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THE WATUJRAJL, FOOT OF THE HO i: ■ : 
 
 Syd&HdwardrZlei* JPul.iv B- £lar&. GlZtrp^r Jtreet-Zotz-dviz- Oc-f J. JSOO. ^/,'A>,- 
 
HIPPODONOmiA, 
 
 OR 
 
 THE TRUE STRUCTURE, LAWS, AND ECONOMY, 
 OF THE HORSE'S FOOT: 
 
 ALSO 
 
 PODOPHTHORA, 
 
 A RUINOUS DEFECT IN THE PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMON SHOE DETECTED ; 
 AND DEMONSTRATED BY EXPERIMENTS : 
 
 WITH 
 
 A PROPOSITION FOR A NEW PRINCIPLE OF SHOEING, WHICH ABUNDANT PRACTICE HAS 
 SINCE CONFIRMED. 
 
 By BRACY CLARK, F. L. S. 
 
 Member of the Royal Institute of France ; of the Royal Society of Berlin and Copenhagen ; 
 
 Royal Agricultural Society of Stutgard ; and Honorary Member of the Natural 
 
 History Society of New York, fyc. 
 
 Naturam Ferro expellas usque dum turn recurret. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR : 
 
 SOLD BY T. & G. UNDERWOOD, 32, FLEET-STREET, AND E. LIMEBEER, 
 19, GILTSPUR-STREET, NEWGATE-STREET. 
 
 1829. 
 
[entered at stationers 5 hall.] 
 
 Gaultek, Printer, Lovell's Court, Paternoster-Row. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 About seven years ago, whilst pursuing some experiments on the 
 contracted feet of horses, it occurred to me that the causes usually 
 advanced to explain this serious imperfection were not real ; and 
 that, in fact, the accidents, carelessness, idle habits, and wanton 
 tricks of the smith, so much inveighed against, had very little 
 concern in its production. The efficient cause began to appear 
 to me to lie much deeper, and to consist in the very method itself 
 by which the shoe was affixed to the foot. 
 
 To establish this opinion by the unerring evidence of experiment 
 seemed difficult ; yet a plan for effecting this purpose shortly after 
 suggested itself, and a subject exceedingly well fitted for its appli- 
 cation soon offered. I have thus been enabled to place this opinion 
 beyond the reach of doubt. A detail of those experiments will 
 be found in the following pages ; and the train of consequences 
 which terminate in the partial destruction of the foot, and pro- 
 ceeding from the continued operation of the same cause. 
 
 After having well considered these facts, and reflected on the 
 great obscurity which has hitherto prevailed in this branch of vete- 
 rinary science, I imagined that these discoveries might be worthy 
 the attention of the public ; especially as, the cause of this chief 
 defect being now understood, little would remain in the art of 
 shoeing that did not admit of easy solution. I further hoped that, 
 by doing this, I might excite such efforts as would crown with 
 success the attempt to remove the evil, by introducing shoes of a 
 different construction. The few experiments which I have been 
 able to make lead me to conjecture that it cannot be long ere this 
 will be accomplished. Whatever may be the result in regard to this 
 
conjecture, the clear and intelligible exhibition of the cause of so 
 much mischief and suffering, cannot be of trifling importance : for 
 men are not likely to endeavour to avoid that, of the danger of 
 which they are not sensible. And I have now* the satisfaction of 
 observing in this second edition, the first having been published 
 about twenty years ago, that this conjecture has been fully verified, 
 and more than one shoeing establishment is now in extensive ope- 
 ration in this metropolis, giving, by a yielding shoe, relief to hundreds 
 of horses from these cruel and ruinous measures. 
 
 The present method of shoeing was, I apprehend, first introduced 
 about twelve or thirteen hundred years ago, and has continued to 
 this day without any very material changes in it, and apparently 
 without any suspicions being entertained of the fact which I am 
 about to expose, at least any consistent demonstrative evidence of it, 
 as far as my knowledge extends ; the obvious abuses in the practice 
 of this art having chiefly attracted the notice of those who have 
 written on these subjects. 
 
 Tenderness before, exists among horses in different degrees so 
 universally, that every man accustomed to riding looks for it, and 
 uses his precautions accordingly ; nay, so frequent is it, that it is 
 regarded by some as almost natural to the animal ; and it is also 
 a matter which the knowing ones in horse-flesh, as they are some- 
 times termed, are not displeased with : they pick up a cheap horse 
 that has fallen down, or been sold with loss, on account of his 
 tripping dangerously — one which, from his high value, they could 
 not otherwise obtain ; and by severity of bitting, and by tormenting 
 him with the whip, or spur, or both, (continually inflicting pain, or 
 supporting the apprehension of it,) they conceal, and overcome as it 
 were, the suffering of his feet, and escape the mischiefs to which 
 others, using means less cruel, might be exposed. Such is the mer- 
 ciless system which practice has taught them for rendering useful 
 horses so mutilated. And many also, in the superior conditions of 
 life, are frequently expending large sums of money in order to obtain 
 the healthful and agreeable services of these animals, in riding on 
 
horseback, or being drawn in a carriage ; yet are they but too fre- 
 quently, in a little time, owing to the difficulties thrown in their way, 
 obliged to abandon them from their almost perpetual interruptions, 
 accidents, or vexations, and this from causes they are altogether 
 unable to understand or contend against, and which will be seen 
 chiefly to arise from the defective principles and injurious effects of 
 the shoeing, and of which stable-men and smiths take advantage, 
 and increase their power, and this without understanding, as they are 
 supposed to do, the true source of these difficulties. I may also 
 remark, that in writing this treatise, it has not been easy to find 
 language to express these things ; for, hitherto, the language of 
 disguise has been purposely used to conceal and cloak them from 
 public view, and to turn away and divert the attention. 
 
 In determining these matters by actual experiment, there will be 
 found some novelty, as experiments have not before been introduced 
 into this art ; nor was it even supposed to be susceptible of elu- 
 cidation by such means ; presumptuous opinions, or more frequently 
 sturdy assertion, having stood in lieu of these, and materially opposed 
 the progress of this species of knowledge : but if what is here 
 advanced be true, it will be found to subvert nearly all that has 
 been done upon the subject, and to open almost an entirely new 
 prospect on these things. 
 
 I cannot forbear offering a remark in this place respecting the 
 veterinary profession, independent of the subject of shoeing, in order 
 to give encouragement to those that are engaged in it, who may at 
 present find it full of difficulty ; and to the public, who may be 
 inclined to withdraw their support, as if it were a hopeless profession. 
 There is no art, it may be maintained, so perplexed and difficult, 
 that by human industry and research, steadily and properly exerted, 
 cannot be rendered more clear and practicable : to accomplish this, 
 however, time must be allowed. Public institutions in themselves 
 cannot, it is obvious, create knowledge ; they can only afford con- 
 venient opportunities for study to those who are disposed to employ 
 
them ; and it must still be from individual exertion that improve- 
 ments will spring. When a few advances have been made beyond 
 the present state, the progress will be probably more rapid, and its 
 service to the horse and to mankind will assuredly be felt. Many 
 disappointments have without doubt arisen from unfounded expect- 
 ations of relief in desperate and hopeless cases where art could not 
 avail; and some, not finding their interest served in this respect, 
 have become rancorous enemies to the establishment and the pro- 
 fession. The fruit has been sought before the blossom was unfolded. 
 Still there can be no doubt that if human medicine and surgery have 
 been aided by public establishments, the veterinary art must admit 
 of improvement by the same means. 
 
 It is with pain, however, I have to record, in publishing this second 
 edition, that now the mystery has been unfolded, and the difficulty 
 exposed nearly twenty years, the greatest obstacle to its general 
 acknowledgment and diffusion has originated with that very school 
 founded for promoting horse knowledge, though I had taken every 
 care to avoid giving offence, — so dangerous are institutions, and 
 protected incorporations of men, who have interests at variance with 
 the science they profess, and who view invidiously any knowledge or 
 discovery not originating with themselves. 
 
 Many promising young men were engaged in this profession at the 
 first establishment of the college, who would have succeeded in any 
 of the common occupations of life, but who have sunk under the 
 difficulties of this. The obscurity of some cases, and the irre- 
 mediable nature of others, with the obstinate opposition of persons 
 interested in the support of darkness, have been so adverse to 
 success, that they have fallen sacrifices to them. Of myself, I may 
 remark, that I have with difficulty persevered under the various 
 discouraging circumstances to which I have been exposed; but 
 at length surmounted several of them, I shall not be deterred from 
 the exercise of this profession while health and strength remain. 
 Whenever I may think that small advances have been made, I 
 
propose to give to the public the result of my inquiries ; provided 
 they should meet with a favourable reception, and defray the ex- 
 penses incurred in printing them. 
 
 I am quite at a loss to guess what I have done to offend those 
 personages, the professors of the various veterinary colleges ; but by 
 nearly all have I been treated basely, — concealing my discoveries 
 from their pupils, and by endeavouring to traduce and misrepresent 
 them. Professor Coleman, in a most unprovoked manner, has done 
 this ; and though he dared not make any open manly attack, which 
 would have been quickly answered, he has to his pupils in secret 
 used all the little arts of defamation, and has nearly prevented, 
 through his agents thus misled, and who scattered this poison of 
 their prejudice through the country, what little advantages I might 
 have derived by the sale of my work, or rather of obtaining some 
 small portion of reimbursement for my many expenses in pursuing 
 these subjects, in doing which I seldom flinched, as will be seen, at 
 any cost that appeared to be required for ascertaining or clearing up 
 a doubtful point. In my first edition, though his work lay before 
 me, a tempting object for remark and criticism, I used him with 
 much delicacy, that I might not injure a school I ardently wished to 
 see flourish : if I spare, therefore, those compliments now, in this 
 present edition, I shall not descend to low abuse or retribution for 
 such very unmerited treatment. He has indeed often insinuated 
 that I was an enemy to the college : I am certainly the enemy of no 
 college, nor of any individual ; and may I not say my labours have 
 been directed for the general good in elucidating these arts, and for 
 the use and advantage of all who practise or profess them. 
 
 Professor Girard, of the Alfort school near Paris, has, with more 
 candour than my countrymen, very handsomely complimented this 
 work on the foot, in the second edition of his Traitd du pied du 
 Cheval ; but afterwards insinuates, in a very loose, vague manner, 
 that it received help from some one in France : this I should have 
 acknowledged with great pleasure had it been so ; but certain it is 
 
that I had great difficulty in getting this work understood there : 
 but that I derived any help in the matter of it, he will easily see 
 could not be the case if he compares it with the original, published 
 six years before in England, and he will then find that many useful 
 passages were omitted from the difficulty of translating them. If 
 the new arrangement in that translation is the thing alluded to, I 
 may assure him it was wholly my own, and he has been imposed 
 upon, if any one has really insinuated to him the contrary. I wrote 
 that part of it exactly as it now stands in the translation, and 
 M. Mazion, the Cure of Fourqueux, near St. Germains, translated 
 it, but with great difficulty, from not knowing the subject, whilst I 
 resided in his house, during two or three weeks, and assisted him ; 
 and the first, or introductory part of it, was translated by my brother- 
 in-law, J. J. Secretan, in England, and was taken over to France. A 
 quotation, indeed, I thought I observed among the Latin writers, 
 alluded to in the Essay " On the Knowledge of the Ancients re- 
 specting Shoeing," which might have been added by Professor 
 Huzard in printing it ; but excepting this, I know of nothing that 
 could be so interpreted, and if this had been omitted, the proofs 
 would have been equally decisive of the end proposed in this disser- 
 tation. And as to Lafosse, if any one will read him attentively and 
 altogether, they will, I think, come to the conclusion, that so far 
 from borrowing from him, I have allowed him to know what he 
 really never understood ; or why did not his countrymen understand 
 it before I published, and have practised shoeing with a motion for 
 the foot long ago ? but it was the business of these colleges formerly 
 to depreciate Lafosse, till I praised him as making the only step that 
 had been made, though a false one : for certain it is, that by his 
 false doctrine about frog-pressure, he did a great deal of harm, and 
 the effects of it are still felt by thousands of men and horses, both 
 in England and in France, at this day. 
 
EXPERIMENTS 
 
 THE FOOT OF THE HORSE. 
 
 Chap. I. — The views commonly entertained of the cause of these 
 defects in the going of horses by various characters supposed from 
 their habits to have a knowledge of these things. The views also 
 of the more enlightened. Various principles of shoeing, as they 
 are called, examined; good and bad Shoeing; One principle 
 only, — that defined. An experiment undertaken and executed in 
 illustration of the effects of Shoeing. 
 
 Theue is nothing can retard the advances of any art more than too 
 much apprehension about its mysteries and difficulties. The art of 
 nailing iron to horses' feet for their defence is in itself sufficiently 
 simple ; a view of the process would show it ; the readiness with which 
 those who practise it attain the art would also evince it. 
 
 The consequences entailed by a long continuance of this procedure 
 it is that affects the feet; and the public, finding defects in their 
 horses' going from causes which were not at once apparent, have ac- 
 quiesced in the mysterious nature of this art, which we hope to be 
 enabled, in the following pages, to develope sufficiently for every one 
 to have a right apprehension of it. 
 
 This tenderness in the fore feet of horses, and especially in the 
 saddle horses, from its varying in the same animal so much, has cre- 
 ated great embarrassment ; and some are so differently affected to 
 
10 
 
 others, that it has added to the intricacy of it. Some horses are 
 continually tripping without ever falling ; others are bolder in their 
 step and appear less affected, but fall at once and with more serious 
 consequences ; others are only brought to stepping shortly ; others 
 go wholly on the toe, as the shoe if examined evinces ; these arise 
 from the same cause operating on different feet and different con- 
 stitutions of the horse ; the autumnal season, from its weakening 
 influence on horses, will subject them to feel it more, and render 
 them at this season liable to more casualties, though no season is 
 exempt. 
 
 There is often, I have observed, much shyness in speaking of 
 these things among men, for fear these errors should be imputed to 
 a want of jockeyship ; and few inquiries are made about them for 
 the same reason : no man likes to make inquiries about horses, for 
 that would imply a want of knowledge. 
 
 Another of the strong causes which have tended to keep this 
 matter in obscurity, has been the great repugnance which individuals 
 have to admit any thing which tends to diminish the value of their 
 animal, especially if they had any intention of selling him ; therefore 
 dealers and jockeys treated the defect in the lightest way possible, 
 and even denied the truth of its existence. The fear also of being 
 regarded as a bad horseman, and wanting address to keep the horse 
 up, leads others to the same conduct of not admitting it. When, 
 however, circumstances of this sort have not existed, it has not been 
 difficult to get an avowal from reasonable persons of the truth of 
 this position. And my own experience in riding very many horses 
 has but rendered me too much a witness of this tenderness, and 
 which by others less acquainted with the nature of it, has been often 
 followed by consequences the most lamentable, and has never failed 
 to lead to the early misery and premature destruction of the horse 
 himself. If it was not so, why use rending bits and cruel irons, 
 whips and spurs, to an animal that in a general way would be easily 
 led by the smallest cord when in health and free from pain ? It is by 
 
11 
 
 these irons that they hope to arrest the attention of the horse, and keep 
 him from too much regarding the feelings of his feet : without this 
 tenderness they would certainly not be necessary. And the cunning 
 grooms, generally on these occasions, if such accident should happen, 
 throw the fault of the horse upon the rider, by saying, (if it is not to 
 himself that it has happened) that " he has thrown his horse down," as 
 though the horse's fault was not of himself, but somehow the fault 
 of the rider. In following this change in the feet attentively, we 
 may perceive that from time to time, at different periods of his early 
 life, that it is accompanied with the most extreme distress and weak- 
 ness upon the limbs, of which the rider, however deficient in feeling, 
 cannot but be sensible, and which neither the whip nor the spur can 
 keep him many yards from becoming ready to drop : in some jour- 
 neys we have had, we have felt this with indescribable anguish, and 
 the more, perhaps, from knowing the real cause of it. 
 
 Accidents also are by no means rare : neither nobility, wealth, nor 
 even royalty itself, are exempted from them, and which will happen 
 in spite of all the advantages of their situation. 
 
 The dreadful fall of Lord Deerhurst, by which he lost both his 
 eyes ; of the Marquis of Tavistock ; of the Marquis of Thomond ; 
 and of others, are yet presented to the remembrance of our con- 
 temporaries : and William the Conqueror himself, after all his toils, 
 fatigues, and dangers of war, found his death in the fall of his horse ; 
 having been thrown forwards upon the pommel of the saddle, he was 
 so bruised that he died of the injury. This accident, by the monkish 
 historians of the time, was imputed to a judgment from Heaven upon 
 him, as a punishment for his cruelty in burning down the town of 
 Mantes in Normandy ; others said, the horse put his foot on a live 
 cinder of the burning town, which it is very unlikely he could have 
 felt through his shoe and hoof, or which if he felt, there was nothing 
 to prevent his removing away from : whichever of these causes it was, 
 it is a singular circumstance, and worthy of remark, that he was, as 
 there is every reason to believe, the first who introduced the present 
 
 b2 
 
12 
 
 mode of fettering horses' feet into England, and was one of the first 
 victims of the art he introduced. 
 
 No one, I believe, will have the hardihood to deny the danger of 
 mounting horses thus mutilated. Among my acquaintance and friends 
 I could relate many instances of miserable accidents, and the news- 
 papers are furnishing plenteous proof every day, in support of this 
 assertion. The appearance also of broken knees proclaim every- 
 where the little assurance there is on feet that have been so igno- 
 rantly treated. 
 
 A very large coach proprietor in London, (Willan,) struck with the 
 misery of the bearing rein, and perhaps a broken jaw or two, ordered 
 all his horses to be freed from them. On being put to work, the 
 accidents with their knees became so extensive, that he was again 
 compelled to relinquish his humane endeavours, and resort to this 
 most cruel alternative, at least as it is often made use of. 
 
 The present system of shoeing, and its consequences, ruin such 
 multitudes of horses, that surely the discovery of its cause, beyond 
 the power of denial, cannot but be of the highest importance in the 
 affairs of mankind ; as well also as on account of the sufferings of 
 the animal ; for not one in thirty of all that are raised live to see the 
 half of their natural life expended ! 
 
 I have also remarked, that the most frequent accidents happen to 
 the horse about the fifth year of his age, and which has appeared to 
 me to arise from this cause, — that the great conflict between the iron 
 and the foot arrives at its height about this period, and that after 
 this the poor sufferer learns to go in a manner that is more suited to 
 his actual condition, that is, with a shortened step, humouring the 
 state of the parts, and in which there is less danger of falling ; and 
 the foot after this period yields a more passive submission to the 
 overpowering effects of the iron and nails. 
 
 The different form of the shoe which by hand are never made 
 twice alike, and the different direction of the nails, which no one can 
 certainly direct, or know whether bent or straight in passing through 
 
13 
 
 the hoof, will also occasion endless difference even in the best hands. 
 All these causes, simple as they may appear, had cast a formidable 
 and almost impenetrable veil over these arts. 
 
 There is also other ways of viewing these things, and entrapping 
 the understanding, rather than entering into a troublesome inquiry 
 about them ; and if a complaint is made of the bad going of the 
 horse, it is easily stated that it arises from too hard service ; or if it 
 be in great towns, that it is their going on the stones. Yet do we 
 find these defects as frequently in the country as in towns, and as 
 often among horses which are hardly used at all as with those which 
 are fully employed. 
 
 If the stable-keeper is asked why his horses are so tender before ? 
 and why there needs so much trouble to keep them up — so much so, 
 that all pleasure in riding is destroyed ? his answer is, " Why, horses 
 to be sure will by use become leg-weary, and every one who knows 
 any thing about horses knows that well enough;" and with a smile at 
 the simplicity of the inquirer, he quits the subject. 
 
 If any one, not having the usual awe of this character, should ask 
 the coachman why he wants two or three kinds of irons to be put in 
 his horse's mouth, his answer will be, " Why, would any one be so 
 mad as to attempt to drive without them ?" Then if you are appre- 
 hensive of your horses' falling, — what is the cause of this ? " Go 
 ask the smiths ; they can tell you better about it — they don't shoe 
 them safely." 
 
 If the shoeing-smith be inquired of respecting this matter, and 
 how does the horse become tender ? — " Why, it is to-be-sure from 
 always standing in the dry litter of the stables ; and that is plain 
 enough, for the hind feet are never affected, because they are more 
 in the dung and moisture, which makes it clear enough ;" and thus 
 this business is disposed of without further trouble among them. 
 And these answers would serve to hinder a deeper research into the 
 actual causes of them. Such were the usual apprehensions and 
 
14 
 
 opinions of those to whom the public had been used to listen with 
 most attention in these matters. 
 
 Lafosse, many years ago, in France, advanced a fair step beyond 
 such idle opinions as the above, by asserting, after anatomically con- 
 sidering the structure and functions of the foot, that this evil of ten- 
 derness proceeded from the elevation of the foot from the ground by 
 the shoe, and the consequent removal of the frog from pressure, 
 which its situation in the foot appeared to him to demand ; and in 
 order to remove this difficulty, he strongly urged the use of a thin- 
 heeled shoe.* 
 
 Mr. Coleman, the professor of the Veterinary College, has main- 
 tained also the same opinion. It would appear, however, that if the 
 cause of the evil had really lain here, his patent artificial frog, by 
 bringing the supposed requisite pressure to this part, would have 
 long ago removed the mischief, which it does not appear to do : nor 
 will it be our business at present to consider, supposing this theory 
 to be true, what would be the consequence of bringing strong pres- 
 sure upon the frog, while the quarters or sides of the foot, confined 
 by the nails, or rendered stiff and unyielding by any other circum- 
 stance, should resist the expansion. Suffice it to say, that the con- 
 ditions premised of the natural foot would be changed ; as the foot so 
 treated would be no longer in its natural state ; and of course the 
 reasonings made upon that foot as in a state of nature become in- 
 conclusive, and the result afforded by the actual experiment gives 
 proof of this. For experience, the severe test and arbiter of the 
 truth of all our reasonings, has shown, that there was some acting 
 cause which stood in the way of the practical use of these doctrines 
 of pressure on the frog ; and that, notwithstanding the strong reasons 
 urged in the support of it, neither in France, where it was first pro- 
 pagated, nor in England, did the low-heeled shoe gain ground, or 
 
 * La Nouvelle Pratique sur la Ferrure. Paris, 1758, p. 110. 
 
15 
 
 has it been much used ; for in so serving the frog, if the pressure 
 was at all considerable, it was sure to bring on a heat of the foot, 
 and on farther exercise in this way, a tenderness that the rider could 
 not but be sensible of; and if pushed still farther, lameness. When we 
 come to consider the structure and real office of the frog, these effects 
 of strong pressure, or of battering upon the ground, will no longer 
 be matter of surprise. And Mr. Coleman has since shod again 
 with a thick-heeled shoe, and afterwards another, provided with an 
 internal clip to rest against the bar of the foot, for which he has also 
 obtained a patent ; and these have been followed by two others, also 
 equally well imagined.* We believe we shall be perfectly able to 
 
 * Viz., the Spit-bar and Grasshopper shoes. The former is made with a flat bar of 
 iron from its inner margin, opposite the toe, and passing backwards, is made to lodge 
 upon the frog, and is then nailed on ! The other is with a steel spring welded upon 
 the upper surface of the shoe near the heels, intended to rest against the column of in- 
 flexion ! What a monopoly of patents is here ! the ill success and failure of one half 
 of them would have been sufficient to have opened the eyes, and sunk the confidence 
 of any man of less front than our professor ; and such grasping too from one whose 
 situation affords him such ample advantages in patronage and emolument. 
 
 This last patent having no view to the squeezing of the frog, leads one to apprehend 
 that this miserable and senseless proposition is at last abandoned by him, which we 
 cannot but rejoice at, as it is the second time it has been made the scourge of these 
 worthy, defenceless creatures : for before Lafosse's death, it had again got into disuse 
 from the smiths finding, however specious it was in theory, that it did not do in prac- 
 tice, but without its rejection being attended with any enlightened views or exposition 
 of the cause of its want of success. The revival of it in this country is much to be 
 lamented, as the prejudices of early education are not easily overcome, nor will the 
 effects of it probably be entirely lost in more than twenty years ; so widely and indus- 
 triously has it been diffused and enforced with such a peremptory mandate of acqui- 
 escence in the examinations of the humano medical committee of examiners for 
 granting diplomas. 
 
 I record these shoes also as it were for way-marks or useful points in the history of 
 the art, that they should never again be brought forward to torment the horses or to 
 agitate the profession. This last shoe I shall advert to again when treating of the in- 
 tortional column of the hoof. 
 
 The institution itself is truly noble ; and if well conducted, and in good hands, 
 would be a great public benefit. — All I have now to wish is, that the professor should 
 
16 
 
 clear up this difficulty respecting the thin-heeled shoe in our account 
 of the frog, and to show the cause of its failure ; and also why 
 horses in general (as daily practice confirms) go so much better in 
 shoes with thick heels, or at least, which is better, with a level shoe, 
 or in a shoe with calkins ; for the gradually thickening heel I do not 
 for strong reasons approve. 
 
 Much is often said among the amateurs about this and that prin- 
 ciple of shoeing. It does not appear, however, that any slight alter- 
 ation in the configuration of the iron or the surfaces of the shoe 
 deserves that title ; the discretion in applying and fitting it admits 
 also of infinite variety of gradations, and these have been often mis- 
 takenly termed principles also ; and, as though there were two kinds 
 of shoeing, we hear of good, and bad shoeing, without these terms 
 having met with any settled meaning or definition. 
 
 It is the principle of all the shoeing at present known, to attach 
 the iron for the defence of the foot to it by means of nails" driven 
 somewhat diagonally through the lower portions of the hoof, — the 
 manner of figuring the iron, of disposing the nails, of driving them 
 at different distances from the coffin bone, or the manner and degree 
 
 not quit his situation, but begin a total change of measures respecting the foot, suited 
 to the novel discoveries that have been actually made and in this country ; he may yet 
 have time to do a great deal of good if he sincerely and honestly takes it in hand, 
 and also to open the councils of the college as wide as any can desire, — for what secrets 
 can there be in a horse-college if rightly conducted ? And to let veterinary surgeons 
 be the examiners of candidates for the profession, which it is but quite natural and 
 proper they should be, and let them be numerous, and the examination public, that 
 there be no favour or collusion. We might then expect to see a good sound horse- 
 school, and veterinarians worthy of public confidence, and not six, and even three 
 months pupils receiving the sanction of the college as fully qualified veterinarians, 
 which we know to have been the case, fairly inundating the country with them for the 
 paltry consideration of the fee. And let whoever will become subscribers to it ; for 
 the reader will be astonished to learn that a veterinarian, even of his own making, 
 cannot become a subscriber to it from a law made in the hole and corner committee : 
 the cause of such exclusion may be easily guessed, — it excludes the only persons who 
 understand and feel its abuses. — Abolishing also the sale of cheap drugs. 
 
17 
 
 of paring away the foot, are all discretional circumstances only, 
 though they materially affect the feet and manner of going of the 
 horse, yet are not properly difference of principle, but are acted 
 upon in endless variety, according to the fancy of the workman, and 
 often with more mischievous consequences than the principle itself 
 necessarily entails ; and to separate what is owing to the one, and 
 what to the other, is truly difficult where both are injurious. 
 
 I had thoughts of separately considering each of these conditions, 
 and laying down more precise rules for them, that the workmen 
 might have some more regular guide for their labours ; but dis- 
 covering a flagrant and unexpected defect in the nature of the prin- 
 ciple itself, I have devoted my first labours to the making that 
 demonstrative and clear. 
 
 It is matter of great surprise to me now, that so obvious a circum- 
 stance could even for a day have escaped my notice ; but so strong 
 are the prejudices of education and habit, and the perplexity arising 
 from the usual phrases of the workmen about these things, with a 
 certain fear of forming opinions on what appeared to be so mysterious 
 a subject, that years passed with it daily before me without my per- 
 ceiving this now obvious fact. Mr. Moorcroft, I observe, in one part 
 of his publication, has stated that the foot from a round is reduced 
 to an oval by shoeing ; but here he leaves the subject without a 
 comment, and falls afterwards into the commonly entertained views 
 of these things : and Osmer, many years back, had obscure ideas of 
 the effects of the compression of the feet from shoeing ; yet neither 
 one passage or the other in these writers had struck me on perusal, 
 till the facts I am about to expose fully opened them to my view ; 
 though now it is clear they had both alluded to this circumstance ; 
 yet, from the general tenor of their works, they seemed only to 
 apprehend these consequences from shoeing in particular cases, and 
 understood not what it was that did it. 
 
 My suspicions once awakened, could not rest long without their 
 truth or falsehood being proved ; and, whilst contemplating the cir- 
 
18 
 
 cumstances with considerable anxiety of mind, an experiment for 
 ascertaining it suggested itself, — that of taking casts in plaster from 
 any sound, healthy foot, under the influence of the shoeing process, 
 and repeating those casts from one period to another, and comparing 
 them with each other ; they would then aiford me the particulars of 
 change that might take place, and the quantum of diminution of the 
 foot in a given time. Other circumstances unfolded themselves, that 
 were not looked for, as the experiment proceeded, of which we shall 
 now present the reader with the details, so as fully to establish the 
 important fact of the mischievous effects of iron and nails, or of 
 common shoeing rather, upon the horse's foot. The broaching an 
 opinion so at variance with common apprehension and prejudice, 
 would, I well knew, without the clearest evidence, only serve to draw 
 upon me the ridicule of the world, that I was well pleased when I 
 found the thing could be made demonstrable ; for how little the fact 
 I am about to disclose was really felt or suspected before by the 
 writers on these subjects, the very numerous works of my contempo- 
 raries will sufficiently show. And I may observe, it was during a 
 painful research in making shoes to be put on without nails that I 
 first began to perceive it ; and what is extraordinary, the general 
 principle on which hinged the phenomenon still remained unknown 
 to me for more than a twelvemonth after discovering the true cause 
 of contraction. 
 
 Any one would very naturally infer that, if I was employed in 
 making shoes to avoid the nails, it was because I saw the ill effects of 
 the nails upon the foot, — no such thing : I had at this period no dis- 
 tinct apprehension of it ; and it was to avoid the use of shoeing- 
 smiths and their mal-practices, and in order that every man might be, 
 or by his servant at least, his own shoer,— so near may we be to a 
 thing, and not perceive it.* And when the thought first came over 
 
 * The great difficulty of entertaining a new principle will not appear surprising if we 
 reflect that for two thousand years the simple fact of fluids rising to their level, though 
 
19 
 
 me that it was the resistance of the nails that caused all this mischief, 
 it was accompanied with an involuntary suffusion of countenance that 
 I shall never forget, from feeling that I saw, probably for the first 
 time, what had never been seen before, in the same sense of view at 
 least; and the feeling was immediately accompanied with a happy 
 assurance that the evil was then truly seen, and that it would be 
 ultimately removed. But what opposition have I met with, and from 
 whom ! That I might expect no mercy from the smiths, whose 
 affairs I had exposed, was quite natural ; but that the veterinarians, 
 whose cause I had laboured and gained, should be made by inte- 
 rested knavery my greatest persecutors, was not to be believed. I 
 trusted that if they were attempted to be deceived, they would, as I 
 should have done, have looked and examined for themselves; not 
 trusting to those whose momentary interest, perhaps, it might be to 
 betray : but in this I was also disappointed ; for they condemned me 
 unheard, and without examination. They thought they had their 
 accounts from one who had read, and that was enough ; that he 
 would mislead them they could not suppose ; and to misrepresent 
 and slight me was the order of the day, which for twenty years I have 
 borne in silence. 
 
