particularly in a rise from behind to the manger, leaving a quick slope from before to the back part of the stall. It may be considered that this quick rise was intended to carry off the urine more readily, and this may have been the reason in many stables ; but there are others, more especially those of dealers in horses, where the pitching is raised to an extreme degree, with a view to set off their |
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384 PAVING STALLS, GRATINGS, &C
horses to a great advantage, by making
them look larger and higher than they really are. It is by no means unfrequent to find a
rise from four to five inches, and generally we find the average rise to be six or seven inches. If we consider the effects likely to arise from the unnatural position which the horse is thus compelled to stand in, with his toes up and heels down ; the unusual strain on the muscles of the back part of the leg, and the ligaments of the joints, particularly those connected with the foot; and that the animal, when in a stall paved thus, is compelled to stand with his hind legs extended or stretched out, we may readily believe that it is productive of serious mis- chief. In some instances there is a cess- pool in the centre of the stall to receive the urine; and to admit it to run readily off, |
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PAVING STALLS, GRATINGS, &C. $35
the paving slopes every way round this
grating, so that it leaves the centre of the stall of the form of a basin. Besides this great unevenness of the stall, the urine, being stagnant in the cess-pools, is con- tinually filling the stable, by its evaporation, with foul air and nauseous smells. To remedy these inconveniences, it is
necessary to observe, in paving stalls, that it is more congenial with the natural state of the horse to have the paving lower be- fore than behind, not only to allow them the power to get up with more ease, but to leave the muscles and ligaments of the limb, when standing, in a comparative state of relaxation. To keep the air of stables sweet from the continued effects of the volatile exhalations of urine and putrefying litter, various simple plans might be adopted with success ; such as to Jet in a current |
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336 PAVING STALLS, GRATINGS, &C.
of water through a pipe of from one to two
inches in diameter into an under drain for a few minutes every day, which would ef- fectually scour out all filth and smells. Lately the King's stables at Carlton
Palace, have been drained upon this prin- ciple, by means of a three-inch water pipe communicating with a nine-inch barrel drain, which runs just below the hind feet of the horse; and the urine which collects in the barrel is washed out by a flow of water, let on every morn- ing for about one minute. It is almost needless to remark, that since the adoption of this plan, all unpleasant smells have been completely removed, and the air of the stable has been greatly improved. Those, however, who may not choose to incur the expense of such drainage, will find, that a stall paved with Dutch clinkers, without a cess-pool or grating in the centre, |
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PAVING STALLS, GRATINGS, &C. 337
and the pavement an inch and a half higher
before than behind, preferable to the com- mon method of paving stalls. Some at- tempts have been made to pave stalls with cast iron, but as jet I have not heard that it has succeeded; I have, however, no doubt but that it will eventually be brought to answer for this purpose. In some countries wood is used for stable
flooring, which soon becomes saturated with urine, and consequently adds to the volatile exhalations already spoken of, and forms also a sub-bed for the collection and lodgment of filth, which is continually emitting foul air. I therefore consider wooden flooring extremely injurious. |
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2
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338
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CHAP. XXXIV.
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF FEET IN THE
STABLE. In the preceding pages of this work I have
frequently noticed the great advantage of a due degree of moisture being applied to the hoofs of horses when under stable ma- nagement. It is familiar to every person who has paid any attention- to the nature of horn, that it readily absorbs water, and that a few hours' immersion softens and renders it pliant. When subject to the heat of stables and fermented litter, eva- poration takes place so freely, that not only the little moisture which may have been absorbed during the day when at exercise or work in wet weather, is quickly evapor- ated on returning into the stable, but also |
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ON THE MANAGEMENT OP FEET. 339
a great portion of the moisture which has
penetrated the hoof from within. Thus, if no means have been devised to counteract these effects, hoofs soon become hard and brittle, usually denominated stable-dried, and if under the influence of ill-formed shoes, mischief frequently follows. It is therefore an object of great moment to bring horses' feet, when in the stable, as near to a state of nature as can be accom- plished without much inconvenience. For this purpose I recommend two pieces of Bath coating, or any other coarse cloth, cut to the precise form and size of the hooi) and stitched together, with a leather lace at each end long enough to go once or twice round the foot (this I call a swab, see Plate VII. fig. 2.). It should be made quite wet, and be tied round horses' feet when dressed and clean. I also fill their feet with crushed linseed mixed with water, and made of the x 2
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340 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF
consistence of stiff mortar. At the last
stable hour the swab should be made wet again, arid it will be found moist the next morning. In this way the feet of horses that are required to work are kept moist and cool. I have found most advantage in using crushed linseed without any of the oil being taken out of it, as a foot stop- ping, in preference to any other, as it retains its mucilaginous moisture much longer than any thing I have seen used. I had some difficulty in procuring this article genuine, and properly crushed ; but Messrs. Oldfield and Bentlev, Little Queen-street, drug-grinders, having erected some machinery for that purpose which answers perfectly well, I have no longer any difficulty. Cow-dung is used by many as a stop-
ping, but it soon gets dry in the foot, |
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FEET IN THE STABLE. 341
and has a strong tendency to destroy the
texture of the frog, — I therefore object to it for that purpose. Clay is also much in use as a stopping,
but I have observed, after long trials, that it has a peculiar tendency to stop the secretion of the horn. The manner in which it produces this effect appears to be, that as it is a conductor of moisture for a short period only, and being dry the remainder of the time that it is in the foot, it is then absorbing not only the moisture it conveyed, but the moisture also which penetrates the horn from with- in. It therefore is objectionable as a stopping. I have found great advantage by stop-
ping thin flat feet with an equal quantity of tar and hog's lard melted together, and |
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342 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF
put in cold. I find that, it promotes the
secretion of horn when the hoof is well saturated with it, more than any other thing I know; and at the same time maintains the tough and elastic property which is so verv desirable. I have frequently heard shoeing smiths
observe, that there was more horn to re- move at one shoeing when this stopping had been used, than from the same feet in a year when stopped either with clay or cow-dung. As the linseed stopping also promotes
the secretion of horn, I on some occasions stop one week with the tar unguent, and the next with linseed. Where there is plenty of horn the tar unguent is unne- cessary. To preserve the tough elastic property, I have adopted, with manifest advantage, the practice of applying the |
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FEET IN THE STABLE. 343
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tar unguent to the crust or wall, rub-
bed in with the hand twice a week. Pre- vious to stopping the feet with linseed, which is done daily after work, I direct a small pledget of tow, saturated with the tar unguent, to be pushed into the cleft of the frog, and I find that this makes the frog proof against filth or moisture, and has the same effect on the horn of it, as curriers' dubbing has on leather. Some persons have objected to the tar unguent for stopping as being too hot for the feet, others as too softening, both of which notions, however, have originated from want of more experience. If an increased production of horn be
not required, perhaps the marsh-mallow ointment may answer a similar purpose as an external application to the crust or wall, but not to the base of the foot or the clefts of frogs. z 4
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344
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CHAP. XXXV.
ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT.
(cutting or striking one leg with the other
is not always the consequence of a defect in the make and shape of the limbs, but is often produced by shoeing alone. When it is caused by the shape of the shoe, we generally find the upper edge, or that part which comes in contact with the crust, to be hammered inwards, leaving the lower edge on the ground-side wider than the hoof, and projecting beyond it. It is evident that horses which go very-
near must be more likely to strike the shoe against the other leg. Generally, when this defect exists in any considerable degree, the toes turn outwards, the heels approach |
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ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT. 345
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each other, and the inside quarter is much
lower than the outside. Such a position naturally suggests the necessity of setting the feet more on a level by thickening the inside half of the shoe, and lowering the horn on the outside ; but this remedy is not always to be depended on, and the want of success attending this method led Mr. Moorcroft to make some ingenious experiments to ascertain how far this plan succeeded in preventing the horse from cutting. This experiment, however, led him to adopt a contrary practice, viz. thick- ening the outside half of the shoe; and he argues, that " if the inside of the foot be raised, and the outside lowered, the sup- porting leg, when in action, will bring the body, and consequently the moving leg, more to the side of the supporting leg, and hence more liable to be struck. On the other hand, if the outside of the foot be |
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346 ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT.