 I now proceed to the details of an experiment that, in the import- 
 ance of its results, and efficacy of its demonstrations, 1 may safely 
 assert is second to none that ever was made on the subject of horses 
 — exhibiting a cause of animal suffering which is beyond the utter- 
 ance of language to express ; and what is more, showing in what a 
 simple way it may readily be removed, and has been removed in 
 thousands of cases already, as the testimonies given to the public 
 
 presenting daily to the eye of every one, was not understood upon principle so as to be 
 acted upon for this long period ; the immense labours of the ancient aquaducts suffi- 
 ciently prove the fact ; and the daily periodical works and magazines, which treat of 
 these affairs of horses, will show the difficulty that many have to comprehend it now 
 that its cause is demonstrably shown, and the evasive nonsense they use as though to 
 avoid the seeing it. 
 
 c2 
 
20 
 
 along with the description of the new mode of shoeing most fully 
 and unanswerably testify.* 
 
 It has been an iron age indeed with them, and not in a metaphor- 
 ical, but literal sense. And I should not have insisted so much on 
 the importance of what I have done, as may be seen in my first 
 edition, where these things are narrated in the most unassuming 
 manner, and my discoveries hardly claimed as such, if they had not 
 been so basely attempted to be depreciated. 
 
 Commencement of the Experiment. 
 
 A young blood mare of great beauty, and turned of five years old, 
 was brought to my shoeing forge in Giltspur-street from Weymouth 
 Mews to be shod, that had been bred by George Hobson, Esq., and 
 permitted to run wild and unshod till her fifth year, that her strength 
 and growth should be as much as possible completed before she was 
 brought into use. The opportunity so extraordinarily afforded me 
 of making the experiment was not to be lost ; for a second, I thought, 
 might not occur ; and such another has in reality never occurred to 
 this day. — Timid, and unused to have her feet meddled with, to get 
 an impression was attended with some difficulty : the plaster of Paris 
 was poured upon her foot held sole upwards ; but before it could 
 well set, she grew uneasy at the position, and, dashing her foot to the 
 ground, broke it in a thousand pieces; and a second also in the 
 same way. After this, as might be expected, she grew more impatient 
 at being handled, and I almost despaired of succeeding. Being sur- 
 rounded by many persons, I hoped to effect it better if she was led 
 alone to the stable ; and giving her a feed of corn, in order to take 
 off her attention, I placed the foot, unperceived by her, in a bowl 
 containing plaster wetted with warm water, that it might set the 
 
 * Description of the new Tablet Shoe of Expansion ; with numerous testimonials. 
 Second Edition, 1827. 
 
21 
 
 more quickly. After waiting a few minutes, and the plaster had 
 become perfectly hard, I drew it away without much difficulty, which 
 exhibited a complete impression of her foot in all its circumstances. 
 This was done in the presence of my worthy and much-esteemed 
 friend, Mr. John Biddle of Birmingham, on the fourth day of June, 
 1804, who felt kindly interested in the successful issue of the at- 
 tempt, and in the nature of this inquiry. 
 
 After smearing this impression or mould with a little lard to prevent 
 adhesion, some fresh plaster was cast upon it : I thus obtained the 
 figure of the foot represented in Plate I. ; and for the beauty and 
 symmetry of its parts, nature perhaps does seldom surpass it. 
 
 That the reader who is not much used to the study of horses may 
 make himself acquainted with the parts of the horse's foot, we shall 
 here describe them in a general manner. They are given for this 
 purpose as large as in nature, that there might be less possibility of 
 error ; for the natural horse's foot has never, I believe, before been 
 very truly represented ; and by doing this he will be the more pre- 
 pared to trace the changes it is doomed to undergo by artificial aid. 
 The representation has been admitted, both by the draftsman and 
 engraver, to be attended with difficulty ; and but for the kind assist- 
 ance of my very worthy and ingenious friend Mr. Sydenham Edwards, 
 it would not have been near so well represented as it is : we may 
 also remark, that a tolerably distant view of it, as laying it on the 
 ground, makes it appear to more advantage than a nearer one. 
 
22 
 
 Chap. II. — On the Foot. The animal machine viewed generally — 
 its construction and manner of bearing on the foot. Various pro- 
 visions in the attachments and position of the limbs and foot to 
 prevent concussion. The division of the parts of the foot and of 
 the hoof. The important principle of elasticity laid down and 
 exemplified in various animals. The wall of the Hoof — its ge- 
 neral form and particular construction — its inflexions. The dis- 
 covery of the Frog-band — the outer surface — inner surface. The 
 keraphylla described, and podophylla. Composition of the 
 Hoof 8?c. 
 
 Having secured a cast in plaster of the foot of the mare, I propose 
 to wait twelve months, in order to see any and what changes may 
 have taken place in the foot during this period, exposed to the pow- 
 erful operation of iron and nails. And now, dismissing for awhile the 
 further consideration of the subject of the experiment, enter into a 
 consideration of the construction of the organ that has been thus 
 treated. 
 
 I may in this place just observe, that in my first entering on this 
 work, I had only in view to make known the true cause of tenderness 
 in horses' fore feet by the experiment we have begun to describe, and 
 had no view to any anatomical investigation ; but being led to look at 
 the foot more closely as an elastic organ, to explain the phenomena 
 of the experiment, its structure became manifest, and formed in the 
 first edition a very long parenthetical insertion in the midst of the 
 experiment, and which arrangement, to remove the dryness and form- 
 ality of mere anatomical description, I have here pursued also in this 
 edition; concentrating the matter, however, and giving it more of 
 order and method, and adding what appeared necessary ; and it is 
 singular that it was not till I had gone far in that work that I fully 
 perceived that it was to the principle of elasticity that all the pheno- 
 
23 
 
 mena were attributable, and that they could be solved upon, and 
 that it pervaded all feet as a fundamental principle. 
 
 In the former edition, (1809,) some remarks on the absurdity of 
 the term heels, when applied to the horse's foot, were inserted at this 
 part of the work, and which led into a view of the appearances of 
 the fcetal foot of the horse : both these considerations we now defer 
 to a future opportunity ; since the foetal foot cannot be very well 
 understood by the reader till the horse's foot has been treated of; as 
 many of its parts are new and hitherto undescribed, and are as yet 
 without names : we therefore proceed without farther preamble to a 
 consideration of the adult horse's foot ; and this description, we trust, 
 will be found widely different from any description that has ever 
 hitherto been attempted on this subject. And in order to entertain 
 as comprehensive a knowledge of this organ as we can obtain, we 
 first take a survey, in a very cursory manner, of the machine which it 
 is destined to support and to carry ; and we may then remark how 
 this weight is brought and disposed to bear upon it, and what are the 
 provisions which exist to prevent any injury to the foot, or of any 
 concussion or reaction to the body. 
 
 The body, or the trunk of the horse, appears to be fashioned not 
 much unlike a boat, and is formed of rounded, swelling ribs, as in 
 that machine ; the sternum has also very much the appearance of 
 the keel of a vessel, and resembles this part in a remarkable manner 
 anteriorly. Now these ribs as they approach above, are closed by 
 the spine, forming a sort of deck or roofing to the vessel, and which 
 is greatly strengthened every where by various eminences and pro- 
 cesses of bone rising high above, and projecting strongly on the sides 
 of this ridge or mid-stay of the deck, if we may be allowed the ex- 
 pression; and which is then carried out beyond the boat in both direc- 
 tions, forming anteriorly the neck to which is appended the head, and 
 at the other or opposite end, widening first at the sacrum, it ter- 
 minates more simply by the caudal extremity, or tail, which, however, 
 is made of considerable length, and is in the living animal most mag- 
 
24 
 
 nificently furnished with hair, so that it becomes no mean counter- 
 poise, at least in appearance, to the larger head of the opposite 
 extremity, and thus eminently contributes to the beauty, grace, and 
 symmetrical appearance of the animal. 
 
 Being filled with the various viscera for its life, maintenance, and 
 direction, it is necessary that this boat should now be suspended in 
 the air, and receive the means of its being supported and conveyed 
 about, for which purpose the limbs are provided, placed in pairs, or 
 double columns at either extremity of the machine.* 
 
 The two fore columns or limbs, we may observe, are vastly en- 
 larged at their upper parts, and their surface extended, as we see 
 with the shoulder-blades and arms, in order to their firm attachment 
 to the ribs, and the trunk or boat is then suspended or slung between 
 them, resting upon them by various points of attachment, of a soft 
 and lax nature of tendon and muscle ; and these fore limbs, we may 
 remark, having to sustain a much greater share of the weight than 
 the hind limbs, receive a perpendicular direction also, thus affording 
 to them the greatest strength of a column : these limbs, however, do 
 not reach the ground in following this perpendicular direction, as 
 that would have given too great a shock ; but on arriving near the 
 ground they take a new course or direction anteriorly, and by a suc- 
 cession of three distinct bones, the pastern, the coronet, and the 
 coffin bone, and their respective joints not only divert the line of 
 bearing and direction, but soften the impression to all the parts 
 above and below, as also more remarkably by the extensive spring this 
 angle affords. And the last of these three bones is yet farther most 
 eminently provided with the means of defending itself from abrupt 
 collision or sudden shock by the capacious covering of the hoof and 
 its spring ; which at the same time also very much serves to enlarge 
 
 * For a more full account of this admirable arrangement, see a description of the 
 section of the horse : with a superb coloured figure, price £2. 2s. ; and without this, 
 10*. Qd. 
 
25 
 
 the quantity of bearing surface of the foot upon the ground, which 
 in these fore feet is much more extensive than in those behind ; and 
 their pliancy also, as we have stated, is more considerable. 
 
 The hind limbs, placed near to the opposite extremity of the ma- 
 chine, which is very much enlarged and strengthened to receive 
 them, having a less weight to support, have not the perpendicular 
 direction of the fore limbs given them, but are thrown into angles for 
 impelling the body when in quick action, and by their collapse, pro- 
 jection, and subsequent extension, impel the body forward : the 
 point of the limb in this movement appears for this purpose to be 
 carried out forwards anterior to the centre of motion, and like a 
 fixed radius, is brought to act against the ground, and the body is 
 then shot over it by the power of the muscles of the haunch, which 
 are necessarily immensely large, as they are acting to a mechanical 
 disadvantage so very near to the centre of motion. And in order 
 that none of the force or momentum should be lost, these limbs are 
 attached to the trunk, not by soft muscle as in the fore extremities, 
 but by a solid bony connection, having a strong ball and socket 
 joint ; and the hind feet to be in conformity with these limbs in 
 office and effect, are made harder, loftier, firmer, and less yielding 
 than the fore feet. Now the whole weight or impression of the 
 animal, it would appear, becomes finally dispersed and lost on three 
 chief points, so as not to be severely felt by either of them, that is, 
 upon the fetlock joint, the deep front of the hoof, and the posterior, 
 and more yielding elastic parts of the foot. And it farther appears 
 probable, that under particular circumstances it may happen accord- 
 ing to the will of the animal that either of these points can be made 
 to receive a greater share, and be the bearer of more weight ; and 
 in cases of tender feet, the animal giving his weight more to the 
 toe or to the fetlock, and less to the posteriors of the foot, as when 
 these parts have suffered by contraction and absorption, the strain or 
 stress being then greater upon the above parts, their relaxation and 
 
26 
 
 enlargement will earlier take place, and which will explain the cause 
 of these very frequent appearances, and also of their being so often 
 strained there. 
 
 From this short sketch of the general machine, we pass now to 
 the foot itself, the chief object of our inquiries ; and that the reader 
 may be able fairly to contemplate this organ, we have provided him, 
 and for the first time it was ever very correctly represented, with a 
 real view of this interesting part, the horse's natural foot, (see Plate I.) 
 uncontaminated by art, at five years old, and pretty fully developed ; 
 and to prevent error it is given of the full size of life, in a horse of 
 more than fifteen hands. It was executed by Thomas Milton, an 
 engraver of great celebrity, who was, at different periods, three years 
 employed upon it, and often declared it an object of considerable 
 difficulty. 
 
 As method and arrangement gives force and clearness to any 
 subject we are about to treat, so I shall divide the whole mass of the 
 foot, as taken from the limb, into three classes of parts, viz., the 
 Bones, or central nucleus of the foot ; the attaching parts, which 
 are disposed between the bones and the hoof; and the Hoof itself. 
 This last we now propose to consider, and believe we shall have to 
 unfold many new and unknown traits respecting it. The hoof again 
 I also divide into three parts, — the Wall, the Frog, and the Sole. 
 But before entering into a description of these different parts, we 
 believe it will greatly facilitate our right apprehensions of the subject 
 if we first take into our view and consideration a most indispensable 
 property necessary to the construction of all feet, which, though of 
 an abstract nature, is able, if duly reflected upon, to explain the mis- 
 takes and hidden mysteries that have for so many ages involved this 
 art of shoeing, and concealed its wretched effects in almost impene- 
 trable darkness, and which simple property every part of the hoof is 
 
27 
 
 formed in relation, and made subservient to. I here allude to the 
 simple principle of Elasticity, or the condition of an elastic yielding 
 of the hoof to every degree of impression of the weight or of exer- 
 tion of the animal brought upon it. 
 
 This inestimable property it is that guarantees the foot from 
 fatigue, preserves it from jar, and the body from re-action and con- 
 cussion, and all the injuries which a too solid resistance would have 
 occasioned to both, and probably assisting also the animal in his 
 advances by a return to its former figure after distension. 
 
 Examples of the general property of Elasticity in feet. 
 
 For the clearer developement of. this principle, I shall now select 
 among the various families of the quadruped world some striking 
 examples where its existence and beneficial effects may be conspi- 
 cuously perceived, and afterwards exhibit it in the foot of the horse 
 more fully, where this property for certain reasons is not so obvious, 
 and which has caused it hitherto to have been overlooked, occa- 
 sioning to this most worthy animal for a long period the grossest 
 injustice, and the infliction of incalculable suffering and misery. 
 
 The feet of quadrupeds, we may remark, in their different races, 
 are very differently constructed for meeting the ground, and for sup- 
 porting their bodies. — Some of these, which are extremely light 
 and active, and which appear to live on trees, almost as the birds, 
 rather than on the ground, as the Squirrel, have their feet formed 
 of long digitations or fingers only, with long horny claws and curved, in 
 order to the running up the trunks of trees, sticking into the bark, 
 and which also enable them to hold themselves if there is occa- 
 sion, and to run along suspended in a surprising manner to the 
 underside of the branches; and some of this agile family may be 
 almost called beasts of the air, for they can fly from tree to tree, and 
 even descend from the tops of the highest trees of the forest to the 
 ground by making a parachute of their lax and very extended skins ; 
 and even our own common squirrel will descend in this way through 
 d2 
 
the air to the ground by the singular measure of a swift rotation of 
 his bushy tail. And the foot, by its length and elasticity, contributes 
 also in these to soften the fall, and render it less felt : and in every 
 animal this part is constructed with a view to the particular soil which 
 he treads, and to the particular mode of life he pursues, but in all 
 it is made elastic ; for example : 
 
 In the Camel, the foot, in order to its being non-resistant, is first di- 
 vided deeply into two parts, each furnished with a very strong and 
 broad claw : besides this, underneath each hoof is found an elastic 
 pad, into which the hoof sinks, and is embedded all round as in a 
 soft stuffed cushion, and rising up the sides of the foot, keeps off the 
 effects of the hot and scorching sands of those regions, which nature 
 has more especially doomed him to : this extension of surface also 
 must cause him less to sink into them ; the whole apparatus affording 
 the highest degree of elasticity and ease the foot is capable of re- 
 ceiving, especially necessary in those hot countries. 
 
 In the Dog, nature, or a kind providence rather, has placed a large 
 triangular pad in the middle of the foot, covered outside with tough 
 horny skin : and another of a similar description, and smaller, is found 
 at the origin or base of each claw ; and these appear to be formed 
 within of tough fibro or tendino cartilaginous materials, and are 
 covered, as we have said, exteriorly with a hard horny skin. This 
 organization affords an elastic bearing for the animal, and breaks the 
 force of concussion upon the ground in passing rapidly over it. This 
 effect also is contributed to, and much augmented by, a division of 
 the bones of the metatarsus into four parallel ranges, giving to all 
 these parts a remarkable flexibility. 
 
 As. to the Cat, we may remark, that her foot the moment that it 
 meets the ground, descending from any height, is seen widely to 
 expand, and that the fingers and the claws spread on all sides to 
 widen the surface of bearing and deaden the shock. We observe 
 also mats or cushions in the centre of her foot and at the root of the 
 claws, performing the same office as in the dog ; they are, however, 
 
29 
 
 of a softer nature, but fully sufficient for an animal so obviously 
 light, small, and active. A nobler example is the lion's paw. 
 
 In the Ox there is not properly any mat or cushion to the foot ; 
 the claws, however, are thinner on the inside ; but in this sort of 
 simple cloven foot, which is common to a very large share of the 
 quadruped world, the elastic principle necessary to these parts is 
 chiefly accomplished by a longitudinal division of the podal and 
 juxta-podal bones of the foot as high up as the fetlock joint ; and 
 this division gives to these parts all the suppleness of which there is 
 need, and affords an easy yielding to the impression of the weight, 
 and destroys any jar or repercussion to the body. The two claws also 
 on meeting the ground, if it is soft, will separate, receiving the earth 
 between them, and so will diminish the suddenness of the impression, 
 and also widen the bearing surface and render the foot more fixed 
 and firm on the ground. This flexibility, indeed, in some of these 
 animals exists to such a degree, as in the cows for instance, that the 
 sight of it is almost disgusting, when the weight of their bodies re- 
 poses strongly upon it ; but we are reconciled to it when we reflect 
 that this same property, though somewhat unsightly, is particularly 
 well adapted to the general structure and uses of these invaluable 
 creatures, and to the innocent and peaceful habits to which a kind 
 providence has ordained them. 
 
 The Elephant possesses in an eminent degree this elasticity of 
 the foot ; his immense body is sustained on four columns, placed 
 almost perpendicularly underneath this ponderous weight. Their 
 bases, or inferior extremities, repose upon a vast mat or pad, made of 
 a material apparently between horn and cartilage : this central mass 
 resembles a strong piece of sole leather or raw pelt, and this foot is 
 exteriorly divided into five parts, each terminated by a very strong 
 horny claw or hoof ; one of these, and larger, is placed in front, and 
 the other two are disposed on each side. It is not improbable that 
 these claws, when the animal is in quick movement, will aid him, 
 by taking a share of the weight, and by being forced strongly against 
 
30 
 
 the ground, dig into it, and give perhaps a certain degree of fixed- 
 ness to his march. 
 
 The Foot of Man, on pressing against the ground, extends and 
 dilates in a very visible manner in all directions ; and as the upper 
 leather of the shoe is much thinner than the sole, so it readily 
 permits this change of form ; and also the hollow which is observable 
 beneath the foot, and which we call the planta, or sole, and which 
 represents a kind of vault or arch, sinks, and flattens on receiving the 
 weight, and consequently extends, thus preventing any jamming or . 
 condensation of the parts together, and so preserves to all of them 
 their natural freedom and liberty. 
 
 In respect to the Horse, this indispensable property has also an 
 existence in his foot, but in a much inferior degree, and perhaps less 
 so, as I have already observed, than in any other animal. But we 
 shall not be astonished at this, if we reflect that with him is accom- 
 plished one of the most difficult problems in mechanics, that is to 
 say, the moving of a large and heavy body with an extraordinary 
 degree of velocity, and for the surmounting this difficulty, a remark- 
 able degree of solidity appears to have been imparted to his foot by 
 a hoof of one piece, in order that nothing of the momentum afforded 
 by the osseous and muscular machinery should be lost. And without 
 doubt this solidity it was of the foot of the horse that has occasioned 
 this elastic property to be so long wholly overlooked, and has led 
 these smiths to treat it more as a senseless block of wood without 
 any motion than as a living elastic organ, most elaborately con- 
 structed for these extraordinary performances, and whose construction, 
 these circumstances premised, we now resume the consideration of. 
 
 We do not propose, in giving this account of the foot, to enter 
 into a tedious detail of minute circumstances of a common-place 
 nature in the construction of the foot, as such cannot explain the 
 
31 
 
 arts of shoeing, and its difficulties and mysteries, though it might 
 very well serve, as it has done before with some, to make a book for 
 sale ; but intend to confine ourselves chiefly to the hoof itself, which 
 will nearly explain all that is necessary. In order to illustrate these 
 subjects, we shall divide the hoof into its constituents of three dis* 
 tinct parts, which has not been attended to before, and view them 
 afterwards connectedly, to show that they produce by their com- 
 bination not only a box of horn for the covering the foot, as it has 
 been hitherto generally regarded, but also a most beautiful machine, 
 possessing remarkable properties, and an almost indefinite power of 
 yielding to the load, a property as indispensable as the defence and 
 protection that it so obviously affords.* We commence with its chief 
 member. 
 
 Of the Wall of the Hoof 
 
 Its name. — General form. All the exterior part of the hoof, 
 which is seen by the eye when the foot is placed upon the ground, 
 we call the wall of the hoof, for, like the wall of a building, it sustains 
 all the more delicate parts within, and serves to protect them from 
 the injury of the external elements : the French also call this part 
 for the same reason la muraille, or the wall, which we vastly prefer 
 to the miserable term crust, by which some have designated it, and 
 
 * As this work may for some time be a work of reference in our art, so I take the 
 earliest opportunity of explaining to those who may not have studied the Greek lan- 
 guage, the signification of the two words used in the title, the utility of which, as dis- 
 tinctive names will be found at all times in speaking of or referring to this work, as 
 they may be used at full length or in any abbreviation, as Clark's Hipponomy, or simply 
 Clark's Podonomy, instead of a long tedious explanatory title, which in English would 
 have been necessary; for new terms are best to fix new arts. The first of these, 
 Hippodonomia, is derived from nrns, a horse ; t»w, *o5os, a foot ; and vo/ws, a law. 
 The other is from ™vs, wodos, a foot; and <p9opa t corruption or destruction; from the 
 same root, <peeipa>, as our common word Phthisis used for the complaint called a con- 
 sumption. And to those desirous of an abbreviation, Podora would supply a term of 
 easy use. 
 
32 
 
 which can afford no idea of its rich organization or properties, but 
 must ever serve to convey a truly mean and baker-like notion of it. 
 
 The wall, when separately considered, (see plate 2, fig. 2,) must be 
 regarded as the basis of the hoof, or its principal member, and the 
 other two parts, viz. the sole and the frog, as subordinates or acces- 
 saries only; and by so viewing the hoof, we shall arrive at more 
 just notions respecting it, and comprehend better its real formation. 
 
 Now as to the hind feet, they differ materially from the fore feet, 
 though hitherto confounded as the same, which is important to know 
 in respect to shoeing, as they are not so much affected by it ; and 
 this circumstance has led many to doubt the truth of these illus- 
 trations, contending that as they are the same, the effect should be 
 the same of the iron upon them. Now we have formerly stated that 
 the weight of the animal falls with a different force upon the fore 
 and hind feet, and that the fore are more burthened with it : this 
 is one cause of their being made larger, and with more flatness also 
 and elasticity, that they might yield to the weight or projection ; and 
 further also, that they might be in conformity of design with the 
 softer nature of the attachments of these extremities to the trunk. 
 Whilst the hind feet on the contrary are stouter in the wall, and lof- 
 tier, with the sole in front thicker, flatter, and more strongly attached 
 to the wall, and are less elastic. This is important to be known, as 
 it explains readily why the hind feet do not suffer so much by the 
 shoeing as the fore feet, and which has been made a stumbling-block 
 to many by leading them from seeing the real state of the case. For 
 the smiths urged in defence of their practice, that all the difference 
 in the hind feet not suffering was that they were exposed to the 
 dung of the stable, thereby inferring what was not true, that if the 
 fore feet were similarly exposed they would not suffer, and that it 
 was an affair of the dung only, or chiefly. 
 
 But the influence of such a cause, and which does hardly exist 
 where the stables are kept clean, must be truly insignificant com- 
 pared with the powerful operation of such agents as the iron and 
 
Xh-t.-hcn tfl'rrjhlr. 
 
 TI.Z. 
 
 .,/■■ rj r /„, 
 
nails : but to set this matter at rest, the reader will find further on an 
 experiment related, where the horse was shod for a twelvemonth, and 
 kept at grass the whole time ; and the same contraction took place 
 as in the stable, which fully disproves these idle apprehensions. 
 
 But to return to the fore feet. The weight of the trunk reposing 
 on the limb, we have seen, is conveyed in a perpendicular direction 
 to the fetlock ; there it is diverted by the juxta-podal bones, which 
 convey it to the foot, to the front of the hoof especially, being its 
 strongest and deepest part ; from thence again, by the reclination of 
 this part backwards, it is determined in this direction towards the 
 posterior parts of the foot ; and these having a double or two-fold 
 termination, with an eminently-elastic part lodged between them, 
 they readily yield to the impression, and soften its effects, (see pi. 2, 
 fig. 1.) And in this way the elastic principle on which we insist is 
 fully established with the horse's foot. And further, this backwards 
 direction of the impression or weight, is vastly increased by the rapid 
 inclination which the two bones of the foot have (viz. the coffin and 
 shuttle bones) by their surfaces for articulation strongly sloping 
 towards these posterior parts of the foot, occasioning the foot not 
 only to dilate, but also to extend backwards. 
 
 Of the general figure of the Wall. A superficial view of the 
 hoof has very naturally led to the apprehension that it was of a 
 conical form, and it has been hitherto always so described : we shall 
 however show, and for the first time, (ed. 1,1809,) that this is wholly 
 incorrect, and that it could have answered no useful purpose if it had 
 been so made. Its figure will be found to be truly that of a cylinder, 
 (see plate 2, fig. 3,) which will be proved by observing that the pos- 
 terior terminations of it have the same direction or slope as the front 
 parts have, and are parallel to them, which could not have been the 
 case had it been a cone, as in that figure the projection or widening 
 downwards would have been on all sides alike ; and the quarters, 
 so far from projecting outwards, will be found by the application of 
 a carpenter's square gage to be nearly or quite parallel to the axis of 
 
34 
 
 the cylinder ; and in the most beautifully formed feet, the cylinder is 
 found to be almost perfect, unless the mere weight and excess of 
 growth beyond the sole interrupts it in a small degree. 
 
 The great utility of this general figure will be striking, if we con- 
 sider with how much more power a cylinder embraces its contents 
 than a cone, which enlarging downwards, would not have prevented 
 the contents of the foot from slipping through on any strong exer- 
 tion of the animal, as the cone is ever presenting a wider area in this 
 direction." The painter or sculptor who is acquainted with this 
 principle, will very readily give its figure correctly ; but in uncertainty 
 of its true form, or mistaking it for a cone, he will give a mixed, 
 confused, or erroneous representation of it; but in designing its 
 beautiful outline truly, we shall see hereafter that the frog-band and 
 the bulbs of the frog should not be omitted in its representation, and 
 which parts are also truly ornamental. 
 
 But that the hoof is really a cylinder within, may be maintained 
 from the direction of the Keraphylla, which are every where parallel : 
 had this internal surface been conical, they must have diverged, in 
 passing downwards to fill it, which seems to settle the question 
 beyond any cavil.* Besides, if the hoof had been a cone, by con- 
 tinually growing larger downwards, it would have greatly incom- 
 moded the animal ; whereas a cylinder always remains the same : its 
 growth also would prove it, since how could the circle, once formed 
 at the coronet, receive within it any accessions afterwards, as such 
 would narrow the area of the hoof inside ; and that nothing is really 
 added, a perpendicular section of the hoof shows plainly. 
 
 Now if we desire to prove this mathematical figure of the hoof, we 
 take a cylinder of wood of about two diameters long, and obliquely 
 
 * That I may render that justice to others I have in vain sought for myself, I may 
 here state, that this observation was lately made by my nephew, Charles Clark, whom I 
 invited over from America to my assistance, and who, I hope, may one day become an 
 ornament to his profession. 
 
35 
 
 saw it asunder in the middle with a fine saw at an angle of about 
 thirty-three or thirty-five degrees to its, axis, and place these pieces 
 with their cut side downwards on the table, we shall then have a 
 striking resemblance of two hoofs, that is, in respect to their general 
 figure ; (see plate 2, fig. Si) but if we want to have an idea of its 
 whole composition, we must make a cylinder of paper or pasteboard, 
 of larger dimensions by one half than the hoof to be represented, 
 and truncate or cut such cylinder across its axis obliquely almost to a 
 point, leaving enough only to hold the ends together, by then turning 
 these points from outward inward, towards the centre of the circle, 
 we shall have a lively view of all the main circumstances in the 
 actual construction of the wall ; and at plate 2, fig. 5, is seen a 
 representation of a pasteboard cylinder, so cut before the ends are 
 turned in to represent the inflexions, and at figure six one with 
 the ends carried into their place.* 
 
 But although it be fundamentally true that the hoof is formed on 
 the principle of the cylinder, — and it is highly important to the 
 veterinarian to understand this, — yet, like most general laws, it is not 
 without exceptions and conditions ; for there are at times variations 
 in the lower parts of it, that is, chiefly in the parts below, or at the 
 insertion of the sole, or below the direct box of the hoof, where 
 either the operation of the sole in distending these parts by flattening 
 its arch, or the mere mechanical operation of the weight of the horse 
 causes a bulging in these lower parts, extending thereby its surface, 
 perhaps to obtain room, and may disturb but not at all destroy the 
 general principle ; it is, however, found on examination by actual 
 admeasurement, much less than the eye alone would lead one to 
 apprehend, but we have thought it safest to state thus much to anti- 
 cipate the objectionist. 
 
 * Elegant models of pasteboard, contained in a handsome box, with a description, 
 &c, may be had of E. Limebeer, Giltspur-st., or G. Underwood, Fleet-st., price 12s. 
 
 e2 
 
36 
 
 The wall of the horse's hoof, we may remark, is highest at the toe, 
 pince,* or front parts, and regularly declines in height as it passes 
 backwards, forming the quarters; and at a certain point, still more 
 posteriorly, it has the appearance of being lost in mixing with the 
 frog and sole, as it will be generally seen represented in books and in 
 plates of the foot ; but in reality it makes at this point a sudden and 
 unexpected turn inwards, forming an acute angle, with a sharp pro- 
 jecting edge backwards, and then continues its course, still diminish- 
 ing in height, to the centre of the foot, where it seems finally to be 
 lost in mixing with the sole ; and thus simply is formed the shell or 
 external frame of the horse's hoof : see its plan, plate 2, fig. 2. 
 
 It is also to be further remarked, that as the hoof is thickest and 
 most solid at its front parts, or pince, so it becomes regularly thinner 
 as it declines in height and recedes backwards, and so through its 
 whole course to its termination at the centre of the foot ; and 
 former writers have considered the bars or inflexions as somehow 
 parts of the sole rather than of the wall, and had no distinct notion 
 of the great simplicity and power of such an arrangement acting in 
 one piece, and which cannot but call forth our exalted admiration of 
 its supreme Architect. 
 
 These parts thus inflected are made to form a distinct and remark- 
 able internal wall, as it were, for the interior of the foot, within 
 the very cleft of the sole; and by their bold projection, protect 
 the sole and frog from an undue degree of pressure and contusion 
 against the ground. 
 