raised, the supporting leg will throw the
body off that leg, consequently the moving leg will be farther off the supporting leg, and hence less liable to strike." The pre- ceding remarks appear to me to be founded on good reasoning; but there are, however, cases which oppose considerable difficulty to every remedy that may be applied, and a variety of expedients have been resorted to besides those mentioned. Cutting off the inside heel of the shoe, and applying what is termed a three-quarter shoe has been used. Some leave the nails out, remove the crust, and hammer the edge of the shoe in, on that part which strikes the other leg, all of which frequently fail, and have often a tendency to do harm. La Fosse observes, " Expedients such
" as high cramps or thickening the heels |
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ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT. 347
" of shoes, alter the situation of the foot
" when on the ground; but when the limb " is taken up for action, the foot falls into " its usual position, when the cramp or " thick heel will have no effect in prevent- " ing cutting." I have always observed that a plain shoe
with the inside edge bevelled, or what smiths term feather-edged, when set on even and smoothly rounded with the crust, to be the most efficacious, and sometimes to succeed where all other expedients have failed. When this fails, the only resource is to apply what is termed a cutting boot, to protect the part which is struck by the other leg, and the contrivance of a good one to answer the purpose has been ex- tremely difficult. All those which have come within my observation have invariably produced as much mischief as they were |
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348 ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT.
intended to obviate. If the straps were
buckled tight enough to prevent the boot turning round on the leg, swelling and in- flammation were the consequences ; and if they were not sufficiently tight, the boot was continually turning on the leg, pro- ducing much friction and irritation, besides being removed from the part it was in- tended to protect. As horses are often considered to be of little or no use that have this defect, I determined on making- some experiments to ascertain if it were possible to contrive a boot (see Plate VII. fig. 1.) that would answer the purpose with- out producing the disagreeable effects just mentioned. An opportunity offered in a horse that
struck very forcibly the inside of the knees. I first took a cast in wax of the inner part of the knee, and from this cast iron blocks |
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A
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ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT. 349
were made, in order to mould pieces of
leather of the precise form of the limb, conceiving that if the boot fitted exactly, it would be less liable to turn or to irri- tate the leg. To prevent the boot from turning, I directed that the strap which buckles above the knee should be padded, so as to fit the depressions on each side of the leg, leaving that part of the strap in the front and back part of the leg without any stuffing. This prevented the boot from turning on the limb, but the galling and friction appeared to be by no means di- minished. I tried various remedies to obviate this inconvenience, and almost de- spaired of being able to accomplish it, till it occurred to me to make the top of the defensive part of the boot moveable, with- out at all affecting the strap which goes round the leg. To effect this, I directed that a piece of thin leather, about an inch |
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350 ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT.
and a half in width, should unite the de-
fending part to the strap ; by this means, when the leg is in action, the thin piece of leather acts as a hinge, and there is free motion between the defending part of the boot and strap, without any injurious inter- ference. There should be also a strap at the bottom of the boot, buckling below on the outside of the knee, merely to prevent its turning up and getting out of its place. And, to sustain more effectually a violent blow without injury, the inside of the boot should be padded, opposite to the part where the horse usually strikes. Horses that have this defect to an ex-
treme degree can work with such a boot with little or no inconvenience. It is necessary that the boot should be kept thoroughly clean, and oiled occasionally. |
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ON THE CUTTING SHOE AND BOOT. 351
Fetlock boots will be found to answer
perfectly well, if the straps that fasten them on the leg are padded on the same prin- ciple as the knee boot; both of which are made accurately, and are to be had of J. Thompson, Saddler, 165, Regent Street. |
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352
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CHAP. XXXVI.
ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
[See Plate VII. fig. 3.] In cases of disease of the feet, where it
is necessary to apply a poultice, or keep them wet, there has been considerable dif- ficulty to do it in an effectual way. If a poultice be required, the ordinary method is either a piece of sacking or an old rug or coarse cloth : the poultice is put in the middle, and the foot is set down on it, when all the sides are closed round the fetlock and tied with a cord or tape of any kind. When the foot has been bearing on it a few seconds, the poultice will be pressed from the bottom, where probably it is the most wanted, and from the loose texture of the cloth the poultice soon becomes cold, and |
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ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS. 353
when necessary to renew it, the cloth is
often cut through by the crust, and the greater part escapes. If warm or cold water be required, the common practice is either a stable pail, or a suitable tub made for the purpose; in the first place there is great difficulty, and, in some cases, great danger, attending an endeavour to teach horses to stand quiet in a tub. I have seen their legs cut severely by striking against the edge; but supposing a horse to be per- fectly tractable, and that no difficulty of this kind presents itself, if he stand in water three or four hours it is in general consi- dered a sufficient time; still, in order to complete that effectually, it must be at the expense of a servant being in sight of the horse all the time, as I have rarely seen any horse, however steady, but would steal his feet out of the tub, if unobserved. By this method, therefore, there are four hours of A A
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354 ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
moisture and twenty hours of evaporation.
Now, surely, if moisture be useful, this is a very ineffectual way of obtaining it. Va- rious expedients have been resorted to, at different times, to meet this inconvenience. I have, for the last twenty years, endea- voured by various experiments to overcome these obstacles, being satisfied of the great utility of moisture to the hoofs of horses. I have tried, and seen tried, boots of va- rious forms and patterns, and a person a few years back obtained a patent for a sponge boot to answer that purpose, but all that have hitherto come within my ob- servation have two insurmountable objec- tions, which render them of little or no use. The first is pressure and friction on that part of the heel where the skin ter- minates and the hoof begins ; it produces a separation between the two, similar to a deep over-reach, frequently on the first ap- |
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ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS. 355
plication, but never fails to do it event-
ually. The next inconvenience is pro- duced either by the pad, which buckles round the fetlock, or the string which is used for that purpose. These create so much friction and galling, that after a few applications the inflammation in the skin of the hollow of the heel is so great, that they can no longer be used, and the manner in which the sponge boot is fast- ened round the fetlock, and having no iron defence below, renders them of little or no use. However, after much trouble, I have
suggested an expedient which obviates all those inconveniences and objections. On maturely considering the cause of the se- paration between the skin and the horn, I perceived that the leather or stiffened part of the boots was carried too high at the a a 9, |
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356 ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
heels and quarters. I therefore conceived
that if that part were lowered as much as it would admit, so as to let the pliant part of the boot be opposed to the separ- ating part of the heel, it might answer a better purpose. I also perceived that the friction and galling property in confining the boot round the fetlock existed princi- pally in its having no adjusting principle; the boot-top, I saw, was either too short or too long ; if too short, pressure on the back part of the heel soon showed itself; if too long, on every movement of the foot there was so much play between the pad and the boot, that the skin of the heel soon suffered. I therefore considered, that if there were an adjusting principle to admit the tape which confines the boot-top to be either higher or lower as required, that it might succeed, and my expectations have been realized. |
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ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS. 357
These boots are made with leather bot-
toms defended by iron plating of different sizes ; if required for the application of a poultice, a linen top made of drill is only necessary ; but if required for the continued application either of warm or cold water, two or three thicknesses of Bath-coating sewed together, and cut of a proper form for the top, answers a far better purpose than any thing I have seen used. To main- tain the whole foot in moisture, I direct a bottom (Plate VII. fig. 4.) of two or three pieces of this cloth sewed together of an exact size; therefore, when the top is soaked in water, as fluids descend by their own specific gravity, a considerable portion of the water finds its way to the bottom of the boot, where these doubles of cloth are ready to absoi'b it. The whole hoof is thus uniformly maintained in moisture. The only trouble with the use of these boots is, a a S |
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358 ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
to dip the foot with the boot on into a pail
of water at the feeding hour, or as often as may be necessary, observing that it is also done at the last stable hour. It will be found moist the next morning : during the day it may be \iseful to remove all the litter, and to let the horse stand on the pitching. In this manner moisture may be used for any length of time, without any friction or galling of the heels or fetlocks. To preserve the sound texture of the frog, and the tough elastic property of the hoof, which continued moisture has a tendency to destroy, I appropriate two days in each week to stand without the water boots, for the purpose of applying the tar unguent on the whole surface of the foot, which I di- rect to be well rubbed in with the hand. This effectually saturates the horn, and ob- viates that crumbly propensity which con- tinued moisture produces on the hoofs of |
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ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS. 359
horses. On these days litter will be re*
quired, otherwise the hoofs would suffer by standing on the pitching, if uneven, without shoes. it has been stated by some, that un-
guents will not penetrate into the horn of horses' feet; but let those who doubt it at- tend the forge, and examine those feet which are constantly stopped with the tar unguent, or indeed any unguent which has a distinct colour, and if the experiment is made on a white hoof they will have ample testimony of the depth to which unguents will penetrate. After the unguent has been used a little time, let a slice of the frog be taken off, cutting into the growing horn, give it a sharp bend, with the newly cut part outward, when, on inspecting the bent part, it will be plainly seen the unguent is oozing through the horn ; this shows that a a 4 |
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360 ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
it is necessary to record facts from observ-
ation and not from imagination. I suspect that all the experiments, which have in- duced veterinarians to state to the con- trary, have been made on the dead hoof. In cases of inflammation of the feet, or where the horn of the hoof has been broken or mutilated, I have observed, that as much horn has been re-produced in one month, during a process of this kind, as if the horse had been turned out six months or more ; and by this uniform application of moisture, and consequently an uniform abstraction of heat, it is probable that any remaining inflammation may be more effectually re- moved, than if the horse were turned out. In the ordinary practice of removing shoes in cases of lameness, and turning horses into a box without them, I have, on many occasions, observed a great devastation of horn by pawing and scraping the litter and |