 These inflexions have been called the bars of the foot, as though to 
 convey an idea that they kept the wall from going inwards, or con- 
 tracting in its dimensions; but it is doubtful if they can really 
 
 * This useful French word I could wish to see adopted in English, in order to avoid 
 the awkward word Toe, which but ill expresses the thing intended. It is probably de- 
 rived from the Latin, impingo, to impinge upon or invade. 
 
37 
 
 perform such office, but seem to obey rather, and pass in with it if it 
 contracts, as we actually see take place in contracted feet. They 
 have a deflected appearance, or are inclining downwards and outwards, 
 that any pressure against them from the ground may drive them to 
 dilate or open outwardly and from the frog, and thus follow the 
 general dilatation of the wall and quarters, and prevent any painful 
 jamming or condensation of these tender parts. Their characteristic 
 appearance is very well given in the frontispiece, or plate I. Opposite 
 the middle of the frog they form a more spacious concavity, and then 
 suddenly close in approaching the point, especially on the inside 
 quarter, and near their termination, they become flakey and are less 
 coherent. Along their upper edges the frog is attached, and their 
 actual union with it we call The Commissure, after the manner of the 
 ancients. The hollow spaces formed by the lateral recedence of these 
 inflexions, we call the Cavities of the commissure. And in order to 
 speak of, or consider them more easily in their qualities, or adjectively, 
 we call them Intortiones, or intortional or inflexural parts, the 
 convenience and advantage of which will be often perceived in the 
 course of this work. 
 
 We may now remark that the sudden inflexion of the wall 
 gives it as it were a duplication, or doubling of the horn at these 
 places ; and two stout columns of horn are thereby formed at these 
 points, of the greatest utility in the natural, and still more so in 
 the artificial defence of the hoof, for the iron to rest upon, without 
 the danger of its injuring the sole, or crushing or confining its 
 extreme point, which is but too often bruised by the shoe ; and its 
 lacerated vessels giving out red blood, it is artfully termed a corn, 
 though human corns are not usually red, but are white, hardened, 
 and extended cuticle, from a morbid action induced by pressure and 
 friction, and have no sort of relationship to these bruises. — Now in 
 the natural hoof, these columns of the inflexions form below a hard 
 rounded knot, abundantly useful in defending from wear these pos- 
 
38 
 
 terior parts, and from bruises the tender point of the sole below 
 them.* 
 
 And it is with painful feelings I am here led to observe, that in my 
 visit of eleven months to Paris last year, (1828,) where I was much 
 engaged in noticing their shoeing, I found that the horses generally, 
 especially those shod by veterinarians, were shod with a narrow, thin- 
 heeled shoe, which did not extend in a general way to these points 
 or columns. And as I understood by the recommendation of the 
 veterinary college of Alfort ! indeed, on turning to Prof. Girard's 
 book, second edition, Paris, 1828, " Traite du pied des animaux do- 
 mestiques," he plainly recommends such a shoe : p. 58, 60, 68. I need 
 hardly add these poor horses were going most miserably crippling 
 and bad ; and were strapt up and most unmercifully gagged by that 
 atrocious instrument of torture, the bearing rein, which is but too 
 often applied in a cruel manner to punish their unoffending jaws, 
 and to keep them from remembring their feet.f 
 
 * Coleman's Grasshopper Shoe is intended probably to ease these parts in low weak 
 feet, which there would be but little occasion for, if the smiths would be more merciful 
 with their knives, and accommodate the shoe to them by a slight deflexion of its plane 
 at the extremity of the branches ; and some are readily relieved by throwing them more 
 on the pince by calkins, but not all. This spring is unmechanical, and liable to choke 
 with dirt. 
 
 ■j- What views the generality of these veterinarians might have in thus shortening the 
 shoe is truly hard to guess ; but from one of the most intelligent with whom I con- 
 versed, — indeed he so stated, — that his main object was to prevent corns. I soon per- 
 ceived whence originated their fears in this respect, and that it arose from their opera- 
 tors, who, not satisfied with the mischief that in a few minutes a sharp buttress was 
 capable of doing, resorted to the use of a long piece of a sword-blade, and this driven 
 with a hammer, soon removed deep portions of the inflexural columns ; and these pro- 
 tecting points being removed on the inside and outside alike, the risk of corns would 
 certainly be very great, the sole being then exposed to the full effects of the iron. And 
 to avoid this, the shoe forsooth must be kept short of reaching these points ! instead 
 of altering their vile custom of not performing this delabrement. So that we see plainly 
 in spite of veterinary colleges, which I hesitate not to say have done more harm at pre- 
 sent than good, how wretchedly these poor animals are treated, and how from one 
 
39 
 
 Though somewhat ambiguously, Professor Girard espouses the doc- 
 trines of La Fosse, see p. 66, and seems to think this narrow Paris shoe 
 the point of perfection, — the length of it is directed to be between 
 that of Lafosse and Bourgelat, which is about the length these mise- 
 rable shoes are actually made : his words are, p. 68, " Beaucoup plus 
 long que celui de Lafosse et plus court que celui de Bourgelat, il est 
 legerement couvert," &c. So that the Pancras professor, and the 
 Alfort professor, seem very much to have fallen into the same pit, 
 which Lafosse, who detested these colleges himself from the base 
 conduct of their professors towards him, most unintentionally dug 
 for them. When I was on the Continent twenty years ago, their 
 horses were shod with a thick and rather clumsy shoe, extending full 
 to the inflexions, and is the shoe I have described and figured in my 
 works' as the French shoe, and certainly as good as any not having 
 motion. These horses were then going much better, and those shoes 
 often had the advantage of cover and of calkins, which seem to be 
 denied them for the fore feet by this writer. — If this exposure should 
 procure them any relief, my purpose will be answered in this rather 
 
 abuse these men are led into the commission of a greater. And yet under all dis- 
 advantages, these poor abused and wretched creatures are expected to perform their 
 full labour, which in this country (France) is often revoltingly cruel from its dispropor- 
 tion to the weight and strength of the animal, more so, I have thought, than in England, 
 where also is wanted much reform in this respect. For extreme heavy loads are worse if 
 possible than severe beating and scourging, which all admit to be wrong, and ought to feel 
 it a duty to interfere about, when they see such enormities practised, and repress them ; 
 and this ungenerous infliction is made also upon one of the most willing and unoffending 
 of animals. Surely we are not justified in taking these animals from their natural 
 haunts to serve us, and then in return to ill-treat them, nay, to inflict upon them pu- 
 nishments of the most cruel description. And it appears an anomaly that is unaccount- 
 able, that if a man should tie a horse to a post, and give him a hundred lashes every 
 day as severe as he could contrive to make them, every one who saw it woidd no doubt 
 be revolted at it ; but let him only first put him into some clumsy lumbering machine 
 with four wheels to it, and he might then proceed to give him double the number, and 
 nobody would regard it, though the unconscionable burthen was added to the infliction. 
 
40 
 
 long digression. For an account of the advantages of cover, (or 
 wide bearing surface rather,) he may consult my work on the New 
 Tablet Shoe, which he seems not much acquainted with, (2 Ed. 1827,) 
 and he will there find proof enough of their utility : but why not 
 try them instead of pretending " he does not know their effects." 
 
 As the above knots or points of the inflexural columns are of great 
 consideration in shoeing, we propose for distinction, and speaking of 
 them at once and without circumlocution, to call them, The Nodes 
 of Inflexion, or inflexural nodes, by which they are brought under 
 notice without any tedious explanation of what part we mean, as 
 would be the case if we called them heels. 
 
 We now are led to survey with more close attention the natural 
 foot, given in plate I, and we shall readily see that the outside 
 quarter referred to by the letter c, is more bulging, or describing a 
 wider circuit exteriorly than the inner quarter is observed to do, 
 which is, however, more conspicuous in the lower parts of the hoof 
 than the upper, and destroys in a small degree the cylindrical figure 
 which as a general law it obeys, so difficult is it to confine nature by 
 rule, who sports without controul for her own advantage. 
 
 At first I was led to apprehend that the cylinder of the hoof was 
 in a slight degree twisted on its axis to produce this aberration of 
 figure, but thought afterwards it was better expressed by saying 
 that the bone and contents of the hoof were pressed away, as it 
 were, from the outside, occasioning a greater fulness to the inside 
 quarter of the foot ; and there appears in many feet, though we 
 rarely get them till they have undergone more or less change from 
 shoeing, which reduces the sides to the same figure, a slight differ- 
 ence in the two sides of the coffin bone, which would not fail to com- 
 municate its impressions to the whole foot. But in order to consider 
 all the beauty and purposes of this singular construction, we must 
 dismiss from our views the miserable, coerced, shod foot entirely, and 
 consider the animal in a pure state of nature using his foot without 
 
41 
 
 any defence, and we shall then see what difficulties he would be ex- 
 posed to, which these provisions would diminish or remove. 
 
 The enlargement of the outer quarter of the hoof appears to be 
 attended with many advantages ; it first serves to give more extent to 
 the general bearing of the foot on the ground, and by this increase of 
 bearing to render it more secure and firm ; and secondly, the weight 
 distributed over more points of bearing will be less felt, and is made 
 easier to the animal without incurring the risk of cutting the opposite 
 leg, as would have been the case if such enlargement had taken place 
 on the opposite side, or if both sides of the foot had been made 
 equally spreading. The horn of this outer quarter is also some- 
 thing stouter than that of the inner, which, together with its greater 
 extent, enables the workman usually to place a nail more in this 
 quarter in fixing on the shoe than in the opposite one. And in the 
 wear of this quarter, (in the natural use of the foot for example,) 
 it being the wearing side, should it be severe or carried to excess, — 
 and horses in a state of nature, and for the first thousand years after 
 they were called into the service of mankind, were used entirely 
 without shoes, as we have distinctly proved,*- — so it will be obvious 
 that the attrition would not so soon reach the bone or quick as»it 
 would have done if the bone had been brought to the edge of the 
 hoof on this side, nor would any scraping abrasion or friction, or any 
 rude impression when the hoof grew thin, be so injurious or so much 
 felt. And it will be also equally obvious that the augmented line 
 of surface of the hoof for wear will by this enlargement cause the 
 detrition to proceed much more slowly. 
 
 The internal quarter, or side of the hoof, we see is more fine, as it 
 is called, that is, straighter and less bulging than the outer, the ad- 
 vantages of which are obvious in respect to cutting the other leg ; 
 and this side also is a little thinner in its horn, and extends farther 
 
 * See dissertation on the knowledge of shoeing of the ancients, which will be re- 
 printed at the eH of this volume. 
 
42 
 
 backwards, and is sharper ; it is also more upright, and is fuller or 
 deeper downwards than the opposite quarter ; so that if we went on 
 paring away equal slices of horn from each side of the sole to an 
 horizontal level of the eye, we should sooner arrive at the blood on 
 this inside than on the other. 
 
 More than one useful purpose appears to attend this formation of 
 the foot. The greater elevation of this inside quarter appears to 
 give a slight degree of mechanical advantage to this side by throwing 
 off the weight to the opposite more extensive and stronger side of 
 the hoof, and confers perhaps a degree of ease in the standing as 
 well as going of the animal, which is farther contributed to by its 
 being more yielding and elastic ; and it is also, we may remark, by 
 this provision relieved from the oppression which its proximity to the 
 line of gravity of the trunk falling between the legs would occasion 
 it. It may also, when the animal is in action, be usefully felt from 
 this quarter exposing a broader, more elastic surface for the bone to 
 act against in the sustaining as well as in the first efforts of project- 
 ing the body, as in rising for a leap, &c. We see in the plate how 
 much sharper and more prominent the intortional node is on this 
 inside ; which must protect the sole, and by its sinking into the soil, 
 tend to fix the foot more solidly, and will render the impression 
 also less felt. This inside quarter requires the greatest care and at- 
 tention of the shoeing-smith, who ought to be made to learn its 
 structure and habitudes well before he is permitted to undertake 
 the covering of it with his iron. And in examining their qualifica- 
 tions, this should be made a point of particular inquiry and solicitude : 
 for their ignorance of this it is which causes them to lay their iron 
 upon and bruise this tender point. And the provisions of nature to 
 obviate the bruising of these tender parts are worthy attention. The 
 coffin bone on this account is at its very extremity a little relieved or 
 elevated by a shaving of its thickness being removed from its under 
 side ; and by this means any violent pressure upon this point is avoided 
 by its receding from the general level of the underside of the bone. 
 
43 
 
 These processes or extremities of the coffin bone scarcely exist in 
 the young horse, but extend backwards with the growth of the hoof 
 and the full developement of these parts. 
 
 To prevent any direct pressure on these tenderer parts of the foot, 
 the smiths usually bevil or slope the upper surface of the shoe down- 
 wards and inwards, and which has been much inveighed against by 
 various writers on these subjects, and considered as the principal 
 cause of contracted feet, though those who thus complained, and 
 reasoned without the practice, did not know that horses if shod dif- 
 ferently would not go so well ; for seated shoes level in this part do 
 not, as practice and experience confirm, so well suit the foot as those 
 made with a slight bevil or inclination in every part of their upper 
 surface, which also prevents the horn from cracking up and splitting 
 better than a flat, seated shoe ; and as to the contraction of the heels, 
 we shall see presently that it arises from quite other causes. That un- 
 less carried to a great excess indeed, this bevilling does not appear to 
 make so much difference as might be imagined, and this on account 
 of the firmness with which the foot is held upon the surface of the 
 shoe by the nails, which fix it almost immoveably as to its going either 
 in or out ; and this fixedness is farther aided by the inequalities of 
 the iron to which the* horn adapts itself; for it must be obvious that 
 the inflexural parts of the hoof can have no great extent of motion 
 but in concert with the quarters, and which are, by the nails passing- 
 through them, most immoveably fixed. 
 
 Now the pince of the inside quarter is seen to be vastly more pro- 
 jecting than the pince of the outside quarter ; which is not only so 
 naturally, but is rendered more conspicuously so from the other side 
 being worn away by the natural wear and action of the horse. This 
 prominent part has received a name with the French, who call it La 
 mammelle, or The teat, but with us it is without name. 
 
 We may next remark of the two inferior nodes of the inflexural 
 columns, that on the outside is more evasee, to use a French expres- 
 sion, or extensively thrown out, and tortuous, while that of the inside 
 
 f 2 
 
44 
 
 is deeper, or fuller, and rather thinner, and consequently more elastic 
 in its horn, and rises higher in protecting the point of the sole, and 
 is not so much rubbed away in the natural use of the foot. 
 
 Of the wear of the hoof We may perhaps introduce at this place 
 our remarks on the wear or detrition of the hoof in the natural use 
 of the foot, but which is wholly done away by the defence of the shoe, 
 and which must also operate its peculiar effects upon the foot in 
 diminishing the natural elasticity and liberty of its parts, which such 
 defrication or removal would occasion them to have. That part of the 
 hoof which is rubbed away on the foot meeting the ground and on 
 leaving it, we call the line of wear ; it extends in this foot, as we may 
 see in this elegant plate, from the inside pince to the letter c, very far 
 along the outside quarter, leaving the inside quarter almost full, entire, 
 and free from wear, and is not in front of the foot, or across the ex- 
 tremity of the toe or pince, as might be naturally expected. 
 
 We have thought that the sole along this line of wear is thicker 
 harder and more intimately united to the wall than elsewhere, espe- 
 cially in the natural foot, often communicating a smoothness, hard- 
 ness, and polish to these parts, that the natural soil can make but 
 little impression upon, and which in grass fields, and especially in 
 snows and ice, acquires an almost flinty hardness of surface, and 
 many, very many horses, belonging to gentlemen not using them 
 more than for their own healthful exercise, might go perfectly well 
 entirely without shoes, and so escape all the frightful catalogue of 
 evils that at present belong to this art.* 
 
 * On smooth flat stones, like the flag stones of the streets of London, a horse would 
 probably travel some hundred miles before his hoofs (which would be hardened and 
 polished by them) would be worn through ; and of this description were the Roman 
 causeways, on which the rattling made by the hoofs very naturally suggested their 
 favourite epithet for the horse of, Sonipes. — On an English gravel road I have found 
 by experiment, with a natural foot at five years old, that thirty, or five and thirty miles, 
 is as much as they will do, though by taking all advantages of grass which grew by 
 the road side, of deep sand in places, and by great care, I once rode from Londora 
 to Calne in Wiltshire in less than three days, on my way to Bath, without shoes. 
 
45 
 
 This oblique direction in the wear answers a double purpose of the 
 most useful kind ; for a bare mention of the facts would have hardly 
 any interest if we did not venture to explain the causes of them also. 
 
 In the first place, the attrition and wearing away of the hoof does 
 not proceed so rapidly as it would have done had it gone on in a 
 straight line across the front of the toe from the foot being narrower 
 there, and ceconomy in this respect is of no small value to the animal 
 in a state of nature, or used without shoes, as was formerly the case 
 everywhere, and is still the case in some countries, the wear is thus 
 turned towards the strongest and hardest part of the hoof; and the 
 remarkable bulge, noticeable with this side or quarter of the hoof, 
 extends the line of wearing surface in a still greater degree ; which, 
 with the projection of the mammelle, will also augment this line, and 
 further aid in preventing a too rapid detrition of the hoof. 
 
 And we may farther remark, that this mode of wear of the hoof is 
 not directed to the outside of the foot by any mechanism in the foot 
 itself, but by the bones of the knee having their surfaces for motion 
 directed outwards, so that when the foot is off the ground, or put in 
 motion, it is obliged to follow this direction : cutting, or interfering 
 with the opposite leg, is at the same time also materially prevented by 
 this beautiful arrangement. 
 
 Of the natural bearings of the foot on the ground. It is a cir- 
 cumstance not devoid of interest, in respect to the foot and shoeing, 
 and hitherto unnoticed, that the surface of bearing of the natural 
 hoof is not, as might be expected, round the whole line of the inferior 
 circumference of the wall ; but that the horn of the inside intortional 
 column is, as we have frequently before remarked, on a lower level 
 than the outer inflexion, thereby taking a first impression, and inclin- 
 ing the foot to the opposite side. Next to this, the bearing extends 
 along the quarter to the mammelle, and thirdly, the outer intortional 
 column, take their bearings, thus sustaining the weight, as it were, 
 upon three distant points, acquiring thereby the greatest firmness, 
 
46 
 
 with an extraordinary share of liberty, more so than it could have re- 
 ceived, had it borne equally all round the circumference of the hoof. 
 
 We may also remark, that this inside quarter being brought nearer 
 to the centre of gravity of this extremity of the body, which would 
 probably fall in a perpendicular line between the two fore legs, 
 would perhaps, if not thus elevated, have an undue share of the 
 weight, and also a less power of resisting it, which, by the elevation 
 of this inside of the hoof, is directed more to the opposite side, or is 
 brought by this means to an equipoise of bearing with the other side, 
 and the pressure also by this obliquity is thrown outwards towards 
 the wider and stronger parts of the foot ; and this provision also beau- 
 tifully tends to separate the two feet ; for if the same inclination had 
 been inwards, the approach of the feet to each other would have been 
 the obvious consequence, and would have narrowed the base with 
 certain inconvenience. The inner and posterior more elastic parts of 
 the foot are also more at liberty for the exertion of their elastic pro- 
 perties by the diagonal point of these parts in the wearing line of the 
 foot being wholly removed from the ground, and thus will contribute 
 still farther to the freedom and liberty of every part of the hoof. 
 
 However perfect the shoeing art may at length become, we can 
 liardly expect that it will reach half the perfection of these arrange- 
 ments in the natural bearings of the foot, and at present they are 
 wholly sacrificed. 
 
 Of the external surface of the Hoof. Having traced its general 
 form, and the manner of its using, we now propose to consider its 
 two surfaces. The exterior surface of the wall of the hoof is every- 
 where covered with a shining polished coat of cuticle or epidermis, 
 which ought on no account to be removed, since it is its best defence 
 against the elements without, such as the drying effects of the air, 
 and the rotting and impoverishing effects of soil and dirt. But which 
 coat the more ignorant class of smiths generally remove with mis- 
 chievous activity with their rasps, under the mistaken notion of 
 
47 
 
 cleaning the hoofs, which need only to be washed with water to be 
 perfectly so ; and their taste, I am sorry to say, is no better than to 
 admire this unnatural, denuded offspring of their ill-bestowed labour. 
 And regard it not, though daily seeing its injurious effects, loving 
 rather to have their own way in so obvious an error than to allow 
 themselves in any manner to be instructed. 
 
 The external coat removed, the hoof afterwards, especially in dry 
 weather, often cracks, and these cracks extending, at length reach 
 the quick, and dirt and sand getting in, excessive lameness is the con- 
 sequence, and they are then said to have sand cracks, as though the 
 sand, which only casually occupies the crack, occasioned it. The 
 hoof also drying generally after this proceeding, becomes excessively 
 rotten and brittle, and the nails then easily split it up with terrible 
 consequences, often making a closer nailing necessary than is prudent, 
 and the flesh becoming compressed, pain and lameness ensue, and 
 render the horse almost useless, and often lead to his being pre- 
 maturely destroyed. The whole hoof also, after such a proceeding, 
 is subject to become dry, hard, contracted, and painful to the animal, 
 all these should induce us to forbid it with the greatest solicitude. 
 
 Of the internal surface. The internal surface of the hoof, instead 
 of being smooth like the external, is furnished with a magnificent 
 apparatus of perpendicular leaves, or processes of horn, for the more 
 secure attachment of the foot to the hoof. 
 
 These plates when recently exposed are soft and elastic, but soon 
 dry in the air, and then form a substance very analogous to, if not 
 truly, horn : see pi. 2, fig. 2. These processes, we may observe, in 
 a surprising manner serve to multiply and increase the internal surface 
 of the hoof, and they receive between them other plates of a similar 
 figure which arise from the bones of the foot, and by their inter- 
 susception and locking with each other, afford a suture or bond of 
 union of the strongest kind, and being elastic, they permit also the 
 divers movements which the bones of the foot demand in the hoof, 
 without the risk of laceration or disunion. 
 
48 
 
 As to the number of these processes or leaves, by counting them 
 on one half of the hoof, I found them about two hundred and fifty ; 
 consequently the number of the whole hoof is about five hundred. 
 If we examine them more attentively, their loose or floating edges 
 appear to be thinner than their base, or edges of insertion, and they 
 are often seen torn and ragged by the separation. I also thought 
 that whilst those of the hoof partook more of the nature of horn, 
 those of the foot seemed more of the nature of cartilage ; and as 
 these latter are said to be sometimes ossified, it would seem to prove 
 that they are so, since cartilage is often, but horn never, converted 
 into bone. 
 
 If we remove them from the hoof, and examine them with the mi- 
 croscope, we discover two plans of fibres, the one in parallel lines to 
 the axis of the hoof, and the other obliquely intersecting these ; and if 
 we draw them with the fingers in a perpendicular direction, they appear 
 not to yield much, if any, but drawn transversely, or in an oblique 
 direction downwards and backwards in the direction of the posterior 
 parts of the foot, they extend and are elastic, favouring the natural 
 movements of the internal foot in this direction. 
 
 I have stated already that the weight of the animal was projected 
 more forcibly on the front of the hoof, and we see that the longest 
 and most powerful consequently, of these processes, are there situ- 
 ated ; and we may farther observe, that they are placed obliquely, 
 ascending over the bone of the foot, which is held, as it were, sus- 
 pended by them as to an elastic frame, and from which circumstance 
 it is evident that the lower parts of the hoof should not be too 
 much thinned and weakened, as they sometimes are by the sole and 
 quarters being thinned desperately, by which is endangered the sepa- 
 ration or straining of these tenderer parts, inducing often deformity 
 of the hoof, and sometimes founder, and they appear quite ignorant 
 of the consequences of such a proceeding. 
 
 By this beautiful mechanism it is, together with the distribution of 
 the different parts of the hoof, that this animal obtains that lightness 
 
49 
 
 of carriage and gracefulness, and springiness of action, for which he 
 is so deservedly admired, and which has no existence in the weightier 
 quadrupeds that walk on pads. 
 
 One should be desirous to know the real quantity of increase of 
 surface which such an extraordinary apparatus would afford ; and my 
 late excellent friend, Thomas Evans, LL.D., mathematical teacher of 
 Christ's Hospital, worked this problem for me with, I believe, extra- 
 ordinary scientific precision and accuracy; and without going into all 
 the particulars, for it requires circumspection, it appeared to afford 
 an increase of actual surface more than the simple internal superficies 
 or area of the hoof would give of about twelve times, or about 212 
 square inches, in a horse whose height was about fifteen hands, or 
 one square foot sixty-eight square inches, or nearly one square foot 
 and a half; and this calculation was made upon a horse that had 
 never been shod, in which these processes were found to be trans- 
 versely deeper and more free from colour. 
 
 And it is evident that these plates or processes of horn, independ- 
 ently of their augmentation of the surface, will produce also a still 
 farther strength of union by the adhesion they have to one another, 
 as is the case with all well-fitted and well-applied surfaces, a sort of 
 attractive force that holds them together, and renders any motion 
 upon each other, or separation, very difficult. — The processes proceed- 
 ing from the hoof are generally stiff enough to maintain their figure, 
 but those of the foot are more limber and flaccid after recent sepa- 
 ration, and fall together. 
 
 The union of these processes must produce a suture of most re- 
 markable strength, and from their number and perpendicular depth, 
 any rupture or dislocation by external violence must be truly diffi- 
 cult ; yet we see they are reduced and diminished in breadth by the 
 shoeing, and suffer along with the other elastic parts of the foot; and 
 that they are also subject to become disturbed and disorganized by 
 inflammatory actions, induced not unfrequently by washing the feet 
 in cold water when the horse has been heated by exercise, and suf- 
 
50 
 
 fering them to chill ; a violent inflammation then takes place in these 
 highly-vascular parts, and a partial or complete separation follows : 
 very hot summers, with the rigours of the shoeing process added, will 
 together create fever in these parts that slowly dissolves their union ; 
 and after weakness, induced by any of the above causes, violent 
 racing will alone be sufficient to disunite them and produce founder; 
 as was the case with the Eclipse horse, whose feet are now before 
 me, and also of the famous horse Worthy, and a numerous host of 
 others, that their disturbance and separation is in reality not un- 
 frequent. 
 
 These plates, or lamella?, we may also observe, are continued upon 
 the surface of the inflexions or bars, see plate 3, fig. 1, serving to 
 confirm the view we have taken of the relationship and continued 
 nature of these parts to the wall. And it is not improbable that 
 when the young horse is in strong action, and darting forwards with 
 the velocity almost of a bird's flight, that these posterior parts of the 
 Avail of the hoof would play to the impression of his speed as freely 
 as the" young branches of an osier bent by the wind, and that by 
 their sudden return again to their first position they would materially 
 assist in his rapid career. 
 
 These lamellae, or processes of horn, have been strangely called by 
 some, laminae, as though they were horizontally disposed plates of 
 metal lying one over another in close contact, which can but ill apply 
 to perpendicular sutures like these. We have therefore, to avoid 
 ambiguity, preferred simply to call them the Keraphylla, or horn- 
 leaves, and The Keraphyllous structure* which the French have 
 immediately adopted, and of distinguishing again those of the foot 
 by the term Podophylla, or the Podophyllous structure^ which ap- 
 pellations we shall in future use, as their convenience and superior 
 correctness will we believe be obvious, as well in avoiding any peri- 
 
 * From nepas, cornu, horn, and <pv\\ov, folium, a leaf, 
 f From 7royj,jroSos, pes, a foot, and <pv\\oi>, a leaf. 
 
51 
 
 phrase, as by the other numerous advantages of a proper distinctive 
 name. We may here just remark that these last, the Podophylla, 
 are not actually placed upon the coffin bone itself, but upon a dense 
 reticular web covering its surface, (the reticulum processigerum,) 
 which we must leave for description with the attaching parts. 
 
 In farther pursuing our view of the interior surface of the hoof, 
 we are led to notice the hollow or depressed semi-circle at the top of 
 the hoof : see plate 2, fig. 3. This cavity serves to receive an indu- 
 rated and enlarged process of the skin, which entering it, is securely 
 lodged there, and becomes the secreting organ of the wall of the 
 hoof. The surface of this cavity is seen everywhere besprinkled with 
 innumerable small pores, often arranged in transverse lines, but more 
 frequently without any distinct order ; and we may observe that 
 these pores, though small, are immensely large for vessels not carry- 
 ing red blood, but colourless lymph ; however, in rasping the hoof 
 away deeply near the top, we often see red blood to flow before we 
 arrive at the quick, which serves to show that some of them will 
 admit the red blood for some little distance down them. Perspirable 
 fluid is elaborated in these vessels, which is shown by putting a cold 
 metal plate under the hoof, which collects it abundantly. As this 
 depressed circle passes backwards in the hoof, it becomes wider and 
 more shallow, especially at the inflexions, which probably adapts it to 
 the more extensive and varied movements of these parts where it 
 abruptly terminates. 
 
 The hardened, or more cartilaginous skin, which fills this part, has 
 been strangely mistaken by some for a ligament, though neither in 
 structure nor in office has it the least approach to this description of 
 parts.* In order to speak of it without a circumlocution, I have 
 given it the name of Cutidura, and the cavity containing it, the 
 cutidural, or cutigeral cavity, and which the French have also 
 adopted ; and in every animal having hoofs, claws, or even nails, a simi- 
 
 * See Coleman on the Foot of the Horse, p. 225, pi. 3, g, g, g. 
 g2 
 
52 
 
 lar part will be found. It is probably the skin hardened and divested 
 in some measure of its sensibility, in order that the impressions upon it, 
 which must be strong, should not be too much felt : for it is a perfect 
 continuation of the skin, and without any interruption whatever : it 
 is true the groove, into which the frog-band enters, is situated just 
 above it, and which has occasioned no doubt these adroit anatomists 
 to carve, mal apropos, a division there. 
 
 The pores seen in the cutigeral concavity, I need hardly observe, 
 are the openings or orifices of an infinity of capillary tubes, of which 
 the hoof is composed, and serve to convey the vessels for succulence 
 and the perspiration of the hoof, and for maintaining its toughness, 
 and where these vessels terminate, and the access of nutritive fluid 
 ceases, probably, there the horn loses its coherence and life, and falls 
 away; which may perhaps explain the natural course and also throw 
 light upon the singular phenomenon we so often see of morbidly 
 lengthened hoofs to such a remarkable degree, as to lose entirely 
 their proper figure, and to turn up in front, in horses as well as asses ; 
 in which case perhaps it is that these vessels, from some morbid 
 cause, are lengthened out in an extraordinary degree, which permits 
 the hoof also to follow the same course. We observe this process 
 generally in animals that have been sometime shod, and then are 
 left without shoes ; and we may remark, that in shoeing, the iron, by 
 being driven with great force directly against the openings of these 
 perpendicular tubes, must effectually close them, and arrest all trans- 
 piration through them : whether such obstruction may in some feet 
 influence or contribute in any manner to this morbid affection I know 
 not, and leave, having mentioned it, to be ascertained by future 
 research : sometimes though rarely however in natural feet, with the 
 ass more particularly, this morbid growth has taken place, we believe, 
 without their having ever been shod. 
 