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ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS. 361
pitching; but on the application of a
water boot which has a double of Bath- coating at the bottom, the crust remains entire without any injury; and where I see a propensity of this kind during the two days in each week appropriated to saturate the horn with tar unguent, I make use of a rope boot (see Plate VII. fig. 5.) which fits the bottom of the foot, and which prevents that mischief. Horses may be removed by a slow pace a con- siderable distance to a forge with either the water or rope boots on without incon- venience. If it be necessary to apply any unguent or stopping to the bottom of the foot instead of moisture, the poultice boot is equally useful. Tow, having been sa- turated with any thing which may be con- sidered necessary, may be put into the bottom of the poultice boot, where it is retained on the foot with perfect security, |
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361 ON WATER AND POULTICE BOOTS.
and without inconvenience. As every
thing in the use of these boots depends on their being made agreeable to the prin- ciples and instructions I have given, I consider it necessary to remark, that I have noticed in several shops very clumsy attempts at imitation, which are calculated, from the reasons before advanced, to do much more injury than good. As the bottoms of these boots will last consider- ably longer than the tops, new tops may be readily put on the old bottoms. Those, who may be desirous of obtaining them, agreeable to the principles I have stated, may be supplied with them by Mr. Thomp- son, saddler, No. 165. Regent Street. The cutting and fetlock boots may also be had of Mr. Thompson. |
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363
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CHAP. XXXVII.
ON SHOEING SMITHS.
1 consider it necessary to make some ob-
servations on this class of useful men, to appreciate their individual merits, and to show that blame is too frequently imputed to them unjustly. Much has been and is said about their obstinacy and prejudices, as being an insurmountable difficulty to any improvement in their art. I confess, that all my experience and knowledge of them is at variance with such an opinion. I have ever found them ready to adopt any plan which I have suggested; and it therefore may not be uninteresting to en- deavour to show how such a prevailing notion has arisen. |
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364 ON SHOEING SMITHS.
When in the Ordnance, the only dif-
ficulty I found with them originated in self- interest, they being required, for a stated allowance, to supply shoes and nails. This regulation induces them to make their shoes last as long as possible. To effect this, the foot is overloaded with iron, and instead of putting on a new shoe when necessary, a clumsy patch of steel is welded on the old one, and this is repeated again and again. On some occasions, when a horse has not been much used between the periods of shoeing, an old shoe will certainly answer all the purposes of a new one; but where a patch is put upon a patch, form and principle cannot be very well accomplished. If the smiths had nothing to do with
the supply of iron and nails, this circum- stance would not exist. This was the |
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ON SHOEING SMITHS. 365
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only difficulty I ever found with them in
the army. In conducting either a public or private
forge I never found the least difficulty in getting any instructions attended to, as to form or principle; but I have invariably found an eagerness to accomplish what I have suggested. There is, however, a club established
among them in the metropolis, which has an injurious tendency on their customs and habits, which unsettles and renders them servile agents, to the purposes and views of this club, which breaks the tie and the bond of confidence which ought to exist between master and man, and is frequently productive of serious inconvenience to masters, to the public, and to the men themselves. They have established a fund |
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366
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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for the support of men in. cases of sickness,
age, infirmity, or being out of employ. The first part of their rules is very praise- worthy ; but they have, coupled with these, rules that no man who does not belong to their club, shall be employed by any mas- ter where club-men are working. Should a master persist in doing it, all the club- men are commanded by their rules and orders to strike, from which period, pro- vided they cannot get a fresh master, the club contributes a certain sum weekly, until they meet with suitable employ. I have, on several occasions, seen fifteen or twenty men put on their coats and walk out of the forge when twenty or thirty horses were waiting to be shod, and the master com- pelled to shut up the forge, and obliged afterwards either to employ men who did not belong to the club, or to conform to their rules and orders. It would appear |
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ON SHOEING SMITHS. 367
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an easy remedy to employ men who were
not connected with the club, but the regu- lation is so general, that nearly all the best workmen belong to it. Again, if the club consider their wages
are not sufficient, either generally, or in any particular forge, a mandate is issued for the men to strike. Masters therefore cannot calculate on the services of a good man, nor can the man on a good master, if the club wills it otherwise. I shall now offer some remarks on the
master smiths, with wham self-interest, I have every reason to believe, will be found to be the cause of the various plans of shoeing that have been previously spoken of, and not any disposition on the part of the men to oppose either one method or another. |
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368
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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Were it possible to suggest a plan by
which a smith could put on more shoes in a day than by any we now know, I have no hesitation in saying, that it would meet with general adoption, except where pro- prietors of horses, or those deputed to the management of them, interpose and order it otherwise. Smiths of this description have so little knowledge of the structure of the foot, that a shoe is by them con- sidered in no other view than as a defence, without any reference to the form produc- ing any effect. If the nails clear the quick, and the horse moves sound out of the forge, that piece of iron which can be shaped and put on the soonest is adopted, if the smith be left to his own discretion ; but on the other hand, he would be equally ready to comply with any other plan, pro- vided he could get as much by it. It is, however, clear, that if he be required to |
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869
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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bestow more time and labour in conform-
ing to any other plan, his profits must be diminished, if not allowed to raise the price. There is another considerable difficulty
in adopting other methods than what are
common, as it requires some practice in
going from one method to another before
it can be well accomplished. I therefore
consider that all these difficulties are not
attributable to any opposition on the part
of the men, but to a defective state of the
trade. As there has been no system of
shoeing in this country which has shown
its pre-eminence over others, every smith
has been at liberty to adopt his own, and
consequently he has followed that by which
he could get the most money. This has
been the cause of the rough and slovenly
manner in executing their work, without
B B
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370
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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regard to form or principle, and of intro-
ducing men by no means competent to their trade. On the other hand, had there been any specific plan before the public, which had shown a decided superiority, self-interest would have obliged smiths generally to make themselves acquainted with it, and a proper price would have soon found its level; but, as the case stands now, that forge, which charges the least price for shoes, for the most part finds most custom. But it is a matter of serious consideration with the proprietors of horses, to reflect on the evils and mischief such a practice introduces. It appears highly ex- pedient that every man in this trade, on the expiration of his apprenticeship, should attend a suitable institution, and show ex- amples of his workmanship, and afterwards undergo an examination of a competent board as to the rudiments of his trade, |
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371
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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before he be allowed to commence business
for himself. There is one circumstance in this trade
which operates against any rapid progress towards improvement being made in it, which is, that a horse will go sound from the forge with any clumsy or ill-shaped piece of iron nailed to the foot, provided the nails clear the quick, and the sole is free from pressure, and if the very best shoe is put on it does no more; hence the indifference with which persons often con- sider these things, without reflecting on the consequences which may arise from the bad form of the shoe. With an ingenious mechanic it is, how-
ever, otherwise; if a contrivance be pre- sented to the public, where it is demon- strated that by adopting a new machine or b b 2
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372
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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an improvement in an old one, for a less
or the same expense, and that one horse's power is equal to two in any other way, the thing is so self-evident, that it only re- quires to be known to be in universal use. There are a number of very clever expert workmen in the metropolis, and in some of the principal towns, that would do justice to any system of shoeing, provided it was fairly before them, and the price they could charge was adequate to their time and labour. It is curious to hear the remarks of persons who affect to be judges of this trade: some will say, give me plenty of cover, let me have iron and room enough, do not let me have any of your slippers. Others will say, do not let me have any of your clumsy heavy shoes, let them be narrow and light; and a variety of other absurd observations, when, probably, the horse where cover and iron is wanted may |
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375
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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have a hoof abounding with horn, and
would nearly go without shoes ; and others where a narrow light shoe is wanted, pro- bably have a thin flat foot, which requires defence and cover. I have mentioned these circumstances to show that a correct knowledge of this art is not to be obtained by occasionally taking up horses' feet, or looking at shoes and nails ; it can only be acquired by an unceasing attention to the forge, either in practice or for observation. It would be desirable if men in this trade, like many others, were paid in proportion to their ability; but that is not so much attended to as it should be. There are two classes of journeymen,
fire and door men. The fireman forges and fits the shoes to the feet, and the door- man assists in forging, and nails the shoes on when fitted. There are regulated prices BE 3
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374
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ON SHOEING SMITHS.