 And these filiform vessels which enter the wall of the hoof are of 
 a nature longer than those of the sole, hence its greater length, 
 whilst those of the sole being shorter and quickly perishing determine 
 
53 
 
 its relative thickness to be so much less, at least, such appears to us 
 at present the most probable solution of this phenomenon. The 
 wall of the hoof will also admit, though but imperfectly, a division 
 into two longitudinal tables, the exterior one more hard and variously 
 coloured, and the interior one white or colourless, and is much softer, 
 and as it passes more interiorly is disposed into parallel lines, which 
 at length become the detached foliations of the keraphylla, which are 
 however secreted along with it in its formation at the coronet, and this 
 along with the rest of the wall of the hoof is apparently given off 
 by the cuticle, or perhaps rather by the same cutaneous vessels as 
 secrete this universal covering of the body. 
 
 This cutigeral concavity in cases of founder, where the internal or 
 sensitive foot sinks down within the hoof, is in part or wholly obli- 
 terated, and we see in its place an extended flat surface of consi- 
 derable width, and the hoof in this case becomes ribbed, wrinkled, 
 or deformed, or grows to a thickened shapeless mass of horn, and 
 the coffin bone also sinking and losing its place, and its sharp edges 
 being absorbed, it becomes rounded, and at length reposes in an 
 indented hollow formed in the middle of the sole. 
 
 Of the formation of the ivall. This we have already stated is done 
 by the cutidura, and is a production of the cuticle itself, or more 
 certainly of the same vessels which form this part ; nevertheless, all 
 parts of the surface of the internal foot can produce horn, as we 
 plainly see when horn has been removed by any circumstance from the 
 sides of the foot, horn will form there, and so wonderful are the re- 
 sources of nature, that if the cutidura itself has been removed, as in 
 quittor cases, the skin then assuming its office, will form horn, though 
 the horn so formed does not appear so well organized as when formed 
 by its proper natural cornifacient agent, and on the removal of a 
 sand crack, even the cutidura shall throw out a shapeless lump of 
 horn, which is by the succession or after growth from the coronet at 
 last reduced to its proper thickness and original dimensions of the 
 wall. 
 
54 
 
 To prevent the very disastrous consequences which would attend 
 a separation or detachment of the cutidura from its adherence to this 
 cavity of the hoof is one of the very important offices of the frog-band, 
 which, passing over it, secures this tender line of connection, that 
 rough bodies grazing along the surface of the hoof should be carried 
 by this means safely over it to the skin above. 
 
 Of the composition of the hoof The wall of the hoof in its struc- 
 ture will be found, we believe, to be very simple, for it appears to 
 consist or is made up entirely of threads or hollow tubes of extreme 
 fineness consolidated and glued together in parallel lines by inter- 
 posing horn, that if we wanted a true notion of this construction, 
 we may fancy to ourselves, a lock of hair, which are so many tubes 
 of horn, immersed in glue and then dried and it would give us a 
 mass very strictly analogous to the horn of the wall, and the sole 
 appears only to differ in being shorter in respect to these tubuli or 
 filaments of vessels passing into it, it is however of a much softer, 
 coarser, and looser texture as to its horn, and therefore, more elas- 
 tic, which its office seems to demand ; and the immediate organ or 
 agent of its secretion appears to be a process or elongation from the 
 skin brought down thus far for the purpose ; this, we think, we have 
 decidedly observed in carefully dissecting this part. 
 
 And we may further remark in terminating this description of the 
 wall, that if by any accident the podophyllous and keraphyllous 
 structure are both destroyed, this fine organization is not again re- 
 newed, but the reparation is made by a plain, smooth, flat, surface 
 of horn not duly organized. 
 
 It ..appears also important to observe in respect to this part, the 
 wall, that it can have characters wholly at variance as is the case in 
 respect to the high and lofty or upright hoof, and the hoof that is 
 extremely flat, and so different are they that they seem to require a 
 different management in the shoeing and treatment, also in rearing. 
 Since all the parts of the very flat hoof are thinner, weaker, and 
 requiring a lighter but more extensive bearing and defence than does 
 
55 
 
 the upright foot, and the shoeing is not only advantageous, but 
 almost necessary to such a foot, but to the very upright it would be 
 often superfluous, and is in its effects more rapidly injurious, and 
 also too much wet in rearing the flat hoof should be avoided, which 
 cannot do to the other so much harm. 
 
 It also appears to me, that it would be attended with many advan- 
 tages if we should give to this important member of the hoof, the 
 wall, a distinctive name that would bear the inflections of language, 
 as we could then at any time detach it, and separately consider it in 
 its relations to the other parts ; and for this purpose we have appro- 
 priated to it the term Onuchus, which can be employed adjectively, 
 which the term wall could not : its use in facilitating our remarks 
 may be seen in the following examples. The onuchal part in the 
 foot of every animal determines the form of the rest of the hoof, and 
 gives the law to the other parts. Existing singly, it constitutes a 
 nail. With a sole only it forms a claw, and when pointed and in- 
 curvated, a bird's claw, or talon. And with a sole and frog, it makes 
 a complete and most perfected hoof. Onuchal disease will mostly 
 lead to a distortion of the other parts of the hoof. Bi-onuchal in- 
 flection, or double inflexion of the onuchus, is peculiar to the horse 
 tribes, &c. 
 
 Having now shown the general form of the wall of the hoof, and 
 noticed in succession all its parts in a way not before understood, we 
 proceed to its next member, the frog, which we shall see has been 
 as little understood as to its real structure, and, miserably for the 
 animal, still worse appreciated in respect to its functions and office. 
 
 Of the Frog. 
 
 As this part of the foot has led to more mistakes in the shoeing 
 than any other part of it, so we shall bestow upon it the more care 
 and attention to exhibit correctly its structure and economy, in 
 order that it may not suffer any more punishment by the cruel bat- 
 terings and squeezings that have been so unmercifully proposed for 
 
56 
 
 it by the unaccountable misapprehensions of these colleges, where 
 nonsense is taught by authority and widely disseminated, and where 
 men have hitherto really been placed officially to teach an art which 
 they had themselves yet to learn, and where, instead of delivering 
 their opinions with a suspicious diffidence and wariness, from know- 
 ing their real situation, they have uttered their absurd dogmas with 
 all the confidence of well-ascertained truths, and afterwards, though 
 plainly confuted, have persisted through pride in maintaining them. 
 And it is lamentable to think of the hundreds of young men that 
 have been thus misled by these teachers, and of the thousands of 
 horses which have been punished, bumpt and thumpt upon their 
 frogs through their impenetrable obstinacy and folly. And what is 
 worse, when the truth in clearest evidence lay before them, instead 
 of embracing it joyfully, they have tried in every way to stifle her 
 by wilful misrepresentations and the abuse of those who had espoused 
 her cause ; and next to these miserable courses they have added a 
 barbarity, surpassing in refined cruelty even the unsoleing or any 
 other cruelty ever proposed by the old farriers — that of nerving the 
 horses legs when they were not relieved by their injudicious measures ; 
 and so destroyed the very fundamental properties of the foot, instead 
 of pursuing the natural and most obvious means of prevention and 
 relief from the evil which new and undeniable discoveries had some- 
 time since presented to the world, and which had been confirmed by 
 very sufficient testimonies of men no way interested in the affair, 
 otherwise than by a desire of serving the cause of truth and hu- 
 manity; and from seeing and deeply feeling the very great injury 
 done to the animals as well as to the public and ourselves, we cannot 
 on such an occasion but express warmly our natural and, we believe, 
 just indignation at such conduct. 
 
 In now presuming to unfold this curious part, the frog of the 
 horses foot, we may observe, that we enter upon it with the more 
 pleasure and confidence from having in former years been permitted 
 to disclose several of its parts not before known or understood, and 
 
* 1 
 
 I-H 
 
 HI 
 
 til 
 I l| 
 
 > I i* 
 
 Jit 
 
 i I I 
 
 *US 
 
57 
 
 we now hope to add to it a more full account of its real functions 
 and construction, nor should we be disposed thus particularly to lay 
 claim to these things if not driven to it by experiencing that we have 
 nothing to expect from the liberality, or candour, or truth of these 
 colleges, who have endeavoured to bury and conceal them, but who, 
 had they understood their true interests, would have been the first, 
 as in duty they were bound to be, being paid for it, to extend their 
 aid to us in promulgating them and in forwarding their application to 
 the services of the animals and of mankind, instead of, by bad pre- 
 parations of them, or none at all, concealing them and misrepresenting 
 them, and by giving to their class mean descriptions of them, making 
 them to appear as of little or no importance, almost as though the 
 Almighty had been indeed insufficient in his works. 
 
 As we have already seen that an interruption or break to the 
 continuity of the horny circle becomes necessary for the purposes 
 before stated — of destroying resistance in this part of the foot, so 
 this singular organ is provided to fill up the triangular chasm left by 
 the ends of the wall being inflected towards the centre of the foot 
 instead of meeting at the heels, affording thereby full efficiency to 
 this beautiful design : see pi. 2, fig. 2, and pi. 3, fig. 1. 
 
 Now the frog is every where attached to the upper edges of these 
 introverted limbs or bars, which in passing downwards, are also seen 
 to be reflected outwards ; and by this direction disposed away from 
 the sides of the frog, in order clearly that it should not suffer com- 
 pression from them : and we may remark, that the very reverse of 
 such an arrangement would certainly have been the case if the frog 
 had really been destined to the office of acting against these inflections 
 to force them open, as the frog-squeezing advocates have imagined. 
 We may again observe that this part, the frog, narrows also down- 
 wards as it proceeds from its attachments or insertion, and conse- 
 quently still renders wider the space between, and makes their contact 
 next to impossible in any forcible way, the reverse of all which would 
 have been the case had any such office as that of forcing the in- 
 
 H 
 
58 
 
 flections open been intended. And the sharp part of this supposed 
 wedge is turned to the ground, and not to the object it is supposed to 
 act against. And further, if we look at the base of the frog, which 
 part has its great width, matter and power, we there see a hollow 
 cavity, being the base of the frog-stay. Now would any mechanic of 
 common sense make a hollow space in the very point of the chief 
 resistance of his wedge ? 
 
 In my early studies at this college, as it is called, I was also led into 
 frog-squeezing notions, derived I know not how, but I believe from 
 St. Bel, and these ideas held me for some years ; becoming engaged 
 in actual practice, the best of all teachers, where there is reflection 
 and openness to conviction, and a distrust of reasoning ; I first was 
 led, from seeing bad effects from it, to doubt the truth of this fasci- 
 nating delusion, which ended soon after in a conviction of its fallacy. 
 
 I was next led to consider what part in the structure of other ani- 
 mals this frog could be allied to, and referred it to a correspondence 
 with the central pads in the feet of the digitated animals ; but after- 
 wards saw also that this in some respects was not correct, since the 
 pad in the dog and cat's foot is designed for a primary impression on 
 the ground for the impulsion of the animal ; but not so the frog of 
 the horse, for it clearly would not have done for an animal of such 
 weight, and destined to be of the first order of fleetness, to depend 
 on soft parts for his primary impulsion, as such softness would cer- 
 tainly have very much paralyzed, if not entirely destroyed, its effect. 
 It was necessary, therefore, he should have a more solid point, or 
 range of points rather, of bearing for this purpose, and which is fully 
 afforded him in the solidity and more extensive circuit of the hoof. 
 
 It may be remarked, however, that this part is really analogous in 
 some respects to the pads in other animals, for it consists of the same 
 materials, viz., horn, ligament, tendon, and resilient elastic stuffing : 
 these, however, are beautifully separated into classes in the horse, 
 forming a much more elaborate and noble design than in the pads, 
 where they appear almost, if I may be allowed the expression, heaped 
 
59 
 
 together and inordinately mixed. The horn also of the frog in the 
 horse is pure and abundant, and not that cartilaginous horny skin 
 which is found with the pad. The frog also appears to be more pos- 
 teriorly placed in the foot of the horse than the pad is in the digitated 
 quadrupeds, that is, in relation to the whole foot. We now take an 
 external view of this interesting and somewhat anomalous organ and 
 of all its parts, their various uses and abuses, with a summing up of 
 the evidence upon the question of frog-pressure, and shall conclude 
 with giving the various names that this part has obtained among dif- 
 ferent nations. 
 
 In turning to the frontispiece, or plate I., the reader is presented 
 with an interesting view of the frog of the horse's foot, and it is the 
 first time, perhaps, that this part has ever been very truly represented; 
 it is, indeed, a view of the organ at five years old in its perfectly 
 natural state, unhacked, and unsliced, or in any way disfigured by the 
 workers in iron. 
 
 In its general mass, it appears of a lozenge or triangular form, and 
 its sides growing narrower, are seen sloping away to its summit, or 
 rather, indeed, its inferior surface. This inferior surface is flattened, 
 and in the middle a little depressed, beyond which a considerable 
 bulbous enlargement appears, and from which it suddenly narrows to 
 a sharpish point, and terminates. 
 
 The above rotundity, or swell of the frog, rising considerably more 
 to the light than the rest of the surface, is sufficiently conspicuous ; 
 it is, however, almost the only foot in which I remember distinctly to 
 have seen it, for it is the only foot at five years old that I ever saw 
 that had not been in one way or other mutilated by the smiths, and 
 at an earlier period than this all the parts of the foot are not deve- 
 loped. On making a perpendicular section of the foot through this 
 enlargement, it is found nearly opposite, or under the shuttle bone. 
 A two-fold purpose is combined in this structure, as in most other 
 parts of this exquisite piece of mechanism. It appears as though 
 provided to defend the important tendon passing under the above 
 
 h2 
 
60 
 
 bone from injury : and it contributes by its pressure to give support 
 to this tendon, by pressing against it at the moment of its greatest 
 extension, which takes place while the foot is on the ground impelling 
 the weight of the body, and prevents it from being torn from its 
 attachment, or breaking at the sudden turn here given to it in passing 
 beneath the coffin-bone ; and it doubles the force of its attachment, 
 or more than doubles it, if the strain be more, for if the pressure of 
 the ground permit it, it will be proportionate. It also serves to 
 defend the joint formed by the two foot bones, and the most import- 
 ant soft parts of the foot. 
 
 By way of distinguishing this useful part from the rest of the frog, 
 we have familiarly called it the Cushion of the frog. In young feet 
 it is not very distinguishable. 
 
 The frog, a triangle of elastic horn, has the effect of, and may not be 
 inaptly compared to, an elastic key-stone received into an elastic arch, 
 communicating, in some cases, and admitting in all, the springing 
 movements of such kind of arch. Its base, from its width and quan- 
 tity of matter, possesses the full capacity of its motion along with 
 the inflections, but which is gradually lost in approaching the centre 
 of the foot where there is less occasion for movement. 
 
 If we observe the base of the frog in the engraving annexed, there 
 may be remarked about the middle of it a pretty considerable cavity 
 or excavation, the edges of which are truly represented with rising 
 lips or prominent margins of stouter horn : this hollow is termed the 
 Cleft of the frog ; (see frontispiece ;) the sides sloping pretty sud- 
 denly, form a longitudinal line at the bottom of the cavity, thus ter- 
 minating it. 
 
 This cavity appears to serve the following useful purposes. It is 
 a safe-guard from rupture between the two halves or divisions into 
 which the foot is almost separated at this part ; by closing when 
 pressure comes direct upon the underside of the frog, it prevents too 
 much condensation of the horn of this part, and consequent pressure, 
 and a too solid resistance upon the soft parts beneath ; when the foot 
 
61 
 
 bears partially on the ground, as by one side only, which will happen 
 occasionally where the surface is irregular, it can then extend along 
 with that side of the foot without rupturing, by the greater liberty it 
 thus affords to the part, and the strength of its margin secures it from 
 laceration. This Indent or Cavity may also in soils of a looser nature 
 hold the foot more firmly, by the irregularity it offers to the surface ; 
 as in loose ground, sands, clays, &c. 
 
 But what we could wish to have more particularly noticed respect- 
 ing this cell or cleft of the frog is, that it is prevented from rupturing 
 inwards towards the quick by a stout considerable cone of horn pass- 
 ing directly from it into the sensitive frog, and of which cone this 
 cleft will be found to be only the hollowed base : see pi. 3, fig. 2, a, b, 
 which is a perpendicular section presenting an excellent view of it. 
 It is also worthy of notice, that this solid cone of horn, though 
 passing within the sanguiferous and sensitive parts of the foot, is 
 nearly or quite as hard and tough as is the horn in the exterior of 
 the frog exposed to the air, in order apparently to give it efficiency 
 in resisting rupture from external assault. And this cone, we may 
 observe, commences nearly opposite to the termination of the heels 
 of the coffin-bone, assisting the duplicatures or columns of the in- 
 flections, in strengthening these posterior parts in the absence of 
 bone : the posterior blunt end of the frog-stay is adhering to the 
 middle of the curtain of the frog. 
 
 The sides of this cone are somewhat compressed or flattened, and 
 its upper and front edge obtusely sharp. This part was not much 
 attended to before, and being without even a name, I gave it the 
 epithet frog-stay, which the French have also adopted, in calling it 
 arrette-fourchette, from its closing the frog, and holding more firmly 
 its halves together. 
 
 This singular provision, hitherto so little regarded, of the frog of 
 the horse, seems to serve the purpose of uniting more firmly the two 
 halves, of which the foot, at this part, really consists ; there being a 
 tendency to a division in the hind part of the horse's foot as in the 
 
cloven-footed animals. And this part, though but small, is indeed 
 truly important in the offices of the foot as well as its diseases, for 
 this cone of horn not only forms the main barrier to the separation 
 of the two halves of the frog when violence is offered; but what 
 is more worth our attention is, that it appears to be this part when 
 forced or destroyed that becomes the true source and cause of the 
 Running Frush, and which well understood will lead us to a better 
 knowledge of this disagreeable complaint. As we mean on some 
 future occasion to give a more enlarged account of this matter,* we 
 shall only state here very briefly the manner this appears to happen. 
 When this cone is defectively formed by nature, as by the want of 
 sufficient bulk, or by weakness of its contexture — when reduced or 
 wasted away from the same evils that reduce and waste the general 
 mass of the horn of the frog, as the pressure of the shoe — or be- 
 coming too brittle, hard, and dry, as from cutting and stable exposure, 
 it is in consequence liable to be broken by external violence — or is de- 
 cayed or weakened by much exposure to wet or filth ; — in either of 
 these cases its rupture admits a passage and lodgment for externally 
 destructive agents, as wet, dirt, urine, &c, or even its own secretions 
 lodging in the part are sufficient for this effect : these destroying the 
 horn, at length reach the quick and sensitive parts, whose irritated 
 surfaces produce the discharge in question ; and thus the thrush 
 appears to be formed : (see pi. 3, fig. 3, t,) where the frog-stay is in 
 part ruptured, and the frush in its progress. Another view of this 
 part, with the frog and band detached, is seen. (pi. 4, fig. 2, k.) 
 
 It may also have escaped the notice of some engaged in these 
 studies, that an extension of the skin passes beneath the frog, and is 
 the first part or surface that gives out the frushy discharge, till at 
 length in bad cases it gets destroyed, and the more internal parts 
 become affected. This curious fact of the skin may be noticed by 
 
 * On Running Frush and Ring-bone. (London, 1821,) With a successful mode of 
 curing it. 
 
slitting open the frog and turning it back, when a process of it may 
 be distinctly traced growing thinner as it approaches the sole. 
 
 It has been generally imagined hitherto, that contracted heels were 
 the great cause of thrush ; but we may remark, that the last stage or 
 degree of contraction, may exist in feet without any thrush whatever : 
 it is therefore not a necessary consequence of the contracted heel, 
 but of the casual occurrence of certain circumstances which we have 
 described ; for the converse of this is also true, viz., that without any 
 contraction at all there shall be thrushes, as in the young feet just 
 mentioned, and indeed in grown up feet, and one contracted foot 
 shall have it and not the other, though equally so, and of the self- 
 same horse. 
 
 We hope this discovery respecting the nature of thrushes may not 
 be unacceptable to those who are in any way interested about horses, 
 as it sets in a clearer light the genuine source of a very obscurely- 
 beheld and disagreeable complaint. 
 
 The Frog-stay, it is evident, will essentially co-operate with the 
 coronary Frog-band next to be described, in keeping the whole struc- 
 ture of these parts together, and especially under circumstances that 
 might tend to disunite them, as in the suction of strong clays, or in 
 swampy ground, &c. 
 
 This part is much stronger in proportion, we have thought, in 
 horses of the blood than in coarser bred horses. 
 
 Still pursuing our external view of this part as it is presented in 
 the engraving, we are now about to describe a most singular provision 
 of the hoof, which, though truly conspicuous, has strangely escaped 
 an intelligible notice from all preceding writers on this subject. 
 
 In regarding the base of the frog in this engraving, we see on each 
 side of it the columns of the inflections of the hoof very much fore- 
 shortened, and the frog is sending off laterally two stout processes of 
 horn to firmly surround and envelope the sharp posterior edges of 
 these inflections at their upper parts, and which form there two very 
 dense rounded elastic bulbs of horn, (see letters a and b,) in order to 
 
64 
 
 keep together and restrain any violent separation of these parts of 
 the hoof, which would have been attended with disastrous conse- 
 quences : we have also another view of these bulbs in plate 3, fig. 1, 
 giving an horizontal section of them. Now we shall next observe, 
 that by means of these bulbs, a connection is formed in a most unex- 
 pected and singular manner of the frog with the front of the hoof; 
 for these wings, or lateral processes, continue their course round the 
 whole line of the commencement of the hoof, forming a convex band 
 which is firmly adhering to the hoof, and sending off its upper edge 
 or margin above the limits of the hoof to be attached or deeply 
 inserted into a fossa of the skin, and serving in its place a variety of 
 very important offices : see pi. 4, fig. 1, its natural appearance, and at 
 fig. 2, its appearance when detached. 
 
 One of its offices, we have formerly stated, that of securing the 
 joint which is made between the skin and hoof from the imminent 
 danger of a disunion by any rude body grazing along the surface of 
 the hoof, and passing into it, which would by this shield be diverted 
 from entering the joint, and be carried over it in safety to the skin 
 above. It appears also to serve the useful office of keeping the thin 
 tender upper fine edge of the hoof from growing dry and hard, and 
 irritating the skin it is connected with ; this part being ever, when 
 in its natural state, and not changed by stable heats, or the fever ari- 
 sing from shoeing, of the most agreeable toughness, pliancy, and 
 softness. I have however seen the smiths in their rage for rasping, 
 nearly rasp away the whole of this band. 
 
 It has also the power of supporting the foot from too much sinking 
 downwards within the hoof; and we may be able, by attending to this 
 circumstance, to explain the extraordinary flatness of the hoof that 
 has been long foundered, and arising from the pressure of this band 
 upon its upper parts. And it will be found, therefore, particularly useful 
 if we pay attention to it, in exposing and detecting the first tendency 
 to this miserable disorder. It appears also to be rather broader, we 
 have observed in the hind, than in the fore feet. 
 
%,: 
 
 / ~ - 
 
 ma 
 
 t «i 
 
 
 .< .< < "j 
 
 
 > I 
 
 £jb 
 
 
65 
 
 It absorbs moisture like a sponge, and when wetted by the grooms, 
 I have seen it swell by the application of the water, and become sen- 
 sibly more prominent, and assume a darker colour in consequence, 
 whilst all the other parts of the hoof have suddenly dried, which 
 from their feverish state they are in a general way but too apt to do. 
 
 It is probable this band is ever supplied with moisture from its 
 connection with the vessels of the skin, and at times also, no doubt, 
 from perspiration running down upon it. And one cannot fail to 
 imagine, in the hot regions of the torrid zone, as of Arabia or Lybia, 
 the native countries of the horse, and where the foot is immersed 
 in burning sands, the great relief that a band so soft and pliant must 
 afford to these tender parts. 
 
 A more important office still remains to be disclosed than any of 
 the above, which is, that it acts as a powerful elastic ligament in hold- 
 ing the exterior edge of the cutidura all round the hoof securely in 
 its place from the various assaults to which it is particularly exposed, 
 whilst the interior edge or margin of it, is securely held by the Kera- 
 phyllous and Podophyllous structure, and its middle by the arteries 
 entering the hoof. 
 
 Every one used at all to examining the hoof, or of dissecting it at 
 least, must have observed, when the foot is drawn out of it, a project- 
 ing eminence of soft horn with a channel inside it : this is the upper 
 edge of this band. And this appearance we had often noticed in our 
 dissections with a degree of surprise, and but little imagined it was a 
 separate part of the hoof, and without once suspecting its origin ; nor 
 should we probably have discovered it, but from accidentally making, 
 without the expectation of any such result, (for we cannot look for a 
 part of which we know not the existence,) an horizontal section with 
 a saw through the middle of the inflections ; the loose edges of the 
 bulbs then presented, and conducted me to the band, and showed 
 their connexion ; and the inflected nature of the hoof immediately 
 also became apparent. 
 
 It seems to be intended to unite the sensible parts with the insen- 
 sible, that is, the solid hoof with the tender skin, which its pliancy 
 
and extraordinary softness peculiarly fits it for. It also serves 
 strongly to bind these upper parts of the hoof together, and to assist 
 in holding the frog and its bulbs more firmly in their situation. It 
 receives great strength from being attached to the surface of the 
 hoof in nine tenths of its width, as paper glued to a board partakes 
 also of its strength ; and the difficulty of rupturing it, or of drawing 
 it out from its lodgment in the skin, also manifests its power, and 
 its very various offices sufficiently bespeak its utility and advantages. 
 
 A book, a very big book indeed, on the foot and shoeing, has been 
 published some time back in Paris, by one Jauze, of the Alfort school 
 I believe, who declares this band to be no new discovery at all, for that 
 it was well known to Bourgelat and to the French veterinarians, and 
 that it was nothing else but his bourrelet graisseux ; thus showing his 
 total ignorance of the part by mistaking it for the cutidura; which is 
 in reality no band at all. This, with other malevolent remarks of 
 Jauze, were very neatly answered by my friend, Professor Huzard, 
 jun., in a small work, entitled, " Quelques Observations" fyc. Paris, 
 1818 ; who afterwards signified to me that they were not really written 
 by Jauze himself, but by one of the pupils of Alfort, and that he only 
 was weak enough to father them. That my own countrymen should 
 not fall into the same error, I wrote, in the first edition of my work, 
 the following sort of manifesto or warning, which I should not have 
 repeated in this edition, but as it serves to show the animus I then 
 had towards Coleman and the college ; a place I acknowledge I once 
 studied in with great delight, and wish I could still continue to 
 praise it.* 
 
 * In the works of Professor Coleman there is a Coronary Ligament described and 
 figured, Plate 3, p. 225, g, g, g, vol. II. on the horse's foot. This ligament, I at first 
 apprehended might be the Frog-band in question, but on examining the description of 
 it, it appears not at all to accord with the part here given. The Frog-band in no re- 
 spect partakes of the ligamentous texture, but is of nearly or quite the same matter as 
 the horn of the frog ; neither is it lodged in the coronary concavity of the hoof, the con- 
 cave part of the hoof, where this ligament is said to be found, has ever appeared to us 
 
67 
 
 Now I am, as it were, rather upon French ground, I may here just 
 observe also, that honest Professor Girard, after having done me the 
 honour of consigning my discovery of the elastic principle of the horse's 
 foot to his countryman Lafosse, supporting his arguments by false quo- 
 tations taken from a purposely corrupted English version, by one who 
 knew little or nothing of the French language, which any one, reading 
 the original work, will in a moment see and detect the injustice of 
 this piece of unprovoked and illiberal dealing on his part, and in- 
 sinuating my nameless obligations to some Frenchman, also nameless ; 
 and after having thus handsomely prepared his way, he next quietly 
 purloins the above band into the second edition of his own work with 
 nearly every other observation of mine of any value, and without 
 making scarcely a single note of commendation or acknowledgment ! 
 It is with pleasure, however, that I have to record the very reverse of 
 this conduct in a private French veterinary practitioner of Paris, 
 M. Crepin, one of the editors of the Journal pratique, who, in 
 
 to be filled up simply by an enlargement or process of the skin itself, that is, the cutis 
 vera, not separable in any way by dissection, or maceration, or any other means we 
 could devise. One should apprehend it was some inadvertence of the dissector, who 
 had by the knife formed the skin into this appearance. In suggesting, however, this 
 probability of an error, (if it be one,) we could desire to elicit the truth by further in- 
 quiry into these parts, for they have been really but little examined ; and in doing this, 
 we could wish to testify our respect for the head of an establishment we ardently wish 
 to see flourish, and whose works alone we have thought deserving of notice ; and ask 
 but the same charitable construction on our own errors from others. Indeed it is high 
 time the wretched style of declamation and abusive writing on these subjects should 
 give way to a better taste — that of real investigation and research, as in other objects 
 of a scientific nature, by which alone the art can receive any useful accessions, and the 
 horse be benefited. 
 
 The empty verbosity of style alluded to above began about tbe reign of Charles the 
 Second, or a little earlier, and has continued with few exceptions ever since. It was 
 unknown before this period, and was in reality the natural produce and legitimate off- 
 spring of jockeyism and the race-course. How little has been added to our knowledge 
 by such writings may be readily seen, and in what a disgusting light they begin already 
 to appear. 
 
 i 2 
 
68 
 
 public and in private, has made an unreserved avowal and acknow- 
 ledgment of his estimation of these discoveries. 
 
 The importance of this principle, which the French so contend for 
 the discovery of, does not seem yet to be at all felt in England ; smo- 
 thered up by college tricks, it seems indeed of so simple and abstract 
 a nature, as to be almost nothing ; and it was long after the effects of 
 it were familiar to me before I could give it a definite name, or what 
 these effects I had witnessed should be referred to ; it is the term, 
 elasticity, however, which by its exercise and use will explain, like 
 the principle of gravitation in the hands of the astronomer, nearly 
 every thing that before was dark and obscure in the arts of the foot. 
 
 This band is not very large at two or three years old, but acquires 
 its size with the growth of the frog, and along with it completes its 
 bulk and form. 
 
 I have seen in the foot of a cart-horse the horn of the frog-band 
 extending nearly half way down the hoof, which seemed of use in 
 protecting it from too much dryness ; and it is remarkable how long 
 moisture will preserve it from falling off. And I have also observed 
 in two or three cases, where from a tread or a quittor, this band had 
 been detached from its connexion with the skin, and also from the 
 hoof, and was exposed to the pus and secretions of the sore, that it 
 swelled to the thickness of the little finger nearly, and strongly re- 
 sembled both when handled, and in appearance, a mass of chaoutchouc 
 extract, or Indian rubber, and keeping up a considerable irritation to 
 the ulcer beneath it, so that it became finally necessary to remove it, 
 or at least divide it. And I have seen also the discharge from a bad 
 frush occasion the frog-bulbs to extend and cover over the inflexural 
 columns quite down to the ground from the moisture thus afforded, 
 instead of being naked half way up as they usually are seen. 
 
 Having been the first to describe this part, so I have ventured also 
 to give to it a name, having called it the Frog-band, or Coronary 
 
frog-band ;* but as this appellation will not apply to other animals 
 which have no frogs, — for it is universally found represented in some 
 way or other in all animals whose extremities are terminated by horn, 
 — to meet therefore such a general claim, I have bestowed on it 
 the term Periople, from irspi, circum, and ov\r,, armatura, or the hoof. 
 By which we can freely communicate all we wish respecting its pro- 
 perties or structure without a periphrase, as in the following exam- 
 ples. The thin edging or cuticle, as it is thought to be, covering the 
 water whale, or root of the human nail, is in fact a perioplic rudiment. 
 A perioplic covering for the conjunction of skin and horn seems to 
 pervade all nature ; but in the horse is seen the perfected fulness of 
 this member in all its functions and structure. Abrasion of the peri- 
 ople is attended with excessive irritation, a case of which we once 
 saw in a horse, nor could any unguent or emollient supply its place. 
 
 This band suffers when the other parts of the hoof are affected, 
 and then often makes a dry and withered appearance, — as by the 
 effects of shoeing and stable feed and air ; but against black hoofs it 
 is often a most conspicuous object. It also appears to have the power, 
 if kept in too dry a state from heat and fever of the feet, to contract 
 
 * This part was invisible in the museum of the college when I visited it some years 
 ago, and afterwards only a most miserable specimen could be seen of it ; and on con- 
 versing with more than one young man of the fully qualified and diplomatized of the 
 college, I could not find that they had any distinct ideas of the existence of such a 
 part : so very communicative is a privileged royal school for the promotion of know- 
 ledge. Surely Pitt did well in rejecting the proposals of Dr. William Hunter for 
 framing a government national school for professing and teaching physic. The sciences 
 and arts certainly want no such aids, or rather, impediments. 
 
 And I confess I felt it a little hard, after making so many unquestionable discoveries, 
 and the expenses I had been exposed to in one way or other with these animals, that 
 no proposition for a reward, no expression of favour, ever reached me from the college, 
 though every year we heard of the great pecuniary rewards that were being showered 
 upon the professors' partner, William Sewell, for pretended discoveries he had made, 
 but which we could easily have shown, had we been consulted, were no discoveries of 
 his at all, and of which he never dared to make any public avowal, or to give any de- 
 scription. 
 
70 
 
 forcibly upon the hoof, and occasion lameness, of which we apprehend 
 we have seen, with other practitioners also, various instances. 
 
 It seems to have its origin, and certainly derives its succulence 
 from the skin, to which it forms a strong adherence ; being secreted 
 along with the hoof, it descends along with it by the growth, till at 
 length, losing its succulence, it becomes dry, withers, and falls off, 
 leaving, as we have stated, a beautifully-polished epidermis to the 
 hoof. The formation of an epidermis within a covering of this sort 
 is also, we believe, a rare occurrence. 
 
 On the structure of this band. We have not hitherto paid that 
 close attention to it we could wish, but believe, from what examination 
 we have had time to make, that it is formed of reticulated threads of 
 firmer horn, chiefly longitudinally disposed, and filled in with a highly 
 elastic gummy horn, very much affording the same feel as the Cha- 
 outchuc extract, or India rubber ; it is evidently derived from the 
 skin, and is probably capable of arranging the secretions from it into 
 its own organization, and we are also led into the apprehension that 
 the curious structure of the hoof, and the keraphylla especially, are 
 obtained in the same way, but leave this suggestion with all in- 
 certitude for farther inquiry. 
 
 There is a thread-like artery runs between each leaf of the Kera- 
 phylla and Podophylla : this artery is probably the immediate se- 
 creting agent of these parts. This is rendered the more probable 
 from the Keraphylla at their summits not being so wide as they are 
 lower down ; it is therefore clear they must at any rate receive ac- 
 cessions after they quit the coronary circle. 
 
 In the cloven-footed animals there is clearly no distinct frog ; there 
 is, however, a part which answers its purpose in each claw, occupying 
 in the pig, for example, a space equal to two thirds of the sole, being 
 a projected, thinner, and more elastic horn than the rest of the under 
 surface of the claw, and from this proceeds the band. 
 
 Still continuing our general exterior view of the frog in the en- 
 graving, we see on either side of it deep longitudinal excavations, 
 
71 
 
 formed by the recedence of the inflexions ; these, as we have for- 
 merly stated, we term the cavities of the commissures of the frog, and 
 having described them with the wall, shall not again repeat them here, 
 only to observe, that the frog, as an elastic part or body, would in 
 vain have been elastic without this space for its operations or for the 
 exercise of it. These cavities, however, are in part closed at then- 
 posterior and upper parts by an extension or process of the base of 
 the frog, which is passing over them to form the bulbs : and these 
 parts, by way of distinction from the other parts of the foot, we have 
 called The arches of the commissure, for it is these arches, the smiths 
 without understanding them, cut away with their buttresses, when 
 they get embarrassed by the falling in of the hoof; pretending they 
 are throiving open the heels ; though it obviously is the very surest 
 way to contract them ; for denuded parts, exposed to the air, ever dry 
 and diminish in volume, as well as the more we weaken parts, the 
 more are they forced in by the iron shoe. 
 
 We may now discover that the hoof of the horse is formed simply 
 of two circles of horn, the one of hard, the other of soft horn ; the 
 latter running everywhere round the upper edge or margin of the 
 hard horn, forming however, between the two inflexions the singular 
 body we term the frog, which, as we shall see hereafter, is in the 
 foetal part merely a lax membrane lodging between these parts, per- 
 mitting the bars or inflexions almost to approach in contact, and so 
 diminish the volume of the part in the womb. And the bulbs also 
 are in this early state regularly finished members extending over a 
 portion of the sole, as we shall explain hereafter. 
 
 Seen from without, the frog makes a bold projecting appearance, 
 as though it were a solid body of horn ; and the smiths, certainly 
 deceived by this appearance, entertain but indifferent notions of its 
 real structure ; for it is in reality an inverted arch only of horn, that 
 is, turned downwards and reversed in respect to the general arch 
 formed by the sole and bars, that its real thickness in horn is not so 
 considerable as on a first view it would appear to be. 
 
72 
 
 The frog seen from within, that is to say, when the foot has been 
 drawn forth from the hoof, presents a simple inverted triangular arch 
 so intimately connected with the bars, that no one would suspect 
 it of being a distinct or divisible part; one uniform uninterrupted 
 porous surface being every where observable on this inside. It may, 
 however, be exhibited as a distinct inserted part, by making an hori- 
 zontal section of the foot through the union of the bar with the side 
 of the frog, when the difference of their structure and appearance, 
 and the line of their applied surfaces become sufficiently visible and 
 distinct. A hoof exposed to the weather will also be seen in its 
 decay to separate at this part first, so that it is assuredly a very 
 distinct part from the rest of the hoof. By actual admeasurement 
 in several instances, — for they are indeed at present truly rare of 
 nearly perfect feet, — we find, in a remarkable manner, that the base 
 of the frog occupies a certain division of the general circle of the 
 hoof, and that this division is about a sixth part of the whole circum- 
 ference of it : by knowing this fact, we are not only led to entertain 
 more just notions of the form of the foot, and the proportion of its 
 parts, but it affords us also an easy means of forming a pretty accu- 
 rate guess of what injury or diminution the foot has sustained at 
 any period of the life of the horse, without having previously seen 
 the original state of the frog. 
 
 Having now seen all the parts presented to the eye in the exterior 
 of the frog, and explained the true cause of frushes, we shall now 
 pass to other particulars, not at all less necessary to be understood, 
 of the ceconomy of this part, as to its growth and casting off the 
 excess of its growth, its exfoliations at times, and especially its 
 abuses from an ignorance of its natural properties and powers, which 
 views will tend to displace some hitherto generally-admitted doctrines 
 in the practice of the shoeing art. At any rate, being once clearly 
 stated, they will appear upon the carpet of investigation, and receive 
 confirmation or rejection as they are founded in truth, or otherwise. 
 
73 
 
 Of the growth of the Frog, and the abominable practice of cut- 
 ting and slicing it. The frog has appeared to us to be naturally 
 slower in its growth than the other parts of the foot, and it seems in 
 some feet to be nearly or quite arrested in its growth by the effects 
 of shoeing, notwithstanding this, and although there be in a general 
 way rather too little than too much horn, yet are the farriers ever 
 slicing it with their buttresses, and denuding it almost to the quick ; 
 and it is the current opinion of these men, wholly ignorant of its 
 ceconomy or structure, that if left to itself " it will run," as they ex- 
 press it, " all over the foot;" therefore they pare it to keep it in due 
 bounds. Their statement however, is wholly a misapprehension, 
 and exhibits only their total ignorance of the resources of nature in 
 the ceconomy of the part ; for it possesses the perfect power of 
 maintaining its own figure without any assistance from art. If it 
 was otherwise, every horse from overgrowth must become a natural 
 cripple ; therefore the Almighty Framer of the animal has also given 
 to this part the power of throwing off in branny scales, or small 
 flakes or dust, the superfluous growth, after the prescribed thickness 
 of its horn is accomplished. The proof of it lies before us in the 
 very frog we see here represented, which for five years of unrestrained 
 growth by any artificial means, presents the beautiful surface we see 
 it possess. 
 
 Nor need we be surprised at this, since it is the same with the 
 sole, which would from concave become convex by overgrowth ; but 
 having passed the assigned limits of its thickness, it loses its tenacity 
 and coherence, forms into flakes, and falls away, thus preserving 
 without human aid (which in a state of nature it could not receive) 
 its natural form, and in which property the frog also is concurring, 
 though in rather a different way, suited to the peculiar nature of its 
 horn. 
 
 That this idea of the smiths is perfectly groundless, and without 
 the smallest foundation, at least in a general way, — for we may re- 
 mark there are now and then occurring large relaxed frogs of a pro- 
 
74 
 
 digious size, that seem an exception to this rule ; they are however 
 so rare, that they ought not in the least to disturb it. They occur 
 principally in large draft-horses bred in low swampy situations ; and 
 so little frequent are they, that in several years attention to these 
 objects, we have not met with more than three or four of them in 
 some thousands of horses : that unless it may be to some who prefer 
 reasoning from an exception rather than a general rule, they cannot 
 invalidate the prevailing truth of the conclusions here drawn ; and 
 even these relaxed and weak frogs demand the horn that covers 
 them, which is of a softer nature, suited to their defence as much as 
 the harder horn usually found with frogs is required by them, that 
 this idea of the frog requiring to be cut, in order to prevent its run- 
 ning over the foot, can have no real foundation. And if what we 
 have stated be true, it should produce an essential change of mea- 
 sures for the better in the practice of this art, and lead to important 
 results, since they are the errors of an extensive and daily practice, 
 we could wish, therefore, in a more particular manner, to direct the 
 public attention to them. 
 
 Next there appears a more plausible motive for cutting the frog, 
 which is this, that from the defence aiForded by the shoe, the parts of 
 the hoof which are constantly growing, and having no means of wear, 
 they must be removed before the shoe be applied again; and the sole 
 indeed is held so firm by the nails embracing the wall, that its flakes 
 have not the opportunity of discharging themselves, and will indeed 
 want removing with the knife, as does usually a portion of the sole, 
 which thickens under these artificial circumstances, and the frog of 
 course, say they, should undergo the same sort of discipline in being 
 pared with the other parts ; and this reasoning has met with acqui- 
 escence from the commencement of the shoeing art, probably, to this 
 day. The projecting solid appearance of the frog — its consistence 
 resembling that of leather or hard cheese, cutting with a smooth and 
 polished surface, invites the knife, and causes it to be more sliced on 
 this account, we apprehend, than it would otherwise be, and the 
 
75 
 
 workman fashions it to the conception he has formed in his own mind 
 of the figure this part should receive. Now this proposition or rea- 
 soning of theirs is not so much to be complained of; I would that 
 their reason was always as good in all other instances, though this is 
 too much to expect in the uneducated, as we daily have reason to 
 see. What we have in this respect to advance will, we believe, carry 
 a conviction of the propriety of a different doctrine as to this part, 
 and more suited to the peculiar nature of it, which is this — that the 
 frog, naturally slower of growth than the other parts, becomes after 
 a time from shoeing almost stationary as to its growth, and diminishes 
 in some degree from the first application of it. That its growth is 
 impeded, or rather wholly stopped, after the foot has been some 
 years shod, we may be assured of, and in what degree it is so, by 
 marking or cutting a small notch upon its surface, which we have 
 found by experiment to take very many months to grow out. Indeed 
 we once closely watched the frog in an old horse, which frog had 
 been considerably diminished by long shoeing, for several, as eight or 
 nine months, without any instrument whatever having been suffered 
 to touch it, and at the end of this period, the frog was not visibly 
 larger than at first ; and this singular fact can, we believe, admit 
 of an explanation. The wall of the hoof, we may remark, where 
 there is a demand from its wear, grows rapidly, as when in a state of 
 nature, and exposed to the ground ; but shod, it loses this power in 
 so great a degree, that in many horses a few thin slices only can be 
 removed at each shoeing, after the interval of a month or five weeks, 
 in which time twenty times as much horn would have been produced 
 had there been a demand for it ; so that the arrestation of the 
 growth of the frog (which is of slower growth than the wall) is not 
 so surprising, especially if we reflect that, the hoof closing from the 
 compression of the shoe, the frog becomes squeezed laterally, which 
 weakens its nature, and its cut surface also drying and hardening, 
 compresses it also in every other direction, that its circulation and 
 health being affected, the failure of its growth appears to be a neces- 
 
 k 2 
 
76 
 
 sary consequence : so that it is from these circumstances we are led 
 to infer that the frog, from the moment of the commencement of 
 shoeing, will, without any cutting at all, diminish more than fast 
 enough. 
 
 But, like most general rules, a discretion may be necessary in some 
 cases. A deeper and larger frog than ordinary will at times occur, 
 that will reach even below the shoe. In this case a thicker heel, or, 
 which is better, a shoe a little turned up, will always prevent it from 
 too much battering upon the ground, and this difficulty is not very 
 often occurring. 
 
 We shall next consider another alleged motive for cutting slices 
 from the horn of this part, which is, to remove the rags. Let us now 
 see what these rags are, and how they are formed, and we shall then 
 in truth see whether this be necessary or not. That there is no rag 
 nor scale in the frog presented to the reader is evident by the inspec- 
 tion of the plate, (see frontispiece,) which gives a precise copy of ifs 
 surface ; and so it is almost ever found to be in the generality of 
 frogs at the commencement of shoeing the feet, if a slice be taken 
 away from this part, its exterior coat removed, and interior one ex- 
 posed, which, being of a moister and more succulent nature, quickly 
 dries in the air and heat of the stable, and contracting, cracks ; the 
 edges of the crack, in drying, reflect or turn back, and create an un- 
 even ragged appearance of the frog ; this they remove by a deeper 
 incision, getting nearer and nearer to the quick at each cutting ; till 
 the frOg, flayed and diminished in its size, and dried and brittle, 
 becomes too tender for the contact of hard bodies, and thus, earlier 
 than there is any occasion, is created a source of grievance and 
 danger in the use of the horse, and thus are these rags formed ; — or, 
 at other times the horn cracking through to the quick, wet cankers 
 the foot ; or in other cases, as we have sometimes observed, the frog 
 contracting under this procedure more rapidly than the quarters can 
 follow it, an entire separation at the commissure takes place, with 
 fatally-destructive consequences. 
 
77 
 
 Still this recommendation of not cutting the frog, without being- 
 further explained, might appear similar to the usual recommendations 
 on this head heretofore given in most books on these subjects : there 
 is this difference, however, that their apprehensions were directed 
 solely to the quick or living part of the frog, lest this should be too 
 much exposed, admitting at the same time the propriety of the 
 smith's opinions about over-growth and rags, which they considered 
 as really creating a necessity for its being pared. Our view in not 
 cutting is to preserve the exterior of the frog as entire as possible, 
 having proved that there is no fear of its passing beyond its natural 
 figure and assigned limits, and also from its outside covering being as 
 necessary to it as the exterior cuticular covering is to any other part 
 of the hoof or body ; indeed more so, from its exposed situation to the 
 road. Our only apprehensions in making this recommendation a ge- 
 neral one, are, that in some cases the frog may get too much pressure, 
 unless the shoe be thickened or turned up at the heels to accommo- 
 date it ; nor need this, if thought objectionable, be long continued, 
 as the frog will begin to waste and shrink soon after the shoeing 
 commences, so as to remove the necessity of this measure ; nor 
 would this be at all necessary, but on account of a remarkable cir- 
 cumstance which takes place in shod feet, hitherto wholly unobserved, 
 but which will be seen in the experiment hereafter to be related, viz., 
 that on the first application of the shoe to a natural foot, the frog 
 falls and drops below its level ; and this takes place, it would appear, 
 from the operation of two causes ; one is, that the weight of the 
 horse pressing into the hoof, and its sides not being in a state to 
 expand, being confined by the nails, a severer pressure inwards and 
 downwards ensues, forcing the frog, and keeping it permanently below 
 its level ; and the other is, that the frog, elevated by the shoe, and 
 not experiencing its usual support from the ground, cannot but remain 
 in this state ; but this first effect of the shoe only lasts, or has the 
 appearance of lasting, for a time ; for by the nature of this compres- 
 sion of the shoe, it occasions a general diminution by absorption of all 
 
78 
 
 the posterior soft parts of the foot, and they adapt themselves in 
 some degree to their new condition ; so that, what with its diminution 
 from cutting and pressure, and from the general absorption of the softer 
 parts, it resumes in some degree its former elevated situation in the 
 foot, where the thickness of the shoe is in general fully sufficient to 
 prevent its being battered too much upon the road, so that I doubt if 
 this rule may not be rendered absolute of not cutting away any part 
 of the frog, unless some accident causes the discretional use of this 
 hitherto incalculably-destructive procedure.* 
 
 Of its Exfoliations. As there are at times exfoliations of the 
 horn of the frog taking place, and which, being observed, have been 
 often supposed the natural means of riddance of its superfluous 
 growth, but which we have already stated is performed by a more 
 simple process ; so our researches have led to different conclusions 
 respecting these remarkable exfoliations. Indeed it is our wish to 
 bring only that part of our studies before the public which have led 
 us to different conclusions from the usual notions entertained of 
 these things, as being the most useful sort of addition to the stock of 
 knowledge we are already in possession of; which will account for 
 the frequent claims we have made to novel views, or the discovery of 
 new objects in this work : we wish that most of them may prove 
 correct, and stand the test of that enquiry we could wish should take 
 place about these objects, which cannot but be for the advantage of 
 the public, by improving our knowledge concerning these useful ani- 
 mals, and in time will lead to their better treatment ; for much abuse 
 which they experience springs from the disappointment which expect- 
 ations ignorantly founded, occasion. 
 
 * Indeed to save these poor sufferers, we have published a single sheet on this sub- 
 ject for the use of Forges, price 6d., where these things are more fully described. 
 
79 
 
 The exfoliations of the frog appear to be too irregular in their oc- 
 currence for a process that should belong to the necessary growth of 
 a part, and seem in reality to be the attendant of some change of 
 circumstances to which the frog is exposed : as for instance, if a 
 horse that has been some time shod, and kept in a stable, be sud- 
 denly turned out to grass, the horn swelling and relaxing, a deep ex- 
 foliation will take place, and a succession of these exfoliations will 
 follow each other, each being a longer time in forming than the pre- 
 ceding one, till at length it becomes suited to its new situation : if 
 now the horse be brought back again to the stable, the relaxed horn 
 so formed at grass will be thrown off, and a new succession of exfoli- 
 ations be carried on, till again the part gets habituated to the circum- 
 stances of its situation, when they will cease to form, or only form in 
 very long periods. This appears the habit of this part in this respect, 
 which having stated, we leave for future more correct enquiry. We 
 may remark that the blood vessels of the frog do not enter into its 
 horn nearly so deep as they do in the sole and wall, and which may 
 afford us some clue to the explanation of this phenomenon : and 
 perhaps its very great elasticity and easy change of form are also 
 contributing to this affection. 
 
 On Frog-pressure. Our next and last consideration regarding the 
 oeconomy of this part will be an enquiry into the probable degree of 
 pressure nature designed it to receive. As on this important circum- 
 stance has been principally founded by some the hope of relief from 
 the evils of shoeing, so I could wish to direct more particularly the at- 
 tention of my brother professors in the veterinary art to this subject, and 
 whether more has not been set down for this part to do than nature 
 ever designed it should do, or than it has powers to perform, and 
 which has been the great obstacle that has ever frustrated their views, 
 and has proved a source of much cruel treatment to the animal. 
 And I conceive I am entitled to as much confidence in giving an 
 
80 
 
 opinion as any other professor in this art, from the various discoveries 
 I have actually made in the structure of this organ ; for it is lamentable 
 to see how easy it is in a professor, professing an art he never under- 
 stood, to fill the minds of unsuspecting youth with false impressions, 
 which time nor better information can ever afterwards entirely 
 remove : profession is indeed not always possession, as we but too 
 often see ; for all can profess, but all cannot acquire, where the path is 
 attended with difficulty. — I now with diffidence, and after much re- 
 flection on the subject, lay before my readers what views I have 
 arrived at respecting this remarkable part. And in undertaking to 
 exhibit more correct views respecting it, shall at once grant the posi- 
 tion that the frog will admit of pressure ; but this concession must 
 be immediately followed by the question or inquiry of the nature and 
 degree of this pressure ; on the ascertaining of which, the point of 
 enquiry, or question at issue, can be only duly satisfied. 
 
 We may readily imagine that a part so exposed by nature to the 
 ground will not be deficient in properties to bear its impulses, and 
 will be provided with the means of neutralizing their effects : and so 
 indeed it is, yielding like a sponge, and altering its shape to any im- 
 pression of this sort ; but when we come to talk of putting iron to 
 it, and of giving it a primary bearing upon it, or by cutting away the 
 inflexions, giving it a naked thrust against the ground, then we hesi- 
 tate not to say such a degree of pressure was never designed it ; and 
 when added to this, that it was intended for a forcer of the inflexions, 
 we are most completely at issue, and when the foot is shod in the 
 usual way with nails through an inflexible ring of iron, embracing 
 both sides of the foot, that ,v men under such restraints it is to attack 
 and overcome them, we say the proposition is most preposterous. 
 Let us now consider why it is so, from an examination of the struc- 
 ture and relative position of the part. 
 
 That it evades forcible pressure in many ways, we have already 
 seen ; and to these we will now add various additional strong argu- 
 ments, to show most fully the absurdity of such a doctrine. And in 
 
81 
 
 doing this there will not be hardly anything so convincing to an en- 
 lightened mechanic or physiologist, as a due regard to the levels of 
 all the parts of the underside of the foot ; since they must inevitably 
 lead us to just conclusions of the relative degrees of pressure that each 
 part was destined to receive, and will proclaim more distinctly the 
 secrets of the foot in respect to this faculty than any other. And in 
 doing this, we shall first begin by noticing a most beautiful provision 
 which adapts all the inferior parts of the foot to the various soils that 
 they would in nature have to encounter, as, first, in the circumstance 
 of a horse standing on very hard ground, such as a rock, or a paving 
 of stone ; we then see that the lower circle of the wall will alone come 
 in contact with such a surface, being hard to hard ; but if on yielding 
 softer ground that is in degree broken, such as a gravel road, the 
 wall will sink into it in a slight degree, and a second range of parts 
 will become exposed to it, as the outer edges of the sole and the bars ; 
 and when again the foot should be exposed to perfectly soft ground, 
 such as the natural sod, or a ploughed field, the wall will readily sink 
 in, and the bars also and edges of the sole, and a third range of parts 
 will then take a share in the bearing, viz., the cushion, and afterwards 
 the more retiring base of the frog, giving soft parts to soft impressions, 
 from which no harm can arise or inconvenience be felt. Now the pres- 
 sure under the last circumstances must be doubly relieved and agree- 
 able, in respect to mere feeling, from not only the softness of the me- 
 dium, but by the vast multiplication of the points of bearing, and the 
 impression will also be easiest to those parts which last receive it. So 
 that there is a most beautiful provision made that these very soft and 
 almost tender parts shall not be distressed by hard bodies. This 
 single circumstance speaks volumes to an attentive observer, open to 
 the language of nature. 
 
 If we turn our attention to the very nature and material of which 
 the frog is composed, we shall find it no other than an inverted hollow 
 arch of not very hard horn, that is, if it has not been abused and cut, 
 and of nearly the consistence of Caoutchuc or elastic gum, incapable, 
 
82 
 
 therefore, of much resistance, or of carrying much forcible pressure to 
 the neighbouring parts, which are also of a harder nature than itself; 
 that if it had really to operate such an effect upon them, it would be 
 very much as the employing a wedge of dough to rend a block of wood, 
 the absurdity of which does not require demonstration, and especially 
 when such parts were confined on each side by an iron ring and nails. 
 Let us also see the manner this arch of the frog is connected to the 
 bars by its upper edges or margins, being the heels of this inverted arch, 
 in which position it could produce little or no effect ; and that the sides 
 of the frog can produce none, the wide cavities of the commissures 
 distinctly enough proclaim, that how any one capable of the least 
 reflexion, when considering these parts, could for a moment, have so 
 widely erred, in attaching such an office to it, is most extraordinary.* 
 But the strongest evidence of all will be obtained by an actual ad- 
 measurement of the distance at which this part is made to retire in the 
 perfectly natural foot, within the levels of the wall and of the other 
 parts of its inferior surface ; and having before us a cast in plaster of 
 the very foot from which the engraving is made, we will proceed to 
 measure these circumstances with as much accuracy as we are able; and 
 since this foot had attained its fifth year without the least restraint from 
 artificial measures, so it will be a fairer example to reason from than 
 can at present be readily found ; for the operation of the iron upon 
 the natural foot is vastly more rapid than any one not having inves- 
 tigated this matter would believe, but of which we shall presently 
 afford demonstrative proof, f And as it is from shod feet that hitherto 
 ideas and reasonings on these matters have been formed ; for it was 
 
 * Coleman is used, as we are credibly informed, artfully to tell his pupils, that if Mr. Clark 
 did but know that fluids and soft bodies will resist, if confined, (that is hermetically,) as for- 
 cibly as solids, he would believe his doctrine. The position in itself, as a general maxim, 
 may be true, but in no way unfortunately does it apply to the case, as all confinement 
 of the frog is out of the question, it having a most guarded and ample space around it, 
 and the more it descends from pressure above, the more freedom and open space it 
 obtains below. 
 
 f Casts in Plaster of Paris, from the very model, may be had of the Author, or of 
 E. Limebeer, the bookseller, Giltspur Street, with a box, price 2s. 6d. 
 
83 
 
 naturally apprehended that as soon as the shoe was off the foot, the 
 foot was again in a state of nature, that is, if it had a sound, and to- 
 lerable appearance to the eye ; for the eye also soon gets used to de- 
 formity, and does not discover it. And this error it was in taking the 
 shod foot for a natural one that embarrassed and misled me in all my 
 first experiments, on what I conceived to be the natural foot, during 
 several years, and completely obscured my views of the true nature 
 of these things, and my predecessors also, as the general tenor of 
 their works will sufficiently indicate. For the foot shod even only 
 twelve months is more changed than any one, unapprized, would 
 believe. Quitting, however, these remarks, we proceed to an exami- 
 nation of the actual state of the frog in the natural foot, for another 
 full grown natural foot we are not likely soon to see again ; as this 
 can only be done by a horse kept expressly for the purpose. And 
 any one who is so disposed, has the power to follow us by so doing, 
 and to detect any error if we have mis-stated any circumstance, 
 which we shall not at any rate intentionally do. 
 
 This model, or plaster cast of the foot, being turned downwards 
 upon its proper bearings on a flat level table, gives an elevation of 
 the frog above the bearing surface of the wall, as nearly as I can 
 measure it, of about three eighths of an inch in the very lowest part 
 of the frog, which is found to be the margin, or lips of the cleft. — 
 Where the frog meets, and embraces the Inflexions, half an inch is 
 the height ; and at the very extremity of the base of the frog, the ele- 
 vation is full one inch above the level of the table. Now the retire- 
 ment and distance of this member within the other parts of the hoof 
 forcibly leads us to conclude, that it was not by any means designed for 
 that considerable degree of pressure that has been apprehended ; and 
 this, together with the softness of its horn, compared with the horn of 
 the other parts of the foot, and the almost, we could have said, ad- 
 ventitious nature of the part, as from its non-appearance in the young 
 foal, to be shewn hereafter, would altogether perfectly decide our opi- 
 nion in this respect. A section, exhibiting these diiferent levels in 
 the foot, is seen in plate 2, fig. 7. 
 
 l 2 
 
84 
 
 Nor can we omit to mention another circumstance, which appears 
 to come in strong confirmation of these ideas respecting the frog ; 
 which is a passage in the most ancient of all authors on the subject of 
 horses. The venerable Xenophon wrote several hundred years before 
 the art of nail-shoeing was had recourse to, and he remarks, in his 
 advice respecting the selection of a horse, " that the lofty foot is to 
 be preferred, as in it the frog is raised high above the ground ;" and 
 he further compares those horses whose frogs or soft parts come to 
 the ground, to " cripples among men, who are wont to go on parts 
 nature never designed they should;"* or, as he observes, go equally 
 on the weak as on the strong parts. The above particular advice 
 appears to point out two very curious circumstances : first, that they 
 did not shoe, for that would have raised the frog high enough, 
 and higher than was necessary, and made the recommendation use- 
 less; and secondly, by their use of the foot in the natural state, 
 they found by experience that, if the frog was low, by its battering 
 against the ground it was subject to become tender ; hence the pre- 
 ference given to the high-placed frog. After the same manner do the 
 veterinarians of the second and third centuries, who were employed 
 in the Roman armies of the Eastern Empire, also recommend the 
 choice of a horse's foot ; but emphatically add " small " to " an ele- 
 vated frog,"f as it must, no doubt, be not so subject in consequence 
 to become tender, from being less soft, as well as less exposed to the 
 road. 
 
 I have, however, observed in young feet, that is, at two or three 
 years old, that the frogs are on a lower level, in respect to the other 
 parts of the foot, than at a more advanced age. As all the parts of 
 
 * Of yap iraxiis ttoAv tbk XeirTuv Stacpipovaiv ets fircoStay. ewetra ou5e tovto Sei XavBaveiv, irrfo-epoc of 6-rrAal eiViJ/ 
 v-JrnXal -^ Tairewal, (col e^TrpoaBey, nal iirurdev, J) x^V^ai oi p-in yap iif/7i\al Trifipu airb rod SairdBov %x ov < n T ^" 
 XeAiSova Kahou^viiv, at 5e Tairzival dfioiws fiaivovffi tu> re lax v poTaru, nal ru p.a\aKuTaTU rov Trofibs, w<rnep ol &Aat<rol 
 
 tup aySpuTrav.-Tii.vi inniKHS, Ed. Leunc. p. 932. 
 
 t Xe\t$6va Be pmtpav exopres etfiroBey koi ayaioL—ApsyrtuS apud Scrip. GrCBC. Vet. p. 252. 
 Of (Tvntyveis k6.tu6sv na\ xeXiSiiras p.iKpas exovTes. — Ibid., p. 253. 
 
85 
 
 the foot, especially of the posterior parts, are then in a very supple 
 state, and may receive from the frog that pressure that will in a degree 
 assist to unfold and open them to the extent nature requires, in which 
 the bars will also co-operate with the frog and inflexions. This purpose 
 effected, and the growth and strength of the foot completed, the frog 
 we find assumes a higher station, more out of the reach of too much 
 battering upon the ground. The frog of my bay colt, (Heathfield) at 
 two years old, was soft and puffy, and swollen in the middle, and with- 
 out much feature, and the frog-stay with a chop or slit longitudinally 
 extending beyond the proper limits of the cleft ; and the margins were 
 beginning to appear, but shapeless as yet, so that out of this soft 
 mass the frog forms itself, and at length becoming harder, and con • 
 densing in volume, it receives its sharpness and features. See PI. 6. 
 
 At five years old exactly, and in the month of May, my chesnut 
 mare, after two or three exfoliations in quick succession, had the frog 
 suddenly become very pointed, and the body of the frog also became 
 diminished and harder, and its sides impressed or bent in, giving 
 it a handsome sharp feature, and an efficient appearance for service. 
 So that it is not till five, this organ obtains its proper appearance. 
 This I mention, lest a casual view of the frog in a young horse might 
 lead the reader to suspect the above statement not to be correct. 
 