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for these two classes, without any regard
to ability, and it is not unusual to see a bungler at his trade get as much as a clever man. In the construction of forges much might
be done towards their improvement, as all those I have yet seen are very defective in arrangement and convenience. |
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Sets, or single specimens of the different
examples referred to in this work, may be had of Mr. Dudley, Bronze Manufacturer, 36. King-Street, Soho; or of Mr. Long, veterinary surgeons' instrument maker, 217. High Holborn, in cases containing bronzed models of the foot, with or with- out shoes on. They may also be had in shoes of cast
malleable iron patterns. |
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ON SHOEING SMITHS. 375
Likewise may be had of Mr. Long, the
ball probang, for giving balls without the necessity of introducing the hand and arm into the horse's mouth. For this inven- tion the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. &c, conferred upon Mr. Goodwin their silver medal. See the 34th volume of their Transactions. The Society has also conferred their
silver medal for a spring cross to improve the horse's mouth. For particulars, see the 39th volume of the Society's Transactions. They are accurately made by Mr. Thomp- son, saddler, 165. Regent-Street. |
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b b 4
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316
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CHAR XXXVIII.
ON THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE.
[See Plate XII. fig. 1, 2.] Where the soles are flat and inclined to
convexity, a difficulty has been found in directing smiths how to make room enough to pass a picker freely between the foot- surface of the patent-safety shoe and the sole : the consequence has been, the soles of such feet in some cases have been pinched by the pressure of the shoe, although it was as easy to have fitted this kind of shoe properly as any other; nevertheless, in order to remove that objection, and to meet the views of those who think it desir- able, a concave-seated shoe has been made, concave on the ground, and seated on the foot surface. It is extremely difficult to |
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ON THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 377
forge such a shoe, but to manufacture it,
in malleable iron, of course, presents no more difficulty than the simplest pattern. The common countersink nail will answer all the purposes of the French nail in this shoe, as the holes are made within the bearing rim, or seating of the ground sur- face, which keeps the nail at a proper dis- tance from the exterior edge of the shoe. It is of equal thickness on the seating of both sides, and is straight from the toe to the heel: this form is considered by some persons the best for hunting; but when required for other work, the French ad- justure at the toe is easily made. The nail holes are placed further back than usual, with a view to afford additional security, and to retain the shoes in their places : the last nails may be used or left out, as may be deemed necessary: it is, however, requisite to remark, it becomes |
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378 ON THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE.
questionable, whether to adopt additional
security by nailing further back, which fixes the motion of the heels and quarters, or to allow these parts to have their na- tural motions, by leaving the heel nails out. As a seated shoe, the form is con- fessedly far superior to the ordinary seated shoe, as it possesses the same security of tread, as the safety shoe. |
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LIST OF PLATES.
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PLATE I.
Fig. 1. — Represents the ground side of the patent
safety shoe. c, a, a. — A raised border, the use of which is to
strengthen the inward edge of the shoe, also to prevent pieces of flint and stones from being thrust or forced upon the sole of the foot, which might occur, if such a stop were not applied to the concave shoe. Fig. 2. — Represents the foot side of the same shoe.
Fig. 3. — Is a view of the shoe cut through at c, and
shows the rise of the border on the under surface, which is also indicated at the dotted line bbb. Fig. 4. — Represents a side view of the shoe, and the
manner in which the toe rises or curves from the straight line d. Fig. 5. — Presents a horizontal view of the shoe taken
from the toe. Fig. 6. — Presents an inverted horizontal view taken
from the heels of the «hoe, and represents the position and the inclination from the inward to the outward edge, on the foot-side at the heels. Fig. 7. — Tirehead nail, suitable for the safety or
any shoe having similar holes. |
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1
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;jso
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LIST OF PLATES.