 It appears also, in fact, that it is not so much from the upward pres- 
 sure against the frog, as from the downward pressure of the limb and 
 weight of the body upon the bones of the foot, that should produce 
 this effect of expansion upon the yielding contents of the hoof: 
 timely assisted, and in due time prevented, from too much depression 
 in this direction, by meeting with the support of the frog, then 
 brought to the ground at the time the strain and weight is greatest : 
 the sides of the foot then expanding laterally through their whole 
 extent, and springing back again to their places on the removal of 
 the exertion and weight. And they must, in any violent exertion, as 
 in galloping, &c, where the force is tenfold that of the mere weight, 
 make these parts, if at liberty, play, or expand to an extent, that 
 
merely considering the hoof in the hand can give us but a faint con- 
 ception of. 
 
 It is therefore most clear to me, that the frog of the horse is no 
 wedge for forcing the foot, but is given to fill up the chasm of the 
 inflexions, and to adapt it to all kinds of weights or impressions, and 
 to permit the change of form necessary to the foot, to guarantee it also 
 from the fatigue which a too solid resistance would have rendered it 
 liable to, and to preserve the animal from the concussion and reaction 
 he would have experienced without it. So that the revival of this 
 old French nonsense of Lafosse by our college has done more harm 
 than it has ever done good, and by adding to it other follies and abo- 
 minable cruelties when the doctrine was not found to succeed, instead 
 of abandoning it, was certainly highly reprehensible. 
 
 Indeed, after a consideration of all the circumstances, our conclusions 
 would be, that the frog is not designed by nature for much pressure, 
 and that only at intervals, when under strong exertion to relieve the 
 other parts, or against soft ground to partake in the general bearing. 
 
 As we have been witness at times to the horrible suffering of this 
 animal from these most absurd doctrines, so we hope, after so clear 
 an exposure of their error, we shall hear no more of his being thus 
 tormented which would indeed be little less than criminal ignorance 
 and scandalous barbarity. 
 
 Composition of the Frog. Its horn is quite peculiar, being but 
 little organized, and perhaps without the pores of perspiration, such 
 as the wall and sole have, it is indeed more like dense elastic gum 
 than horn, and which probably is the cause of those large masses or 
 coats of exfoliation, from its not having the power of ridding itself 
 under great change of circumstances in smaller portions, these being 
 in their commencement of the full depth of the frog. Its growth 
 seems very much independent of the growth of the other parts of 
 the hoof, and it is much more slow even in health, and still more so 
 when coerced, cut, weakened, contracted, and diseased. 
 
 By more careful observation, I since have found that the frog does 
 not exfoliate in branny scales, as I imagined formerly, but in real thin 
 
87 
 
 layers of horn which become dry, and detach themselves : their pre- 
 sence is a defence, nor can they do the smallest harm that should 
 render it necessary to use the knife ; for the road will amply perform 
 all necessary removal. 
 
 On the names of the Frog. — In concluding this account of the 
 frog of the horse, it may be matter of curiosity to some of my read- 
 ers, to know the various appellations this singular part has obtained 
 with different nations. The French call it La Fourchette, or the 
 fork ; the Latins called it Farca ; and once only in Vegetius we find 
 the term " Pendiginem" applied to this part, apparently from its 
 hanging down, or being suspended from the roofing of the sole of the 
 hoof, as it might appear to them. The Greeks termed it ^\i$wv, or 
 the swallow, having a distant resemblance to the oval pointed body 
 of that bird : or, which is more probable, from its forked tail, the two 
 halves of the base of the frog dividing into two portions somewhat 
 of this resemblance. It ever occurs, however, with them, in the 
 plural, xfAilW. 
 
 We had formerly apprehended that the word frog was wholly an 
 English designation ; but we have since observed that the same name, 
 in the very same sense we now employ it, occurs with the Greek vete- 
 rinarians of the lower empire, who have called it fiarpaKov, ox frog, as we 
 now do. Needhams Geoponicorum, l.xvi. ArgumentumAbsyrti,\>AYl. 
 It may, however, be a corruption of the text; and this I am the 
 more disposed to believe, from the collator being an Englishman, and 
 still more so from the writings of Absyrtus, which are many, in the 
 Scriptores rei Veterinarice, having no such word, he always using the 
 epithet ^AiSwv, as we see in a former page. 
 
 Vegetius, the most elegant of the Roman writers on these subjects 
 has called this part ramula, lib. 1, cap. 56, ed. Manheimii, p. 80, which 
 is perhaps a corruption, or technical, for rimida, derived probably from 
 rima, the cleft or chink of the foot, Manula does also occur in Vegetius, 
 and is probably nothing but a corruption of the above, lib. 2, cap. 58. 
 Ranulce, with Vegetius, were evidently the blains or boils on the lips 
 
of oxen, lib. 3, cap. 3, ed. cit. p. 169. It is evident indeed that such 
 a term as Tana, ranula, or frog, applied to this part of the horse's 
 foot, unless to an Englishman, would be quite unintelligible. 
 
 The extraordinary origin of the term running Thrush, deducible 
 by legitimate steps from the Latin word Furca, which we have traced 
 satisfactorily, will be found, we apprehend, amusing enough : Furca, 
 in French Fourche, and its diminutive Fonrchette ; this contracted 
 became the running Fourche ; and from thence we find about the 
 days of queen Elizabeth, as in Blunclville, and other writers of this 
 period, running Frush ; and subsequently in James's reign, and after 
 this period, on the establishment of horse races, and the prevailing 
 influence of the jockeys, who, not finding in their vocabulary of 
 English words such a one as Frush, declared it must mean a Thrush, 
 and a running Thrush it has ever since been called by the whole 
 kingdom, though the running blackbird would have been almost as 
 appropriate. 
 
 A considerable obscurity also prevails as to the origin of the term 
 frog, applied in England to this member of the horse's foot ; and we 
 once were led to conjecture that it might possibly have been obtained 
 from the Roman furca, as the transitions from furca to furc, froc, 
 and frog, were not difficult. But we are now led to believe, from 
 maturer consideration, that it is of a much more recent date ; for in 
 reality this appellation does not extend much further back than a 
 century, and we confidently believe it to have had its origin in the 
 manner following. 
 
 The oldest of our English writers followed the French in calling 
 this part Frush, being but a slight remove from their fourche, as we 
 see in Blundeville, De Grey, and others, and which prevailed to the 
 time of the Commonwealth, or the restoration of the Stuarts, by 
 whom were instituted horse-races, and which led to a more extensive 
 use of the horse, and, in some respects, to a more refined consider- 
 ation of him, in order to success in these races. And the painful 
 tenderness of a frog, labouring under an ulceration and discharge 
 
from the cleft, became more an object of regard, as also from its in- 
 creased frequency from the habits of using shoes, and of the shoeing 
 smiths in cutting the part; so it received very naturally the name 
 of the running frush, which meant no more at first than the running 
 or discharging frog. The word frush, however, being strange to 
 these men, soon became converted into thrush, being exclusively ap- 
 plied, and technically used for the disorder only, and became absorbed 
 in the diseased part ; this next created a necessity for writers sub- 
 sequently, or the men themselves, to invent some other name for the 
 entire organ ; and it was about the time of Gibson, or of Markham, 
 one of his predecessors, that they first took to calling this part the 
 frog, which absurd term has been ever since continued in this country, 
 but is wholly unknown to any other : such appears to be the true 
 steps of the explanation of this affair : and to which I may add also, 
 that in my opinion the sooner the term is abandoned again the 
 better, to which so many morbid notions attach, and to employ in its 
 stead the ancient term furca, furc, or furch, as may be thought pre- 
 ferable ; the latter we prefer as being more strong and distinctive.* 
 
 We could however desire forcibly to recommend to those who 
 wish to write intelligibly or elegantly on these subjects in treating of 
 the frog, or its qualities or relations, to recur again as much as pos- 
 sible to the original Latin epithet furca, since rana, ranula, or ranine, 
 can never apply but to the animal itself. The following may serve 
 as examples of this use. Furcaceous weakness is difficult to be 
 overcome. The furcaceous structure in the foot is peculiar to the 
 horse tribe, though furcaceous rudiments exist with the feet of many 
 families of quadrupeds. Furcaceous debility and tenderness ever 
 follow its being hacked by the knives of the smiths, &c. Indeed this 
 would be greatly to the advantage of the science ; and in removing 
 
 * The French translator laughed when I told him we called it la grenouille ; and I ac- 
 knowledge I felt also somewhat ashamed of the taste of my countrymen ; but when he 
 was compelled to use merle courant to translate running thrush, he became perfectly 
 convulsed. 
 
 M 
 
90 
 
 the silly term frog from the horse's foot, we shall only remove a mis- 
 nomer and barbarism of the first order, the use of which will be ever 
 attended with confusion and ambiguity ; and by restoring again the 
 ancient term furch, we enrich the English language, and add to its 
 copiousness, by a useful and expressive term well suited to the sub- 
 ject, and for a distinct object that never can again be confounded 
 with any other. We may also use running furch for the discharging 
 frog without any confusion ; or we may, which perhaps may be still 
 better, retain the word frush exclusively for the disorder; either 
 way, however, no confusion can arise whichever of these terms we 
 choose to employ. 
 
 We now conclude our description of the external furch, leaving 
 the highly curious structure of the internal furch to be given with 
 the attaching parts. And for some further particulars of the growth 
 of the furch, and cure of the frush, we must refer the reader to our 
 Treatise on Running Frush. London. 1821. 2d edit. 
 
 Of the Sole. 
 
 portant members of the hoof, the wall and the frog, together, or in suc- 
 cession, as conveying to the mind a more lively and combined notion 
 of their mutual actions and relations ; so we now proceed to consider 
 the third and last member composing the hoof, viz. the Sole : for in 
 reality there are no more than three full parts to form the hoof, 
 though they may be divided into five for minutely examining them ; 
 for in fact the two inflexions are but parts of the wall, and the fur- 
 caceous extension round the upper part of the hoof forming the 
 band, may be considered as one with the frog ; the sole is therefore 
 making the third member of the hoof. For its appearance when de- 
 tached, the reader may consult pi. 2, fig. 3 ; and in combination with 
 the other parts, pi. 1, or frontispiece. 
 
 This part may be described as an irregular thick plate of horn, 
 
91 
 
 given to fill up the great inferior opening of the wall, and may be 
 said to consist of two oval pieces united in front, but widely separated 
 and diverging posteriorly, and presenting to the ground a concave or 
 arched figure, more or less flat. This arch is not however the portion 
 of the inside of a regular sphere, but is very irregular, having a 
 waving or undulating appearance from the centre to the circum- 
 ference ; its central parts are also more cupped, and thinner in horn 
 where its motion is more demanded ; but in passing upon the inflec- 
 tions, it suddenly spreads itself, and taking a direction upwards, pre- 
 sents a broad surface of attachment to these parts. Its outer margin 
 in approaching the wall declines, then rising again it dilates to a 
 broad surface for adherence to the inside of this part, mixing with the 
 keraphylla. We may perhaps afford a more familiar notion of its 
 general figure, by comparing it to the mouth of a bell extremely 
 extended or flattened. In the hind foot, the sole is not in general so 
 wide and spreading as in the fore foot, but is deeper, and more arched 
 or cupped, nor is it so elastic or yielding, being in conformity with 
 the propelling system of this organ. For we may denote the one limb 
 by the term propeller, and the other by the term sustainer, or sus- 
 taining limb. 
 
 Nature has secured herself most remarkably in two ways, from the 
 effects which an arch of common properties would have been liable to, 
 in becoming more condensed under pressure, and forcibly resisting the 
 load brought upon it, which would have been subversive of the lead- 
 ing principles in the mechanism of the hoof — the sole therefore is 
 cleft to its centre, or even beyond it, by a large triangular opening 
 formed at its posterior part, which destroying the resistance of the 
 arch, serves to receive first the inflected ends of the wall of the 
 hoof, and then is closed and filled up by the insertion of the inverted 
 arch of the frog ; so that these ends of the hoof are thus tied in, and 
 secured from being forced asunder by the pressure from within, being 
 thus wedged in between the frog and the sole, and are made to serve 
 outwardly in their places the other offices we have already noticed, 
 
 m 2 
 
92 
 
 and the sole, by the above chasm in its centre, being thus effectually 
 broken, has a diminished resistance in all its parts. 
 
 Again : the lower circumference of this arch of the sole, which 
 may be considered in the light of the heels of the arch, is every 
 where abutting against the sides of the wall, which, as we have for- 
 merly shown, are rendered yielding to its impression against them, 
 and the sides of the frog dilating, (which retracts and shortens this 
 part,) affords full opportunity for the extension, and which is neces- 
 sarily accompanied with a descent and flattening of the sole, in which 
 action all parts of the hoof combine, and in this manner, we maintain, 
 is performed the elastic . movement of the hoof, and which we ap- 
 prehend to be essential to its well-being and healthy existence. 
 
 Now the shoe being perfectly inflexible, wherever nailed, will fix the 
 parts of the wall more or less, and resist its action ; the weight then 
 falling on the sole, it must depend (the sides of the hoof being fixed) 
 upon the fissure inclosing the frog for its relief and yielding, which 
 collapsing will cause, as we have before stated, the frog to be com- 
 pressed and to descend from its natural situation, and the bars to ap- 
 proximate, and contraction and disorder ensue : the sole, also, by this 
 confinement, having less action, is daily thickening and losing its 
 natural powers of motion, and of throwing off in flakes the super- 
 fluous growth ; sometimes, also, if the nails are brought very close, 
 or the shoe be made too small, and the hoof be not of the strongest 
 order, the arch of the sole is forcibly thrown upwards against the 
 coffin bone, and creates the greatest uneasiness and lameness, which 
 is blindly attributed often to standing in the stable, which may assist 
 the mischief by its dryness and heat, but cannot alone operate any 
 such effects. 
 
 The texture of the horn of the Sole is vastly more soft and friable 
 than the wall, and more elastic and spongy, which must usefully 
 cause any blows upon it from stones of the road to be more obtusely 
 felt. It soon loses its coherence, and falls away in dead scales and 
 flakes, by which its concavity and elasticity is preserved. In the 
 
93 
 
 acute founder from sudden chills, it is subject to be detached, forced 
 downwards, and reversed into a convex form, with cruel suffering, by 
 the fluids extravasated from the ruptured vessels. In chronic founder, 
 also, it is liable to be rendered flat, or sometimes convex, by the more 
 slow process of descent of the bones of the foot, forming a rounded 
 cavity in its upper surface for their lodgment. Its circumference is 
 but too often infringed upon by the nails of the smiths, and its 
 extreme points squeezed between the inflected horn of the wall, or 
 bruised by exposure to the naked iron of the shoe, being bereft of 
 its natural protectors, the nodes of the inflexions. 
 
 Its Secretion is from the membranous sole, and the vessels passing 
 through its horn are not perpendicular to its general surface, but ad- 
 vancing obliquely forward in the direction of the axis of the hoof. 
 They are short, and freely permit the perspiration. 
 
 From the view we have taken of the horse's wall and sole, it will 
 be seen how imperfectly the ancient phrases Solidiingula and Solipes, 
 &c. would serve to convey a true notion of the structure of this kind of 
 hoof; for though the front be solid, the posterior parts possess the 
 greatest degree of elasticity, short of being actually cloven, that can 
 be imagined, from the sole being cleft and opened to its centre, and 
 being then filled up by an elastic frog. In such a covering as a 
 Solidiingula would seem to imply, or a continued circle of horn, no 
 animal could long stand, much less move, without great pain from 
 jamming and compression, which would soon become destructive. 
 
 If it were necessary to make use of a single epithet or phrase for 
 this sort of foot, the term Semifissipes, or half-cloven foot, would be 
 less objectionable, though also not exactly true, on account of the 
 presence of the frog, which renders the foot in one sense entire again, 
 and appears to afford the most essential character of this kind of 
 foot, added to the entire hoof in front. 
 
 But the epithet Momichal, after the Greeks, from ^ovoc, one, and 
 ow'i, hoof, is certainly by far the best expression for this order of feet, 
 as not implying solidity, but only that the hoof is single and un- 
 divided. 
 
94 
 
 Now the horse's hoof being formed of one entire piece, is perhaps 
 the most considerable single mass of horn any where to be found 
 among animals' feet for their defence, so is it also in its plan the 
 most simple and efficient for a fleet animal, and in the details of its 
 internal furniture, perhaps the most richly and curiously organized 
 and embellished of any quadruped.* 
 
 Having now concluded our view of the full-grown hoof we pass to 
 the fcetal hoof, and to the attaching parts ; but before entering upon 
 these, we shall in this place, as the best suited for it, introduce a 
 few remarks on the word heels, when applied to the horse. 
 
 On the confusion arising from the use of the word Heels when 
 applied to the foot of the Horse. 
 
 As the term heels, when applied to the horse's foot, really means 
 nothing, or only that it is one of the posterior parts of the foot or 
 leg, and is much too vague even for general use, how much less 
 then is it fitted for the purposes of science, that we could wish to lay 
 before our readers our reasons for proposing its disuse altogether, at 
 least amongst the profession. 
 
 The bulbs of elastic horn at the back of the frog being the most 
 posterior parts of the foot, would therefore first claim to be called 
 heels, if any such parts really existed. The two inflexional columns 
 
 * Whilst the present sheet was going to press, my nephew, Charles Clark, accident- 
 ally turning over the leaves of old De Gray's book, found a passage which serves 
 strongly to confirm my conjecture of the origin of this barbarous appellation frog, ap- 
 plied to the horse's foot ; and this passage also seems to point out that it was first used 
 by the country smiths : it is as follows — " Hoiv do you cure a Running Frush?" Ans. 
 " This is a naughty sorance which I have heard rurall smiths to call the frog, by reason 
 that it breedeth in that spungy part of the heel that they call the Frog." — De Gray, 
 p. 213, 1st ed., 1639. So that it began with the rurall smiths, as he quaintly terms 
 them, and probably had not then reached the metropolis. 
 
95 
 
 below these bulbs are more frequently termed heels, and as often is the 
 extreme point of the sole ; for when these parts get bruised by the 
 shoe, it is said "his heels are bruised;" and to lay the shoe upon the 
 heels, is to lay it upon the inflexural angle or node there formed : 
 again, if the horse be chapped in the bend above the foot, he is said 
 to be greasy heeled ; and if the fetlock is chapped, he is also greasy 
 heeled ; and if the cracks should be near the hock at the back part 
 of the shank, he is again also said to be greasy heeled. 
 
 Now this confusion arises from there being no part in the structure 
 of the horse's foot that has any resemblance or correspondence what- 
 ever to the human talus, or heel. The posterior extremity of the 
 os calcis forms the true human heel, and is brought to the ground ; 
 and this bone in the horse is consequently found in the hock, and 
 occurs only in the hind extremity, and so far removed from the 
 ground, that it would be laughably ridiculous to call it in the same 
 sense we use that term, the heel, not having either its situation or 
 offices. And as what we call heels in the foot of the horse have no 
 corresponding structure in the human ; so it would be forcing an ana- 
 logy between parts where there can be none to use the same phrase 
 for them, and by so acting, to create a perpetual disorder and con- 
 fusion of ideas. 
 
 It would be advantageous to that precision, which an art like this 
 demands, to remove the term heels entirely from it, as we can as well, 
 or much better, do without it, and substitute new expressions for all 
 the parts that have been so miserably miscalled. It is true the term 
 horny heels, and fleshy heels, might certainly be used as to inside 
 and outside ; but as the inflexions are nothing like a human heel, nor 
 their contents by any means fleshy, that is, muscular, so in every 
 way we get into difficulties by their use, and shall assuredly find it 
 best to avoid such terms. Nor will it be necessary for us here to 
 enumerate all the names of these respective parts in the horse's foot, 
 since we have already done this in describing them, and every where 
 purposely omitting the term heels, in order to avoid its embarrassment, 
 
96 
 
 and to show its perfect uselessness. It appears to be almost necessary 
 before any reform or great changes can be carried into effect in any 
 art, to expose and remove as much as may be the ignorant language, 
 and cant phraseology which supports it. 
 
 Some remarks on the fcetal foot, and colt's foot, at birth, 
 and the half-grown foot. 
 
 It is somewhat singular, and worthy of observation, that these 
 parts which form so considerable a share of the foot of the full-grown 
 horse, have scarcely an existence in the young foal, their rudiments 
 or germs only are seen at this period of his life ; for the wall of the 
 hoof is then lapped about the coffin bone in such a manner as nearly 
 to meet at the back of the foot, and is of a form more obviously cy- 
 lindrical than in the adult foot, and proportionally longer ; and what 
 is remarkable, the upper parts of the hoof at the coronet are larger 
 than the base or bottom of the foot : see the annexed figures, pi. v. 
 fig. 1 & 2. 
 
 The first-formed horn, whilst the foot is in the womb, is yellow, 
 and appears almost gelatinous, as at b, fig. 1. The upper part, how- 
 ever, and half way down, is already succeeded by black horn, a a, 
 and c is a sunken or impressed division between them. But what is 
 most remarkable, and hitherto unobserved, we believe, is, that the 
 bulbs of the frog, e, are extended into two oblong members forming 
 ligulce, or straps, which pass over the angle of the inflexions, and 
 extend along the sole to a considerable distance, and are terminated 
 by regular points, or rounded extremities : these are soon worn away, 
 leaving the ragged fringes of the bulbs as seen in the adult hoof, 
 and which imperfection is explicable without this curious fact being 
 known. At this period, the filaments of which the horn of the wall 
 is composed are separable by maceration ; and I think it probable, 
 that in the first months of gestation, the wall is formed of three 
 
F'Qails Foot „/„,. „■,;■/,:>/,'/,>;,■ /,;■// > 
 
 /•//// /v.>'<>>/ /■ri f /ff< 
 
 f/. t/te .flea. e.e. /■»//» r/ //// /><y /;//!</ /i!,iJ/y<vt.,/// A///////////-,/ . 
 
 Foals Foot ai 
 
97 
 
 distinct pieces, the two inflexions having a separate existence ; but 
 before the time of birth they appear to be firmly united, and in the 
 adult hoof, form one perfectly inseparable mass. 
 
 The frog has in reality no existence in this fcetal foot, but its point 
 is represented by a singular oblong claviform piece of horn lying be- 
 tween, and defended by the straps of the bulbs. The margins of the wall 
 are seen perfectly well defined inside and out, and its point or pince 
 is contracted, and pointed like the beak of a bird. The sole is only 
 a little thicker than a very stout ordinary membrane. At birth, or 
 soon after, the frog makes the appearance of a lax membrane lying 
 between the inflexions, as it is represented in fig. 2, where it is perhaps 
 a little forced out by the drying of the foot in the preparation ; and 
 this germ of the frog gradually extends itself like the unfolding of 
 the rose-bud, and furnishes till it attains its full dimensions, — and its 
 full figure is not accomplished till about the fifth year, or later, as 
 the other parts of the body also do not in a general way acquire their 
 full dimensions and strength till about the eighth year. 
 
 As his size and weight increases, these parts we are describing, to- 
 gether with the frog, are brought more to the ground ; and these 
 germs, or rudiments of the foot of the foal, are, by the pressure and 
 the growth, slowly unfolded. Nor, may we observe, do their feet ever 
 obtain their entire growth, if restraint of any sort has been used 
 during this period. 
 
 And it is also remarkable, that in the young foal, the front of the 
 foot singly performs all its offices ; with his limbs held almost straight 
 and erect, and his fetlocks very little bent by the weight, he accom- 
 panies his dam, his toes, as it were, digging at every step into the 
 ground. His body at this period is singularly small and light, whilst 
 his limbs are extraordinarily developed, in a disproportionate degree 
 to his body ; and he performs his merry gambols, dancing round her 
 with a suppleness and grace that reminds one of some spright or aerial 
 being, nor is he at all suspicious of the whips and thongs and iron 
 measures that are so soon to be his portion. 
 
Of the half-grown foot. In tracing the progress of the horse's 
 foot to its maturity, we have to notice the half-grown foot, the figure 
 of one at two years and a half old, taken from my waxy colt, one of 
 Lord Heathfield's stock, sold after his lordship's decease, and admi- 
 rably sketched by my friend Sydenham Edwards, is seen in plate 6. 
 The general ragged appearance of all parts is first noticeable, and 
 especially a singular formation or disposition of the inflexions, which 
 are spreading over the tenderer parts of the sole, as though to protect 
 it, and deaden sensation. This foot was a little inclined to flatness, 
 which rendered this aid, perhaps, the more necessary. I never re- 
 member, however, to have seen it in any other foot so strongly marked, 
 though with feet of this order it may not be, perhaps, an unfrequent 
 circumstance : a is the inside quarter, and b the outer quarter, or 
 side. 
 
 The unfinished form, and irregular make of the frog, and especially 
 of the frog-stay, is particularly noticeable in this young foot, for the 
 frog-stay is the last part formed, and is completed at very different 
 periods in different subjects, and requiring often our address and at- 
 tention to ward off a running frush, which may create a tenderness 
 for life, and in weak feet requires real skill and assiduity to prevent 
 it : see our Treatise on the cause and cure of Frush, 1821. 
 
 The fore shortening of the inflexions in this foot is made out very 
 distinctly, and the difference of the two inflexions, or rather modes 
 of their inflexion, are very conspicuous, and the two bulbs are also 
 dissimilar in size, the inner one being sensibly the largest. 
 
 The wall has a conspicuous dark line in the middle of its thickness, 
 which seems to indicate a division into the two tables we formerly 
 mentioned in its description. The cushion of the frog has not as yet 
 any visible existence. 
 
 Often at this early age, and even earlier than this, without being 
 aware of its consequences, perhaps, is the foot of this ill-fated animal 
 bound round with a wretched bar of iron, called a shoe, producing 
 the most deplorable effects, not only arresting the proper growth and 
 

99 
 
 unfolding of the parts, but occasioning .also a diminution from its 
 present state ; and some Welsh-bred horses in particular I have seen, 
 at four years old, perfectly ruined in their feet, through greediness 
 to have their utmost labour, and ignorance of its effects, often ironing 
 their horses at one year old, and making them to slave with coals, 
 wood, &c. 
 
 We now conclude our description of the horse's hoof with observ- 
 ing, that in respect to the ass and the mule, the same general prin- 
 ciples of construction also pervade their feet ; the form, however, and 
 the proportions of their respective parts widely differ, of which we 
 shall take a very cursory view. 
 
 The ass's foot to the eye of the spectator, viewing it on the ground, 
 appears of an oblong figure, and very flat-sided, no way like the 
 more noble hoof of the horse ; and if we turn it sole upwards, it 
 presents an oval, whose broad end is the pince, and whose narrower 
 termination posteriorly is of a somewhat square form, with the furch 
 pushed out beyond the inflexions, and with the bulbs forming not 
 two rounded, but two pear-shaped masses, the narrow ends of which 
 pass off to form the furch-band. It is also to be remarked in these 
 asses' feet, that the thin posterior sharp edges of the inflexions are in 
 them much more blunt and rounded, and which, by the obliquity of 
 the bearing of the hoof on the ground, are brought to some extent 
 in contact with it, for the hoof itself appears to be more inclining to 
 the horizon than the horse's, so as to give an angle of 45 instead of 
 33 degrees in its slope in front, which, we may remark, will occasion 
 a less rapid detrition of the pince ; this, together with the wall of 
 the hoof being disproportionately thick in its front parts, must have 
 particularly strengthened it for wear, and have suited his labours for 
 the early ages of the world before shoes or defences of any kind 
 were known. About opposite to the nodes of inflection, there is in 
 the wall a very perceptible and singular indentation or constriction of 
 the horn externally, after which it again somewhat dilates to give 
 room to the body of the furch. The horn of the ass's foot appears 
 
 n2 
 
100 
 
 of a more sordid description than the horse's, and the wall is very 
 often ribbed and wrinkled, making altogether a meaner appearance in 
 conformity with the animal himself when compared with his more 
 noble relative. The cruelties still inflicted on this inoffensive animal, 
 in return for his useful services, are most revolting, and custom has 
 too much reconciled them to us properly to feel their enormity ; and 
 carried to such lengths are they often, that they answer no purpose 
 by losing all effect. 
 
 The Zebra, the Quagga, and the Cape horses, have feet between 
 the horse and the ass : in these the foot posteriorly makes a sort of 
 irregular square ; and the two inflections cross the foot to a sudden 
 concurrence, which very much shortens the furcaceous parts, and 
 lengthens the front or entire part of the sole — the bones and interior 
 matters of their feet are very much simplified and diminished when 
 compared with those of the horse, nor are the elastic parts nearly so 
 much developed, nature not requiring in these inferior animals those 
 parts which were indispensable to the perfect accomplishment of the 
 grandeur of form and graceful action of his nobler fellow slave. And 
 we are led to anticipate with joyful feelings the days, perhaps not 
 distant, when he shall be well understood, and his proper uses be 
 called forth, and when he shall be an object of delight and profit to 
 all, instead of the ignorance, violence, and cruelty, which at present 
 prevail in his use, and often with such unfeeling extortion, that they 
 defeat their own purposes by his perpetual destruction ; so that 
 though really coining for them an immensity of money, the general 
 account is a loss. I have watched the end of the most extensive 
 post-masters, and have observed with nearly all of them, that though 
 they pursued the most reprehensibly-cruel measures to obtain their 
 utmost work, they in the end were impoverished and bankrupted I 
 could name a half score of these who had, when they began, been 
 deemed rich men. The Almighty seems indeed so to have ordained 
 and framed it, that he who shall offend against nature, it shall not be 
 to his advantage. The slave trade can also exhibit a very similar 
 
101 
 
 account, but its enormities, bad as they are, are as nothing to the 
 ironings, bittings, gaggings, strappings, and scourgings of these most 
 inoffensive and worthy creatures. 
 
 BIV. 2.— OF THE ATTACHING PARTS. 
 
 After a Foot has been macerated a few days in water, it may be 
 drawn forth from the hoof, and we are then presented with a view of 
 the interior foot, some of whose surfaces are chiefly for attachment, 
 
 others for attachment, but chiefly secretion. I first describe 
 
 The Cutidura* the uppermost of these, which is prominent and round- 
 ed, being in reality a prolongation or extension of the skin indurated 
 and enlarged, in order to fill the cutigeral concavity of the hoof. This 
 part has hitherto been strangely taken for a ligament, though without 
 possessing a single trait of this description of parts, but is itself ac- 
 tually held in its position by other ties or attachments, such as the 
 perioplic band and keraphylla, aided by the hollow cavity in the top 
 of the hoof, and the numerous vessels which enter it. 
 
 The cutidura appears intended for conveying into the coronary con- 
 cave of the hoof the organ for the immediate secretion of the wall ; 
 and we find it, in fact, composed of two very different parts or struc- 
 tures, the innermost of these being a dense white cartilaginous 
 cushion, and which acts as a bolster in supporting the membrane 
 above it : this cartilaginous part is but little vascular in itself, but is 
 much perforated for the admission of blood-vessels through it, which 
 on emerging, suddenly radiate into the membrane above. This super- 
 imposed membrane is red and highly vascular, and in thickness ap- 
 pears to be about the sixteenth of an inch ; it is rough on its exterior 
 surface, which fits it to the concave ring of the wall, of which it is 
 
 * From Cutis, skin, and dura, hard. 
 
102 
 
 doubtless the immediate secreting organ. From this membrane, or 
 perhaps passing through it, arise the long filamentous vessels which 
 enter the hoof for maintaining its succulence, and for the purposes of 
 transpiration. 
 
 We have also, we think, observed that this red membrane does not 
 appear to terminate with the cutidura, but has a continued course 
 downwards, and is reflected over every leaf of the Podophylla, and 
 advancing further, becomes likewise the genetrix, and secreting organ 
 of the horny sole. We suppose it to be formed of the superficial 
 part of the skin, that is, that part which is exposed when the cuticle 
 is removed ; and by being rendered extremely vascular, it becomes 
 fitted for its very important office. And the cartilaginous portion of 
 the cutidura, which we have described above, is perhaps merely a 
 continuation of the inner, harder, and more cartilaginous part of the 
 skin ; and the reticulum again is formed of the interior of the skin, 
 or of the cellular membrane lining it. And if such be the case, the 
 whole arrangement is a remarkable example of the simplicity and 
 ceconomy of the provisions of nature, in giving at pleasure to simple 
 parts new structure, new offices, and new powers, which cannot but 
 obtain our high admiration, as the providing for wants so important 
 by means so simple ; for what appears to be most singular is, that the 
 same parts or materials as are found in this wonderful structure of 
 the foot, actually exist in the parts above the hoof, that there is no 
 new creation, as we have just seen, and to which may be added that 
 of the frog-band and the hoof — the one is but a vast amplification of 
 the cuticle, and the other an extraordinary amassment of the hair. 
 
 In the upper part of the cutidura is seen the remarkable groove, 
 or notch, so inviting to the knives of former anatomists. And in 
 order to understand fully the intentions and uses of this part, we 
 must again advert to the furch-band, and we believe it is for the first 
 time it has ever been so treated of. If we examine with care and 
 attention the upper margin of this band in a dried specimen, we shall 
 probably discover a double edge, or two distinct terminations of it, 
 
103 
 
 with a small channel between them : this appearance we had often 
 noticed, but could not at all render any account of till lately. In 
 fact the lowermost, or innermost of these terminating edges, which 
 is also the thickest, actually occupies the above channel or notch in 
 the cutidura, and is firmly held there. Now from this strong point 
 of its attachment, or insertion, it sends off a slip or process of soft 
 horn, which is reflected over the skin above, and which becoming 
 thinner as it advances, soon terminates in meeting the cuticle, and 
 making common surface with it. This slip, or little process of soft 
 horn, is not more than about the eighth of an inch in width, and in 
 drying after removal, very much contracts, and the two edges curling 
 towards each other internally, give the above-described appearance of 
 a channel between the two edges. An inverted comma of the 
 printer's would afford not a very indifferent representation of this 
 small part, seen in section, the thicker part of the comma representing 
 the horn which is lodged in the notch, and the finer tail of the 
 comma the reflected portion upon the skin. Now this reflected slip, 
 when fresh, may be about, or perhaps rather more than the eighth of 
 an inch in width, and its breadth determines the actual thickness of 
 the band. This slip adheres very strongly to the skin in the recent 
 hoof, and requires considerable force to detach it. It seems, after 
 this description, almost superfluous to add, that the concave side of 
 the comma is affixed to the skin, and the convex side to the horn of 
 the band. The cutidure becomes flatter and wider as it passes pos- 
 teriorly, and is finally lost in mixing with the dense membranes of 
 the sole, and those which form the horny inflexions. 
 
 Of the Podophylla. The extensive sloping surface below the 
 above part is presenting an almost innumerable assemblage of flaccid 
 foliations or leaves, or processes, which serve to hold the hoof to the 
 foot. They correspond in number to the foliations of the kera- 
 phylla, between which they are inserted ; they are very limber, and 
 easily fall together on their separation from them, and by their ap- 
 pearance and feel, and the smell they emit when burnt, are probably 
 
104 
 
 of a cartilaginous nature, which is also confirmed in that they are 
 sometimes found, from restraints of the foot by shoeing, to be ossified. 
 That they are really cartilaginous, we have also proved in another 
 way ; for if we expose them to the heat of boiling water, they are 
 reduced to a thin gelatinous mass, losing entirely their figure, and 
 even the heat of a dunghill is sufficient for this, whilst the keraphylla 
 do not at all alter their form by this proceeding. And I have seen 
 in canker cases, on dissection after death, that where the podophylla 
 had been destroyed, a smooth plate of cartilage supplied their place, 
 which to me at that time was quite incomprehensible. They clearly 
 appear to me to be a continuation, or production of the cartilaginous 
 part of the cutidura ; and I am also of opinion, that they are enve- 
 loped on every side by a continuation of the red portion of the cuti- 
 dura, which gives them the rounded edges and smooth vascular ap- 
 pearance they possess, and which seems to be confirmed by the cir- 
 cumstance that horn is readily produced in all parts of the foot below 
 the cutidura, in cases of accidental injury, or of exposure of these 
 parts. They probably secrete the keraphylla, and are not placed on 
 the periosteum, or bone, but on a thick membrane, or reticulum, here- 
 after to be described ; they extend also upon the surface of the car- 
 
 Of the Membranous, and secreting Sole. A dense web, and from its 
 similar vascularity probably allied to the reticulum above mentioned, 
 supports, or conveys, the immediate secreting organ to the upper 
 surface of the horny sole ; its vessels are highly beautiful when in- 
 jected, and appear reticulated in squares and areas of almost all figures ; 
 and by their fluid contents can yield to all impressions without any arrest- 
 ation of the blood's circulation. Round its circumference runs a vein 
 and artery, which are sometimes opened in inflammation of the feet 
 with good effect. The horn should be extensively thinned to prevent 
 irritation, and the air and wet be carefully excluded by mild dressings 
 of softened rosin applied on tow till healed. The immediate organ of 
 secreting the sole is probably, as we have already stated, a continu- 
 ation or extension of the above red cutidural membrane. 
 
105 
 
 Of the Internal Furch, or Frog. Having described the Catidura, 
 the Podoplnjtta, and the Vascular Sole, we proceed to a description 
 of the internal frog, as it is seen making common surface with the 
 above parts. Intending to expose its remarkable internal arrange- 
 ment and construction, which was not known till we detected it about 
 twenty years ago, the most erroneous notions having prevailed before 
 respecting it. 
 
 We have formerly had to remark that the horse's furch, or frog, 
 was allied in many circumstances to the pads of some of the other 
 tribes of quadrupeds, and also, that although composed very much of 
 the same general materials, they were more extraordinarily and ela- 
 borately combined than in those simple cushions, and of which we 
 shall now endeavour to convey some notion. 
 
 The horn of the furch, already described, is of necessity lined 
 immediately within by the membrane which secretes it, and which 
 membrane, we are disposed to conjecture, is an extenuated production 
 of the red cutidural investing membrane we have formerly noticed, and 
 which we are led to believe is the universal genetrix of horn through- 
 out the foot, which view will much simplify and facilitate our com- 
 prehension of its mechanism, and of the general arrangement of its 
 parts. 
 
 We must, however, correct this familiar generalization, by stating -a 
 material circumstance as yet unobserved in the structure of this im- 
 portant part of the foot, which will not fail to render our notions of 
 this matter more just and clear, and without which it would be im- 
 possible to entertain ; it is this — That if we view the whole entire 
 surface of the cutidura in all its extent, we shall see that it will be 
 necessary to divide it into two distinct parts or regions, according as 
 it is situated above or below the fossa, or notch, in which the secre- 
 tory lower edge of the frog-band is inserted, as we formerly de- 
 scribed, since this suprafossal portion is alone giving off, or secreting, 
 this band, and the other, or infra-fossal portion, which is vastly 
 more extensive, is alone giving off, or secreting, the wall of the hoof; 
 
 o 
 
106 
 
 this latter, for distinction, we propose to call the Onuchal region ; 
 the former, The Perioplic region of the Cutidura. 
 
 Now, since it is the superior of these, or perioplic region of the 
 Cutidura, which alone gives off, and secretes the furch-band, and 
 which secretory surface being continued on to the bulbs, becomes 
 wider in extent and enlarged, in order to supply the greater demand 
 of horn there, and next continuing its course to the base of the 
 furch, it secretes this also, and then indeed the whole of the horn of 
 the frog. And which division is necessary, since this horn is essen- 
 tially in its nature different from the horn of the wall, or that of the 
 sole, and is appointed the peculiar production of this region, of which 
 the whole secretory surface of the frog is part. 
 
 Having thus far premised, we next observe it is the secreting mem- 
 brane of this supra-fossal region that lines immediately the horn of 
 the furch : though of so delicate and fine a texture is it, and of such 
 extreme tenuity, that its existence is rather to be inferred from the 
 necessity of it, than as becoming an object of sight : but such is the 
 case with many important membranes of the body ; even the cuticle 
 itself would be hardly an object of the dissector's regard, though 
 brought into such conspicuous evidence by the application of a 
 blister to the skin. 
 
 Within this secretory membrane is a square capsule of ligament, as 
 I first apprehended, but believe it on further search, more posteriorly, 
 rather of a soft elastic cartilage ; it is well defined outwardly — its 
 inside rough and irregular ; narrowing a little downwards, and present- 
 ing three sides of a square, filling the two sides and bottom of the 
 horn of the furch. Upwards this capsule is open, its sides mount- 
 ing over the ridge of the union of the frog and bar, and it then can 
 be traced along the sole, and is found terminating in mixing with the 
 granular cartilage surrounding the extremities of the coffin bone ; it 
 cuts smooth, and dries transparent, whereas the elastic ligaments 
 within its inclosure are nearly opaque and rough in their exterior 
 when dried. Within this capsule are observable transverse layers of 
 
107 
 
 tendon or ligament, which also are somewhat inclining to cartilage 
 posteriorly ; the lowermost appear to be attached to the sides of 
 the capsule ; the uppermost seem to pass above it, mingling with the 
 general ligamentous stuffing above ; and about the middle of the frog 
 or its cushion the layers are about six or seven in number. 
 
 Between these horizontal plates of tendon or ligament, which are 
 very lax and arching upwards, (but immediately become tense if any 
 pressure is exerted on the horn,) is lodged a soft, flaccid, glossy mem- 
 brane, strongly adhering to the surfaces of these plates, and if 
 dragged by the forceps, immediately discloses its membranous and 
 tangible nature, and appears to be held by numberless threads or 
 small vessels to these plates. This elastic matter is of a white colour, 
 or of a reddish white in the recent foot, but in process of time, or 
 by disease, it assumes a yellowish colour, which has occasioned it to 
 be strangely mistaken by Professor Coleman for yellow oil, and these 
 transverse tendons for bags, and which said bags, and their oil, have 
 been supposed the agents of the most extraordinary offices, such 
 as forcing the side cartilages of the foot, &c. &c. — See Coleman, 
 Vol. % p. 123. 
 
 This lax material, lodged between these plates, seems to be 
 nothing more than a simple membrane, and from its laxity capable 
 of great extension, which its situation, and the impulses of the 
 foot against the ground, must often call into strong action to secure 
 the capsule ; and its office is also that of deadening feeling and sen- 
 sation, and of protecting the important parts immediately situated 
 above, such as the joint of the foot itself, and the tendons going for 
 insertion into the coffin bone, and which are passing under the shuttle 
 bone. If we make a perpendicular section of the furch about its 
 middle, these membranes will be seen protruding from between these 
 transverse tendons, especially on pressure, and receding again on its 
 removal. 
 
 Now this capsule, with its transverse layers of ligament, give the 
 fundamental plan of structure of this singular part, and these con- 
 
 o2 
 
108 
 
 strated layers, as they pass anteriorly, approach each other, and near 
 the point of the frog coalesce in forming one very stout, strong 
 tendon, which is affixed to the posterior semi-lunar excavation of the 
 coffin bone about its middle, holding the furch firmly to this situation. 
 Passing backwards, these transverse tendons appear to become diffuse 
 and more numerous, and thin and flaccid, and finally are lost in the 
 elastic stuffing which fills the central and posterior parts of the foot, 
 and which is hereafter to be more fully considered. 
 
 The above most singular apparatus seems admirably designed to 
 break and diminish the force of any sudden shock or percussion on 
 this tender and very exposed part, and this important office appears 
 to be performed by each of these layers in succession receiving the 
 impulse of the stroke, and transmitting it with a continually dimi- 
 nished effect to the next above ; so that before its arrival at the parts 
 protected, it will be rendered so weak and powerless as to be inca- 
 pable of doing mischief, or even, perhaps, of conveying much un- 
 pleasant impression. This singular apparatus therefore may be safely 
 regarded as contributing to strengthen this weakest part of the foot, 
 and of confirming the force of his step, and as being one among the 
 many provisions which belong to this highly-endowed animal for the 
 augmenting his utility and powers of serving us. 
 
 In concluding we may also add, that we think it not improbable 
 that the ligamentous, or rather, semi-cartilaginous parts of the inter- 
 nal structure of the furch, may be derived from an extension of the 
 hardened part, or ligamentous substratum of the cutidura, although 
 so remotely placed, as to be with difficulty traced to it. 
 
 On making a perpendicular section of the furch about its middle, 
 we may observe its capsule is surrounded to some distance, as rather 
 more than to the extent of the eighth of an inch, by a white, opaque, 
 and soft horn ; which opacity and whiteness of the horn is found to 
 arise from the vessels that are entering it, and which may be easily 
 drawn out, and they then appear to be of a conical figure. The 
 moisture thus contributed is the cause of this opacity, and as it 
 
109 
 
 advances forward, and becomes more dry, it assumes the dark trans- 
 parent colour that we see the horn of the frog to have. And we are 
 led to doubt if this opaque white frame of horn may not perhaps 
 define the limit of those deep exfoliations of the frog we have for- 
 merly noticed, and which may extend to the point of these vessels. 
 The succulence of the horn beyond these vessels is maintained, per- 
 haps, by a species of mechanical absorption of the fluids given out by 
 these vessels, as also from its exposure to the moisture of the ground. 
 
 Having now described the various parts forming the surfaces 
 which are exposed when the hoof has been removed, we shall proceed 
 to consider the parts which are found immediately beneath these, 
 and which, for the sake of rendering this demonstration of the foot as 
 clear as possible, we think it best to form into a separate order from 
 the attaching parts, and to call them our third division, making the 
 bones the fourth, instead of the third, as we originally proposed ; and 
 this arrangement, we believe, will be useful in affording us a greater 
 clearness of view of the several classes of parts the machinery of the 
 foot receives, and the order of their succession in forming it. This 
 new order will consist chiefly of the Reticulum, the Cartilages, and 
 the elastic resilient Stuffing, which every where fills up the frame of 
 the posterior parts of the foot, and which order we designate for dis- 
 tinction The sub-attaching parts. 
 
 DIV. III.— SUB-ATTACHING PARTS. 
 
 Of the Reticulum processigerum. The podophylla are not, as has 
 been asserted, really placed on the bone of the foot, but are planted 
 upon a highly-elastic web, or thickened membrane, we have called by 
 the above name ; it is found in greatest substance or depth in the 
 
110 
 
 front parts of the foot, and being of considerable thickness, receives 
 within it an infinity of large blood-vessels, chiefly veins, which, anas- 
 tomosing and running through it in all directions, give to it a singular 
 beauty and rich appearance when injected with coloured wax. And the 
 fluids contained in these vessels, by readily yielding to all impressions 
 conveyed by the hoof, will contribute as a sort of cushion to soften 
 these effects, and which is not at all unnecessary in the sometimes in- 
 credibly-long protracted journies they are made to perform; they will 
 also tend to preserve the foot from the inflammation which might other- 
 wise attend such unreasonable labours, doing perhaps within the hoof, in 
 some degree, the offices that are done without by the pads and stuffings 
 of the camel's feet, into which their feet sink down. This vast con- 
 geries of vessels will act also as a reservoir for the blood, which must 
 be determined in great abundance to the feet on these occasions, and 
 also serve to equalize the pressure, keep the parts moist, and prevent 
 any sudden heatings or chillings from exposure, or any arrestation of the 
 free circulation of the blood from unequal bearing or pressure of the 
 foot, by their frequent anastomosings. The extraordinary extent, elas- 
 ticity, and thickness of substance, will occasion it also to contribute 
 almost, or quite as much, to the motions of the bone in the hoof as 
 do the keraphylla, or indeed more, those being designed chiefly for 
 strength of attachment. I need hardly add, that I have called it 
 Reticulum, from its being formed of a net-work of fibres, and pro- 
 cessigerum, from processus, and gero, bearing or carrying the processes; 
 for parts without a name are almost as parts without an existence. 
 This elastic web, on meeting the lateral cartilages, passes over their 
 surface, adhering strongly to their lower parts, and so situated, is 
 conferring a still more extensive power of elastic yielding to these 
 parts. And it is not clear to me whether this Reticulum is an immense 
 amplification and extension of the periosteum, or a production simply 
 of the cellular membrane, but believe the latter. 
 
Ill 
 
 Of the great Podal Cartilages. These cartilages of the foot being of 
 a very different character to cartilages in general, ought to be dis- 
 tinctly classed, but we fail in a proper name for distinguishing them ; 
 however, in some degree we do so, by calling them the podal carti- 
 lages, as contra-distinguished from articular and other cartilages. 
 
 Not unaware, from former experience of the difficulty attending 
 the description and the understanding of these cartilages, from their 
 various structure, and their commixed and diffusive nature, so am I 
 led, in making this attempt, to give along with their description the 
 manner and process I have pursued in investigating them, that others 
 may be enabled to arrive at the same view of them, or correct any 
 errors I may inadvertently have fallen into respecting them, if such 
 should be the case. 
 
 For this investigation I do not recommend the usual practice of 
 macerating the foot in order to disengage it from the hoof, which 
 would damage and discolour many of the more delicate parts con- 
 nected with these cartilages ; but after having procured a fresh foot, 
 to proceed with it in the following manner : — first to use a drawing 
 knife to detach the sole from its union with the wall — then to employ 
 a fine saw, making several longitudinal cuts quite through the wall, 
 drawing the detached pieces off upwards by a pair of pincers, and 
 thus removed from the sides of the foot a pretty extensive portion 
 of the hoof: we then dissect off the skin, and afterwards the web 
 and the cutidura.* 
 
 The cartilages now present themselves in a denuded state, occupy- 
 ing a considerable extent along both sides of the foot ; outwardly 
 they are of a tolerably smooth and uniform surface, convex and 
 
 * I shall not conceal it, however, that I often use a more summary process still to rid 
 the hoof; and for this purpose make deep diagonal cuts with a saw through the lower 
 parts of the hoof, so deep as to expose the red edges of the vascular sole, removing both 
 sole and wall to some distance, securing the foot in a square box nailed to the work- 
 bench or table ; next by longitudinal cuts into the wall with a flat wrench of iron, I easily 
 remove the pieces ; if it be a cart-horse especially, where the parts are seen on a large 
 scale, the process is vastly facilitated. 
 
112 
 
 curving to the figure of the foot, of which, indeed, at the posterior 
 parts they confer the principal figure ; in their middle they are some- 
 what hunched, or gibbous, opposite to the ends of the shuttle bone, 
 and condyles of the coronet bone ; and in their lower parts are much 
 perforated with blood-vessels, especially posteriorly. 
 
 Their general figure may be compared to that of a fan pretty fully 
 expanded, and fixed by its centre, which is also much thicker, as well 
 as by one limb at its lower edge, and in part only, firmly to the side of 
 the coffin bone, posteriorly and near to its top, securely lodged in a 
 wide, oblong, and tolerably deep cavity provided for its reception. 
 
 The upper region of this cartilage rises boldly above the hoof, and 
 may be distinguished from the other parts of it by the term Coronary 
 Process; it is beautifully incurvated, and reflected over the softer 
 internal parts of the foot, affording a roofing and defence to them, and 
 also a noble outline to these parts. It terminates by a thinner 
 rounded edge, often deeply toothed, and notched or scolloped. If 
 cut into, its substance appears to be firm, smooth, and delicately 
 white. 
 
 In order to investigate the structure of the cartilage lower down, 
 or near to its central region, and to obtain a view of its interior ap- 
 pearance, we make an incision with a knife through its whole length, 
 and one or two crucial incisions, traversing the former at right angles, 
 we then are enabled, with a little dissection, to loosen its attachments, 
 and to reverse the position of these pieces, and detach them wholly, 
 or in part from their adherence ; and we discover the interior surface 
 to be very different from the outer, being of a softer, more spongy 
 and elastic nature, and with more redness and colour, and extremely 
 knotty and irregular ; and within it, an abundant distribution of 
 large blood-vessels, chiefly veins, every where lining this inside ; and 
 if we were to conjecture their probable use, we should say that we 
 believed them intended to assist in keeping up the temperature, and 
 consequently the life and elastic actions of this part, itself nearly des- 
 titute of blood, and for maintaining it against the effects of injurious 
 exposure, whether of excessive heat or cold. 
 
113 
 
 I may further observe of this remarkable plexus of blood-vessels 
 and cavity that is found behind the cartilage, and which appears 
 conspicuous enough in a vertical section of the foot transversely 
 made across the quarters, is of an oblong shape, and has not before 
 received much attention ; and I have been led to consider it as a kind 
 of reservoir for receiving the blood that may be pumped up during 
 any strong or rapid exertions of the animal, from the effects of the 
 motions in the hoof of the bones of the foot, which, accumulating 
 in these large vessels, contained in a spacious cavity, is thus pre- 
 vented from creating derangement to the general current of the cir- 
 culation, or causing, by its impetuous course, any sudden rupture of 
 the finer vessels of the foot. 
 
 I have subsequently found, or imagined at least, that the above- 
 described cavities behind the cartilage were not exactly alike on 
 both sides of the foot, and that the inner one was rather larger than 
 the outer, and the course of it not so straight. These cavities are 
 loosely filled with cellular membrane, retaining the vessels in their 
 place, which the saw often entirely removes, and leaves it a perfect 
 void : the passage downwards from these cavities is very straight, and 
 terminates at last upon the inside of the extremity of the coffin bone 
 exactly within the scutiform process. If we desire to lay this part 
 open at once with the saw to obtain a view of it, it is only necessary 
 to place the instrument about the middle of the cartilage, at its most 
 protuberating point laterally, and then sloping it to the axis of the 
 hoof, we shall either plunge directly into, or so near it, as to obtain 
 a sufficiently-favourable view. This cavity may be called the infun- 
 dibalum, being a sort of funnel, and its straight pipe may be termed 
 the Canalis vasiferus. 
 
 Some blood-vessels are also seen streaming down on the outside of 
 the cartilage, coming from the interior, and probably assist in main- 
 taining the same vivifying influence and warmth on the outside that 
 we have ascribed to those on the opposite side. 
 
 p 
 
114 
 
 The inside cartilage, we have thought, was often larger and 
 thicker, and more protuberant than the outer, and that it was more 
 deeply secured in the bone. Whether this may have any reference 
 to the blood-vessels of this side, or to the opposite foot, in lessening 
 the danger of its being disturbed by a casual blow from it, I shall 
 not presume to determine. 
 
 It appears now to be necessary previously to entering into further 
 details respecting the cartilages, to advert to the coffin bone which 
 supports it, and which the reader, as they are easily to be procured, 
 will do well to consult, obtaining one of mature age and well marked : 
 in the subjoined plate, however, No. 6, there is also a view of it. 
 
 We shall see in examining it that the excavation for the insertion 
 of the cartilage is near the summit of the bone, and posteriorly both 
 wide and deep, that it grows much narrower as it advances forwards, 
 becoming a thin channel only, losing itself on the front eminence of 
 the bone. This channel, however, is not confined solely to retaining 
 the cartilage, since it receives a strong ligament from the coronet 
 bone, anteriorly to the cartilage, and the channel on the eminence 
 itself in front is occupied by the expanding termination of the 
 tendon of the extensor of the foot. 
 
 Immediately behind this cavity, or posteriorly to it, there suddenly 
 rises up from the bone a remarkable flat square plate of bone, often, 
 however, especially in the young bone, rounded on the top, which is 
 always grooved, in order evidently for the greater security of the 
 cartilage. To distinguish this prominent feature, we shall call it 
 The scutiform process; it is powerfully supporting the cartilage 
 from any dislodgment, being opposed to the deep hollow cavity 
 immediately before it ; and it is singular also that it should be placed 
 nearly in the middle or central point of the whole cartilage : it is 
 also worthy of attention that it is found to be the very point of com- 
 mencement of the ossification of the cartilage in all the specimens 
 of ring-bone that we possess, which appear, indeed, to be but as the 
 
115 
 
 continuation or extension of this very process.— Being placed near 
 the waning extremities of the coffin bone, it must afford to them 
 a remarkable support ; and it is also found to be immediately opposed 
 to the two pointed extremities of the shuttle-bone, strengthening the 
 articulation at this important part, all of which circumstances render 
 it necessary that it should be distinguished by a proper name as one 
 of the most notable parts of this bone. We now again revert to the 
 cartilage. 
 
 It is by no means an easy matter to sub-divide an irregular convex 
 mass, like the cartilage, into intelligible divisional boundaries for de- 
 scription ; and after viewing it in many ways, we propose only to use 
 the terms coronary, or super-onuchal process, and inferior, or infra- 
 onuchal process, according as they are situated above or below the 
 surface of the hoof; adding to these the anterior and posterior 
 limbs, which are partaking of both situations, and to which must be 
 added also the interior or stratiform process. 
 
 Of the Anterior Process. This limb in passing forwards, is firmly 
 attached by its lower edge to the coffin bone, in the groove we have 
 indicated; but when advanced to a certain distance in the front, it com- 
 bines intimately with the ligament which holds the coronet bone to the 
 coffin bone, and they are both inserted together in the same groove ; 
 their union is by oblique lateral surfaces, and is of the most intimate 
 kind, so much so, that an inadvertent dissector might easily view them 
 as one body. They then meet the great extensor tendon of the leg, 
 and are connected loosely with it by cellular membrane, so as to be 
 easily separable, and with which they make one common general 
 surface. This anterior extremity of the cartilage takes a very 
 strong adherence by its inner surface to the condyle of the coronet 
 bone laterally, and anterior to the above ligament. And this portion 
 of the cartilage also closely surrounds the coffin joint, that the articu- 
 lation appears to be without any proper capsular ligament at this 
 
 p2 
 
116 
 
 part. In some feet, however, we apprehend we have seen it suffi- 
 ciently conspicuous, — whether this is depending on the degree of 
 violence with which the animal has been used, I know not, as its 
 relaxation, it would be natural to suppose, will very much depend 
 upon this. In operations, however, we may observe, it should be a 
 primary object to preserve it untouched. 
 
 If we cut into the substance of this front portion of the cartilage, 
 we find it firm, solid, and very white ; but its inside surface, or 
 surface exposed to the joint, is more spongy, and often reddened with 
 blood. And this anterior limb, we may remark, is very rarely ossified 
 in case of ring-bones, which invade nearly all the superior and pos- 
 terior parts of the cartilage without difficulty, 
 
 Having removed with the knife the superior part, or coronary pro- 
 cess of the cartilage, we, by detaching successive slices with the 
 scalpel, come to parts containing tubuli, or pipes, which appear to 
 rise up within the solid matter of the cartilage ; and lower down, 
 these are succeeded by denticulations and breaks often, with dove- 
 tail points, and sinuous, irregular, cavities, breaking into the inner edge 
 of the cartilage, and containing a red membrane. These membranes 
 are doubtless blood-vessels, — veins, chiefly, — which are perhaps 
 aiding, as we have supposed, in supplying the vital warmth we have 
 described, and also in opposing the effects of an intemperate expo- 
 sure, the cartilages being otherwise in themselves almost inanimate 
 parts, and destitute of nerves or blood-vessels. And these numerous 
 breaks and interruptions in the substance of the cartilage, will, we 
 apprehend, essentially contribute to maintain their elasticity, and 
 oppose the process of ossification also, to which, unfortunately, these 
 parts are but too frequently liable. 
 
 Towards the extremity of the foot, this cartilage exhibits a stellated 
 or radiated appearance and contexture, the rays or circles of which 
 converging to a central point, do not entirely meet there to fill it, but 
 leave a small opening through which a blood-vessel is seen to pass ; 
 
117 
 
 and generally these vessels have an horizontal direction given them. 
 It is doubtful with me, whether from this termination of the cartilage 
 in the extremities of the coffin bone, a thin stratum may not be sent 
 off to the assistance of the posterior membranes of the sole and frog ; 
 dissection, however, does not seem to demonstrate any such, though 
 a vertical section of these parts being dried and varnished, exhibits 
 more transparency in them than is usual in mere membranes and 
 ligamentary parts. 
 
 We have also observed that, by making a section with the saw 
 vertically between the furch and the bar, or in the commissures of 
 the foot, we can, by afterwards removing the bar and sole, get an ex- 
 cellent view of the concave inside surface of the upright cartilage, 
 and which is exhibiting a triple row of openings, or lacunce, for 
 blood-vessels, which pass into, and also through this cartilage ; and 
 these openings have small remarkable partitions of cartilage disposed 
 between them. 
 
 On reducing the cartilage farther, we arrive at a portion of greater 
 thickness, and which appears also to be passing inwards, and is of a 
 more irregular texture and darker colour often : to distinguish this 
 internal part from the upright portion, we have called it 
 
 The internal cartilage, or stratiform process, which has baffled us 
 completely for a long time in rendering any satisfactory account of 
 or obtaining any notion of its extent and connexions; it appears, 
 however, to be not merely a general supplementary intermedium for 
 filling up vacant parts not occupied by the machinery of the foot, but 
 is lending its useful aid in sustaining some of these parts. 
 
 After many an unsuccessful attempt to unravel its real extent and 
 figure, in which I hardly ever arrived twice at the same conclusions, 
 I found that the readiest way of getting a fair view of it, was by 
 means of a saw, which should be passed through the hoof in an hori- 
 zontal direction, and in a line parallel with its upper edge, and at 
 the distance from it of about half, or three quarters of an inch only : 
 this proceeding, I found, exposed it through the middle of its most 
 
118 
 
 extensive distribution inwards, and informed us that it was passing 
 interiorly as far as the ridge formed by the union of the sole with 
 the bar, or inflexion. 
 
 This internal cartilage is of a coarser grain and looser texture 
 than the upright portion, and softer and more yielding ; it cuts, how- 
 ever, in many parts with sufficient crispness, like cartilages in general ; 
 its very interior part is, however, more broken and interrupted, and 
 often browner, as though of a coriaceous, or leathery consistence, or, 
 as partaking of the nature of cartilage mixed with ligament. 
 
 This interiorly projected process is replete with sinuous fissures 
 and openings, where it unites with, or proceeds from, the inside of 
 the lateral cartilage ; but more especially these openings are found 
 most numerous at its posterior parts, and will obviously serve to 
 render it more pliant and yielding to all the movements of the hoof, 
 and particularly so in accompanying those of the more flexible sole 
 and frog. 
 
 After much time spent in investigating this obscure part, we find 
 that it is perfectly incorporated with, and proceeding from, the 
 upright process; and we at last found that its commencement was 
 nearly as high up as to be on a level with the brim, or upper fine 
 edge of the hoof, where it may be felt by the fingers, after we have 
 severed and removed the upper portion of the coronary process ; 
 small, rough points, and elevated flexible ridges of cartilage, are then 
 perceptible on its upper surface, which bend to the touch of the 
 nail, and are hardly observable but by tact, being covered and ob- 
 scured by dense membranes. 
 