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PLATE II.
Fig. 1. — Common English shoe, the ground side.
Fig. 2. — Ditto Ditto the foot side.
Fig. 3.— Seated shoe, Ditto.
Fig. 4. — Mr. Coleman's shoe, the ground side.
Fig. 5. — Hunting shoe, Ditto.
Fig. 6. — Mr. Bracy Clark's shoe, with a joint at
the toe, the ground side. a, b, d, e, f. — Showing a straight line from heel
to toe. e. — A deviation from the straight line, and showing
the degree of curve at the toe. PLATE III.
Fig. 1. — Patten shoe.
Fig. 2. '■— Screw shoe.
Fig. 3. — Bar shoe, the foot side, with the bar raised.
Fig. 4. — Plain bar shoe, the foot side.
Fig. 5. — Road shoe, with movable toe-pieces.
Fig. 6. — Frost shoe, with movable roughs.
a. a, a. — Degree of curve at the toe.
b. — First method.
c. — Second Ditto.
PLATE IV.
Fig. 1. — Grass shoe.
Fig. 2. — Racing plate. |
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381
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LIST OF PLATES.
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Fig. 3----The author's hind-foot shoe, ground side.
Fig. 4. — A plane or flat fore-foot shoe, foot side.
Fig. 5. — German horse nail.
Fig. 6. — English counter-sink horse nail.
Fig. 7. — Common English horse nail.
Fig. 8. — French horse nail.
PLATE V.
Fig. 1. — Moorish shoe.
Fig. 2. — Persian shoe.
Fig. 3. — Ditto nail.
Fig. 4. — Portuguese shoe.
Fig. 5. — German shoe.
Fig. 6. — French shoe, foot side.
Fig. 7.—'Ditto Ditto, ground side.
Fig. 8. — Ditto nail hole.
PLATE VI.
Fig. 1. — The butteris.
Fig. 2. — Large drawing knife, used for the sole.
Fig. 3. — Smaller Ditto, Ditto, frog, &c.
Fig. 4. — Small Ditto, Ditto, searching.
Fig. 5. — Common turning hammer.
Fig. 6. — Improved ditto.
PLATE VII.
Fig. 1. — Speedy cut boot.
Fig. 2. — Swab.
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882
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LIST OF PLATES.
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Fig. 3. — Water boot.
Fig. 4-. — Bottom for water boot.
Fig. 5. — Rope boot.
PLATE VIII.
Fig. 1. — Natural hoof.
a. — French method of driving the nails within the
crust, and going through a portion of the sole. Fig. 2. — Contracted hoof. Fig. 3. — Convex sole, or pumiced hoof. Fig. 4-. — Flat thin hoof, with weak low heels. Fig. 5. — Natural coffin bone. Fig. 6. — Coffin bone after some years' shoeing. PLATE IX.
Fig. 1. — Represents part of a fore-leg, with a side
view of the foot, shod with a French shoe modified. a. — Shows the shoe on a straight line from the heel
to the point of curve, and also the degree of curve at the toe. b, c. — The parts where the nerve operation is
usually performed. Fig. 2. — A side view of the coffin bone.
a. — Shows the degree of curve at the toe, in the
natural bone, and harmonising with the French method of shoeing. PLATE X.
Fig. 1. — The French shoe modified, the ground side.
Fig. 2. — Ditto, JJitto., the foot side.
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383
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|
LIST OF PLATES.
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Fig. 8. — French horse nail.
Fig. 4. — Straight line from the heel to the point of
curve at the toe, with the degree of curve. PLATE XI.
Fig. 1. — The cast of a foot, taken April, 1819.
Fig. 2. — A cast of the same foot, taken October, 1819. PLATE XII.
Fig. 1. — The ground surface of the concave-seated
shoe. Fig. 2. — The foot side of the same shoe.
Fig. 3. — A side view of the shoe, being of an equal
thickness, and straight from the toe to the heel. Fig. 4. — A section.
Fig. 5. — A nail, with a counter-sink head, suitable
for this shoe. |
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The binder is requested to place all the Plates, (except
the first, which is to front the title-page,) at the end of the book. |
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THE END.
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Londok:
Printed by A. & R. Spottiswoode,
New-Street-Square. |
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