 It is not possible, however, to arrive at a knowledge of this intri- 
 cate part of the cartilage by these means ; but we shall now proceed 
 to point out a perfectly new way of dissecting it, that will render it 
 perfectly clear, and afford us an effectual and satisfactory account of 
 it, which is by exposing it on both its surfaces at once. 
 
 To make this disclosure, we pass the knife in an horizontal direction 
 through the cartilage, close to the superior fine edge of the hoof, 
 
119 
 
 carrying it to the bone, which we then saw half through : we meet 
 this cut by a vertical one, slitting the coronet bone longitudinally 
 down to the former cut, thus making a half section of the foot, divi- 
 ding all the soft parts with a sharp scalpel. 
 
 On removing the portion cut, a beautiful view presents itself in a 
 half longitudinal section of a part we cannot otherwise so well con- 
 template, and which at the present, for want of a better name, we 
 shall designate The Glairey Mass or plastic stuffing ; it is observable, 
 lodged between the skin and the tendons, of a pyramidal form, reach- 
 ing to near the summit of the coronet bone, upwards diminutive, but 
 enlarging downwards, and reposing by its base upon the globular mass 
 of elastic ligament, and so intimately attached to it, that it would easily 
 pass but for this view of it, and its very different texture, for one 
 body, and indeed the mass below, requires this along with it to con- 
 stitute the globular body we have described, making separately, or 
 alone, only an oblate or flattened globular figure. 
 
 This glairey substance is the most limber, soft, ductile, and 
 yielding of any animal substance that we are acquainted with, and in 
 its non-resistent qualities nearly approaching to that of a fluid. 
 
 We remove this, and also the oblate mass of elastic ligament together, 
 and we then obtain an excellent view without difficulty of the whole 
 upper surface of the stratiform process, which presents the figure of 
 a flattened concave or shallow bason, particularly well adapted to the 
 retention of the above ligamentous bodies. 
 
 We must now carefully proceed in removing all the hoof from the 
 bottom and sides of this posterior part of the foot in the way before 
 intimated — by sawing off diagonal slices of its lower parts, and we 
 remove also half of the horn of the frog. This will enable us con- 
 veniently to detach the membranes which line the hoof, and envelope 
 the cartilage on this side, and we then obtain a perfect view of the 
 cartilage on its inferior surface, and where it is found covering the 
 ridge of the commissure of the hoof, which is formed by a triple 
 union of the sole, the bar, and the frog. In passing upon this ridge, 
 
120 
 
 the cartilage becomes so extremely thin that it does not much exceed 
 in thickness a half-crown piece, that is to say, in a blood horse's foot. 
 Having passed over this ridge, this process of the cartilage again 
 thickens, and enlarging every way, is rising upwards, and forming the 
 interior rim of the bason or concave we have just described; descend- 
 ing also below, and considerably enlarging in this direction, it occupies 
 the interior of the broad base of the frog ; and also advancing for- 
 wards to its middle parts, it divides and interiorly separates into 
 coarse horizontal plates, having between them the elastic membrane, 
 forming the apparatus that we have formerly described with the frog, 
 and which apparatus is continued to within some short distance of 
 the point of the frog. These plates are placed in lines parallel to 
 the bearing surface of the hoof on the ground ; they have, however, 
 a trifling elevation forwards, and sinking posteriorly, making a small 
 angle to the horizon. They are evidently forming a most useful sort 
 of defence to the important tendons placed over them, and which, 
 we may observe, are also farther secured from the disastrous conse- 
 quences of bruises from external violence by the moveable and un- 
 fixed condition of the shuttle bone, against which they would both 
 be impelled in these cases. 
 
 We can now readily discover, that the inferior surface of the 
 stratiform process, like the superior, is cupped also, but with its con- 
 cave presented in the opposite direction, and this inferior side or 
 surface is also in figure an oblong oval, and vastly deeper than that 
 on its superior surface ; so that in reality this process of the cartilage 
 is in figure a double concave, the one circumscribing the ridge of the 
 commissure, and the other presenting a flat bason for the convenient 
 retention and lodgment of the globular body of the elastic stuffing. 
 
 And now, when all the difficulties on this subject have been re- 
 moved, on looking at them we are only surprised that they could 
 have detained us so long in embarrassment; for we believe these 
 elucidations will be found in no preceding writer, or scarcely even 
 allusion made in any way to such a part. And we hope also that the 
 
121 
 
 gratification we have experienced in clearing up this arduous knot, 
 (for such it has been,) may extend to all who have an interest in, or 
 derive pleasure from, the services of these most worthy creatures. 
 
 For the greater convenience of considering and speaking of this 
 remarkable part, we had in a former edition applied the term Stra- 
 tiform process to it, as being placed in a parallel direction to the 
 stratus, street, or road, on which the horse was moving, in contra- 
 distinction also, to the upright or lateral process ; which appellation 
 we believe we cannot do better than to retain. 
 
 Of the posterior limb of the Cartilage. — This extremity of the 
 cartilage sloping downwards rather suddenly, on arriving at the 
 extremity of the foot, is curving inwards to encircle it, and form the 
 frame of the cartilaginous bulbs, which we have so called to distin- 
 guish them from the horn bulbs which envelope these externally, and 
 which with nearly all the other parts at the back of the foot or leg, 
 have been at times vulgarly termed heels, evidently a phrase without 
 any meaning in our art, and not being of the least use is therefore 
 expunged. 
 
 These bulbs curving inwards are disposed of in the way we have 
 described, and interiorly become intimately interwoven with the 
 elastic stuffing, and along with them is carried in also a process of 
 the skin, deeply insinuated into the sinus, between the two bulbs, 
 and which is powerfully aiding from rupture these tender and exposed 
 parts of the foot. It is also especially to be remarked here, that this 
 process of the skin is forming a loop or doubling by being thus 
 carried inwards, and its two surfaces being cemented together, they 
 become, when from any cause they are opened and exposed, the true 
 cause and genuine seat of that disagreeable disorder called the 
 Running Frush. 
 
122 
 
 Of the Uses of the Cartilages. 
 
 These extensive cartilages are made to serve many important pur- 
 poses in the business of the foot, some of the more leading of which 
 we shall here endeavour to expose. And in a foot having such ex- 
 traordinary demands upon it, it will be evident the resistance of a 
 solid unyielding body would have been quite inconvenient in the 
 sides and posterior parts of it at least, so that on this account they 
 occupy so very large a share of it as a substitute for bone, battening 
 out, and supplying the form of the foot in these parts to a con- 
 siderable extent : for the coffin bone, except by its extremities, does 
 not in reality extend much beyond the middle of the hoof; the rest 
 of its figure is almost wholly communicated by these cartilages, 
 strengthened and assisted by the hoof. 
 
 And the singularly-small appearance which the coffin bone makes, 
 when compared with the hoof it belonged to, is chiefly occasioned 
 by the extensive share of its upper parts, more especially, occupied 
 by these widely-distributed cartilages, the supplementary intermedia, 
 of the foot; and which are assuming in their course an extraor- 
 dinary variety of thickness and hardness according to the parts 
 they fill up, or offices they have to perform ; and which become, if 
 held rigidly, and deprived of their natural motions, osseous, or 
 converted into bone, especially in their more solid parts, and then 
 have obtained the name of Ring-bones, that is, bones of the ring, 
 or superior circle of the hoof, the coronary process being more espe- 
 cially liable to this affection. 
 
 Both portions of the cartilage united, circumscribe the lateral and 
 posterior boundaries of the foot constituting a kind of elastic 
 general frame upon which it is highly probable the horn is first 
 receiving its form, and which also extends as this part extends with 
 age ; the cartilage, also, we should apprehend, must grow and increase 
 with the developement of the frog, since this organ at birth is little 
 else than thin horn and membrane. 
 
123 
 
 It is forming also in the posterior parts of the foot, superiorly, a 
 sort of box or capsule, by the union of the transverse with the lateral 
 processes, supporting the elastic globular bodies and their coverings, 
 and which process thrust upwards is equalizing the general pressure 
 from the sole and weaker posterior parts of the foot. The cartilage 
 descending into the body of the furch performs the office of a core 
 or expanding mold on which the furch is furnishing and receives 
 with its increase its ultimate form, which view opens to us new and 
 more simple apprehensions of the structure and developement of this 
 part, and removes the necessity of imagining any other capsule than 
 what is furnished by the thickened mass or exterior frame-work of 
 this cartilaginous process, which is immediately covered over by the 
 kerapoietic membranes. About to enter the furch, however, the 
 cartilage becomes more broken and interrupted in its mass, and more 
 granular, and finally severs into plates interiorly, which singular 
 apparatus we have formerly described, or rather as we have some- 
 times thought, these plates may perhaps be considered as proceeding 
 from, and formed by, a process sent down from the globular bodies, 
 or the cartilage supporting them, and which is passing between the 
 two descending portions of the stratiform process, which are lining the 
 furch laterally, and meeting on the bottom of the middle of the frog 
 longitudinally, become united and form its capsule, and thus circum- 
 scribing in its interior the above apparatus. A preparation of a thin 
 transverse slice, dried, varnished, and rendered transparent, would 
 seem to authorize such a conclusion. So that cartilage appears to 
 be the pervading principle in the hind parts of the foot, as much 
 as bone and ligament are in the anterior parts of this machine. 
 
 Another important office is performed by conveying the skin or 
 cutidura rather, to its lodgment in the coronary concave of the hoof, 
 and afterwards by resting against it, is perhaps facilitating the secre- 
 tions of the part, and by its elastic spring also, is enabling it to follow 
 all the movements required by these parts, without the danger of a dis- 
 location. It gives also to the foot an embossed and noble appearance 
 
124 
 
 externally to the eye. It protects the coffin joint and strengthens 
 it in a remarkable manner from the disorder which a lateral thrust 
 of the coronet bone would occasion it. The hoof itself also is in a 
 degree elastic, bending, and accommodating itself to the more violent 
 motions and distortions of the foot, easing thus the interior parts, 
 which otherwise would be bruised and suffer from resistance. 
 
 A still more important office remains to be exposed if we can suc- 
 ceed in making it intelligible, — that of supplying the coffin-bone with 
 a considerable share of its means of motion in the hoof; for it is to 
 be remarked, that as the coffin-bone is obliged to describe in its 
 descent under strong pressure from the limb and body, a small portion 
 or segment of a circle, at its back parts, round its centre of motion, 
 or rather its more fixed parts, (for there is no part of it wholly fixed,) 
 towards the front of the foot ; so this could not have been so well 
 accomplished had the bone itself been fixed at its upper part to the 
 keraphyllous processes in front of the hoof, these being too incon- 
 siderable to afford in that part of the bone the extent of motion re- 
 quired, but by the intervention of an elastic cartilage between the 
 bone and the internal surface of the hoof which is carrying the pro- 
 cesses ; the bone is thereby acquiring a greater liberty for action, and 
 the movement of its upper parts, to perform the necessary depression. 
 
 Another useful office appears when we consider the horse in violent 
 action ; the pastern and coronet bones are then forcibly drawn from 
 their backward position, over the front of the hoof before the foot 
 quits the ground, and consequently will force these posterior parts 
 backwards and downwards with great power, and sink and depress 
 them very much, but which are prevented from disunion and rup- 
 ture, by being contained within the encircling hoof, and the elastic 
 yielding body of these cartilages and the furch, will aid in restoring 
 them to their first position, the horn furch also assisting — and where 
 the cartilage again would be inconvenient or unnecessary, there we 
 find the reticulum processigerum is supplying its place. 
 
 A perpetual shoe would soon be intolerable, but for the nature of 
 
125 
 
 this cartilage, and the large share it occupies in the structure of the 
 foot, for being highly elastic, and having, as it should appear, but 
 little vascularity or sensation, it gives way to the impression ; and it 
 is a circumstance deserving particular attention, whether in cases of 
 contracted hoofs, the pain may in reality so much reside in the pos- 
 terior parts of it as in those placed more anteriorly, where there is 
 greater solidity, resistance, and sensation, as with the sides of the 
 coffin-bone and in its immediate coverings. 
 
 Of the internal bulbs, or resilient globes. Having before had 
 frequent occasion to allude to these parts, there will be less necessity 
 now for enlarging upon them. It may be observed, however, that 
 these two globes are forming the foundation of the two spherical 
 bulbs, which the horses foot is seen to present posteriorly; and 
 lodged in the superior concave surface of the stratiform process of 
 the cartilage are occupying a space extending from the posterior 
 surfaces of the flexor tendons to the incurvations of the cartilages, and 
 from side to side they occupy the space that is between the concave 
 surfaces presented by the lateral cartilages interiorly. 
 
 If we examine these bodies more attentively, they would appear 
 to be formed, of two flattened globular masses, having circular or 
 concentric rings of ligament or tendons disposed through their entire 
 substance. On rending these bodies from their bed, we leave a 
 most irregular uneven surface to the cartilaginous cup, full of rough 
 knots and lines, which we now find to be the real roots of attach- 
 ment of these globes to this receptaculum, and that what appeared 
 concentric tendons or ligaments, are in reality the continuations of 
 these irregular plates or processes, which are indeed perfectly cartila- 
 ginous, and are found to become the concentric rings we had before 
 called tendons, but instead of concentric circles, which a casual 
 inspection would easily ascribe to them, they appear transversely 
 disposed in lines, curving or bulging posteriorly as they rise from the 
 hollow cup, and growing thinner as they pass upward, they terminate 
 
126 
 
 abruptly at the upper part of the ball. This disposition prevails as 
 far as to the middle of the receptaculum, when their order appears 
 to be reversed, and the rising lines of semicircular cartilage then 
 curve, or bulge anteriorly, and ascending like the former to the supe- 
 rior parts of the globe, approach, but do not actually meet the 
 former, and thus form together an imperfect appearance of concentric 
 circles. Those situated upon the posterior half, appear to be some- 
 what more robust and strong than those springing from the anterior 
 distribution. Interposed between these cartilaginous semi-circles 
 is a soft gelatino-ligament, of a consistence rather more inspissated 
 than the glairey pyramidal masses we have described above them. 
 The rough surface of this concave receptaculum, which we had for- 
 merly described " as defying dissection," is in fact formed or made 
 up of these divided lines and ridges of cartilage, and which under- 
 stood, will render the part intelligible enough.* In passing the 
 finger, which becomes an indispensable instrument in investigating 
 these parts, round the brim of this basin on the inner quarter and 
 behind the vascular infundibulum, we detect a stout tendon, almost 
 cartilaginous, and which we can trace downwards into the cup of the 
 cartilage, inserted close to the internal edge of the perforans tendon, 
 and uniting with it: upwards it can be traced enlarging and passing 
 along the inside of the pastern bone densely envelloped in cellular 
 membrane till it is lost again upon the fetlock joint. This singular 
 part is not of constant appearance and especially in the smaller horses. 
 
 * I observe Prof. Coleman has jumbled together all these parts, under the coarse 
 and erroneous term of the fatty frog, and states them as abounding in oil and fat, in a 
 way that would almost glisten the eye and engage the speculations of a melter of tallow; 
 and he adds also by way of confirming it, that he has made an experiment by which he 
 ascertained the precise quantity of fat contained in the said fatty frog, which consists 
 in boiling it in oil! when he informs us one-third by weight was lost, and therefore 
 infers, that just so muchfat was "evaporated!" — (Tr. On Foot, p. 108.) It is true his 
 lucubrations may have been to him a subject of extraordinary fatness, when so many 
 purses of twenty guineas each, were obtained for such information as this, for not one 
 particle of fat or oil could I, who have found the subject a lean one enough, ever dis- 
 cover in them ; and as to the loss he describes, it is in reality nothing more nor less than 
 
127 
 
 I have also observed that we may lay these parts open to great ad- 
 vantage, by a vertical section of the hoof through both commissures, 
 when also may be seen some remarkable circumstances in the appa- 
 ratus attending the tendons and shuttle bone and its attachments. 
 
 Having given the horny parts of the Horse's foot, with the soft and 
 the semi-soft parts, we shall now, contrary to our first intentions, give 
 the bones also, that we may present the work in a tolerably complete 
 state, as far as these organs are at least necessary to be known 
 for the illustration of the shoeing art, the most important and most 
 difficult branch of our profession. It will cause the present part in 
 the number of its pages to exceed any former one; but we trust the 
 
 the amount of the water or lymph contained in said parts, which would inevitably be 
 forced off in a heat of from four to five hundred degrees, the heat of boiling oil. The 
 experiment exhibits a remarkable ignorance in the analysis of animal substances, for 
 even had fat existed it would not have been at all detected by these means. 
 
 This egregious nonsense was not noticed in my former edition, nor would it have 
 been in this, had I experienced the smallest attention or encouragement from this 
 Professor of the art, whose labour it has been by false and artful insinuation, and some- 
 times pretended attacks, to misrepresent my writings to the class, and destroy the 
 reputation of their author, and from them with the public ; no doubt at times pre- 
 tending to praise him, but only the more securely to conceal his purpose, under the 
 disguise of candour and fair conduct. The Lancet, and other Periodicals of the day, 
 exhibit a complete proof of the untenable nature of his doctrines, even where he thought 
 himself most secure ; so that of what value can a diploma be, that so many are seeking 
 so anxiously, from such hands, when nearly all that he and his partner have taught has 
 been totally overturned. The establishment was a noble one, in which he had no 
 hand, but has abused it in many ways, till it is made a point of obstruction to the very 
 advancement of that art it was intended to foster and improve ; indeed we may say, 
 as we once before stated, in the history of the advancement of Horse knowledge, that 
 " the sacred path of knowledge in the arts and sciences as well also as of religion 
 herself, cannot be left too free ;" professorships and stipends, especially when large, 
 and patronage soon from sordid interests, choke the fair avenues of their progress and 
 retard their course : — should they not therefore be so formed as not to tempt the 
 aspirings of the ambitious or the graspings of the avaricious ? A body of men freely 
 chosen from among the profession itself, should, after due examination, grant diplomas 
 to those in whom the public may have confidence, when the greatest utility and satis- 
 faction would be found by employing such votaries of this profession about their horses. 
 
128 
 
 concise manner in which it is written and the novelty and importance 
 of its contents, will be thought by our readers a sufficient apology. 
 
 Of the Bones of the Foot. 
 
 Of the Coffin Bone* — which is perhaps of all the bones in the 
 construction of the animal the most necessary to be well understood 
 by the Veterinarian, therefore we are induced to add its description 
 to that of the former parts, and what appear to be the leading 
 circumstances of its ceconomy. 
 
 It is the nucleus of the foot and the basis or point upon which is 
 expended the whole weight and exertions of the animal, and these 
 impressions conveyed to the hoof by its remarkable construction 
 and most beautiful provisions, they are communicated by it harmless 
 to the ground. 
 
 When fully perfected by its natural and unrestrained growth, or as 
 nearly so as I have yet been able to obtain this bone, it presents in 
 its general figure a cone, much more so than does the hoof that 
 covers it, which form will obviously impart to it a power of greater 
 freedom in its descent and movements in the hoof, than if it had 
 received the same figure as this part ; since the hoof, as we have 
 already fully demonstrated is truly a cylinder. 
 
 The figure exteriorly which this bone describes at its lower cir- 
 cumference is that of a semicircle or crescent somewhat dilated on 
 the sides, with its posterior extremities lengthened out and projecting 
 backwards. From its base suddenly contracting in its dimensions 
 upwards it forms in front a considerable elevation of bone roughened 
 anteriorily in lines and channels, for the strong attachment of the 
 
 * From cophinus, a basket, and immediately to us, from the French, coffin and cqffre, 
 a box, in allusion to the hoof inclosing this bone as in a box. 
 
PL 7 
 
 A 
 
 '$' W^ Natural CoffinBcne. 
 
 ^m, ... t 
 
 r 
 
 a 
 
 
 &\V 
 
 ; 
 
 X.. 
 
 
 
 ^J 1AM 
 
 IF #"<~3&?. Pa.7J.7c7n 
 
 ^^ff 
 
 rf 
 
 '///Xv. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Sculifo Process. 
 
 Iiiltrnttt 7(r7ff.\ 
 
 Tarfolrz r7, 7 ,/,;„/„ 7 
 
 Sculiform Pro, 
 
 ! J 
 
 OfsifiedCartilage 
 
129 
 
 extensor tendon of the foot which is spreading upon its surface, 
 leaving, however, its extreme upper edge free. On its posterior 
 surface this front elevation becomes part of the articulation, present- 
 ing a rapidly-inclining surface with two oval considerable cavities, 
 (see PL 6, c, c,) which are smooth for motion, by having the usual 
 covering of lubricous cartilage, and receive the lower extremity of 
 the coronet bone.* 
 
 The front eminence, lofty and recurved, prevents the possibility of 
 an anterior overshooting or dislocation of the coronet bone ; and a 
 ridge rising up in the middle of the bone between the two concave 
 surfaces, directs the motion of the bone above, and strengthens it at 
 this middle part from fracture. These two impressed surfaces are 
 oval and diverging as they pass backward, enlarging also and deep- 
 ening, by which they appear to confer a greater facility and dimi- 
 nished friction to the operation of the bone moving on them. The 
 inner cavity is somewhat larger than the outer, by which circumstance 
 we can detect the respective foot, whether off, or near to which the 
 bone belongs. 
 
 These surfaces for articulation are extensive, thereby affording 
 great strength, and comparatively shallow, by which they receive the 
 greater freedom of motion, and the danger of dislocation, to which 
 they would be so eminently exposed from their extreme situation in 
 the limb, is diminished, and their security insured by the strong 
 lateral support they derive from the cartilages, which are again sus- 
 tained by the hoof, just within which this articulation is brought. 
 
 These cavities in their posterior slope are immediately opposed to 
 the oblique line of bones coming from the fetlock joint, and is per- 
 pendicularly opposed to them, at least in the mathematical sense of 
 the term; and it must be obvious that their pressure towards the 
 ground would pass through these surfaces, and fall just within the 
 
 * From corona, or crown, the foot being rounded and full above the hoof from the 
 embossed cartilages, which are opposite to this bone, and hence also we have in ver- 
 nacular phrase, Crownet bone. 
 
 R 
 
130 
 
 front circumference of the coffin bone ; but on account of the very 
 sudden slope of these surfaces downwards, by which this pressure 
 will be diverted towards the quarters, and by the yielding of the 
 shuttle bone posteriorly, will be directed these parts being depressed, 
 towards the elastic provisions of the foot ; which, by their spring, 
 and quantity of elastic matter, will abundantly break and neutralize 
 the impression. 
 
 Of the Shuttle Bone. Its name sufficiently denotes its figure, and 
 will prevent its being confused with the bones of the human body, 
 with any of which it has not the least analogy. — It is not made a 
 fixture to the coffin-bone, but, placed posteriorly to it, is moveable 
 upon an obliquely-slanting semi-oval surface at the back part of this 
 bone, and so situated, is completing the cup of the articulation : 
 being very moveable upon it, its fracture is prevented, and a sufficient 
 yielding is obtained to the weight and impression. 
 
 The union of these three articulating surfaces, that is, including 
 the coronet bone, form together, what is called the Coffin joint, to 
 which it has been usual to refer all lamenesses, that ignorance or 
 idleness in investigating, or real obscurity, does not at once discover 
 the true source of, and has greatly tended to obscure the progress of 
 knowledge in these affairs, and which has of late been attempted 
 once more to be renewed under new and absurd appellations ; and 
 we may remark, had the word foot-bone been used instead of the 
 technical coffin bone, so awfully impressive to the unlearned in these 
 arts, half the spell of the charm would have been removed. 
 
 The shuttle bone is continually being pressed by the tendon of 
 the perforans (which is provided with a cartilaginous or bony con- 
 dyloid apparatus for the purpose) against the posterior, inferior ex- 
 tremity of the coronet bone, keeping it forwards upon the above 
 semi-oval surface at the back of the coffin bone, in which office it 
 somewhat resembles the sesamoidal bones situated at the back of 
 the fetlock joint, and like them is conferring a power by removing 
 the tendon to a larger angle from its insertion. The diminishing ex- 
 
131 
 
 tremities of the shuttle bone are not much confined, but are loosely 
 attached to the inside of the cartilage and scutiform process by cellular 
 membrane, and also to the lateral edges of the perforans tendon ; and 
 the extremities or waning points of this bone leave ample space for 
 forming a passage for the larger blood-vessels of the foot. These 
 points of the bone, however, are held by a double tie before and 
 behind ; the anterior or stronger attachment of it advances forwards 
 to the cartilage at the point where it unites to the coronet ligament. 
 The main attachment, however, of the body of this bone is by a broad, 
 short ligament, to the anterior part of the hollow in the posterior cavity 
 of the coffin bone, situated immediately beneath it ; and again also 
 it is attached superiorly by a broad ligament from its superior pos- 
 terior edge, which rising to two thirds of the height of the coronet 
 bone at its back part, is inserted into a short transverse ligament, ex- 
 tending between the back of this bone and the front surface of the 
 perforans tendon, giving it thereby an indirect attachment to this 
 important tendon, but sufficient apparently to occasion their move- 
 ments to be isochronous, or nearly at the same point of time. 
 
 Surfaces. We next have to consider the surfaces of the coffin bone, 
 where we shall have to notice several new and extraordinary par- 
 ticularities : see pi. 6, fig. 1. The structure of surface which this bone 
 presents in front, and extending some way on either side, is singularly 
 beautiful, consisting of elevated small ribs, or threads of bone, longi- 
 tudinally disposed upon it. These are not placed in exactly parallel 
 lines, but frequently meeting one another at very acute angles, form- 
 ing waving lines, and which give it somewhat of a reticulated appear- 
 ance. A first view of these ribs would lead one to apprehend they 
 were designed to carry the processes or podophylla, having a somewhat 
 corresponding arrangement ; but this is pretty clearly not the case, 
 since they are both smaller and more numerous, and the processes 
 are found covering the bone much higher up than these ribs are 
 found to extend, that they are more probably provided for the support 
 of the Reticulum, upon which the processes are situated. On the 
 r2 
 
132 
 
 above small fibres, and in their channels, the reticulum is firmly re- 
 tained, evidently more so than it would be, on a plain surface of 
 equal extent, or on a surface even as extensive as this is rendered 
 that was perfectly smooth. Deriving a power from the lateral ridges, 
 and their impressed channels, for holding the membrane, that no plain 
 surface could give. 
 
 The surface of the bone above these threads or fibres is very much 
 roughened, and formed into asperities and depressions for the firm 
 adherence of the same membrane, and there is also seen a numerous 
 collection, chiefly in front, of small pores and perforations for blood- 
 vessels. 
 
 In the very middle of the lower front edge of this bone is a small 
 excavation or notch ; and above this a prominence, nose, or prostasis 
 of bone, covered also with the fibrous structure. This prostasis is not 
 by any means a constant feature, but is frequently wanting ; the ex- 
 cavation is more uniformly found, and is no doubt denoting a distant 
 affinity with the cloven foot. 
 
 The sides of this bone, where the fibrous structure terminates, ex- 
 hibit a new and most singular organization. The bone considerably 
 enlarging at this part, is thrown into plates or scales, forming an 
 oblong lobe of some extent ; and these plates are disposed outwards, 
 and inclining backwards, in almost regular lines or ranges, one over 
 another like tiles, or the scales of fishes, but not in contact, or 
 appearing to touch, having a space between them. The exterior 
 thin edges of these plates present numerous sharp points and angles 
 of bone, which are very thin and pliant : small transverse partitions 
 of bone also lie between these plates at right angles, supporting 
 them, and dividing and augmenting the surfaces for adherence ; and 
 towards the lower parts of this apparatus they assume more the ap- 
 pearance of conical cells than plates, and which also are extending 
 to the under surface of this bone, where the diameters of these cells 
 and their depth is much increased, giving it almost a spongy appear- 
 
133 
 
 That this remarkable part of the bone should be distinguished 
 from the other parts of it, and as this structure appears to have tole- 
 rably well denned limits, we have called it the Patiloba* or scaly 
 node of the coffin bone, by which term we can at pleasure separately 
 consider it, and facilitate our views and communications on these 
 subjects, which cannot but essentially benefit our art. 
 
 ( It will be expected that we should say something on the uses of 
 this remarkable and unparalleled structure, being unlike any other 
 bone that we have ever seen, and is probably, at least as to the extent 
 to which it is carried peculiar to the horse, not even extending to the 
 rest of his family ; for, it is to be remarked, that as he is the noblest 
 of his tribe, and that the inferior and meaner members, of it have 
 singularly fiat-sided hoofs, so they possess also a structure of body in 
 conformity with them ; for the ass could have no occasion for these 
 perfections of the foot if to the body was denied the powers for 
 using them : the fullness of make in the horse, and his superior 
 gracefulness of carriage, requires parts to sustain it, and the foot 
 appears to be made in conformity therefore, with these endowments, 
 by a more elaborate structure. 
 
 By this enlargement of the sides of the bone, an unusual extension 
 of surface is obtained, with a stronger hold for the cartilage or 
 reticulum, and at a part of the foot where the hoof, dilating under 
 the weight and impression of the animal, particularly demands yield- 
 ing combined with strength ; and the lateral parts of the bone being 
 thus formed into thin plates, is also thus rendered in degree elastic, 
 and the cartilage or reticulum being sunk in the interstices of these 
 plates and cells, finds there a secure lodgment from the dangers of 
 rupture or derangement. 
 
 The base, or inferior surface of this bone, is considerably concave, 
 and somewhat polished, having slight breaks in its surface and aspe- 
 rities for the more firm adherence of the membranous sole, and 
 
 From pateo, to extend or spread out ; and loba, lobe. 
 
134 
 
 which is also retained in its situation by the concavity of the bone, 
 and by the deeper cells situated on its sides and extremities, and 
 also by a general membranous connexion enveloping the whole bone. 
 
 The posterior view of the coffin bone presents a somewhat semi- 
 lunar figure, and beneath the two articulating surfaces is provided 
 with a broad and very deep, angular excavation, or cavity, to the 
 superior interior part of which, having a roughened surface, the liga- 
 ment adheres, which retains the shuttle bone in its place ; dilating 
 downwards, this cavity next serves to receive the fan-like termination 
 of the perforans tendon, or back sinew; its anterior part also receives 
 the insertion of the tendon of the internal furch, and its superficial 
 extreme margin serves for the more firm attachment of the mem- 
 branes of the sensitive sole, where they unite to the furch. 
 
 The termination of the important back sinew of the leg in this 
 deep recess securely removes it from the danger of contusion and of 
 blows, to which it would be otherwise especially obnoxious on the 
 foot meeting the ground, from irregular bodies strewed in the road ; 
 and it is also further defended by the bars or inflexions of the hoof, 
 and more interiorly by the constrated apparatus and stratiform pro- 
 cess of the cartilage, and the soft materials of the internal furch and 
 globes also ; and finally, as powerfully as by any of these, (when it is 
 duly preserved,) by the soft body of horn of the external furch and 
 its cushion. 
 
 Notwithstanding these remarkable provisions and securities, nails 
 lying in the streets and ways often enter the foot of the horse with 
 the most deplorable consequences, directed by the concave of the 
 sole to the side of the furch, they there penetrate, and are then tech- 
 nically termed kennel nails by the smiths ; and if the tendon gets 
 injured, it is attended, as we have stated, with the most lamentable 
 effects ; often a deep abscess forms in the parts we have just de- 
 scribed, and the matter forcing its way up the leg, the animal dies 
 a miserable death from pain and irritation. 
 
 These cases will generally do well if the horn is thinned in due 
 
135 
 
 time, and a free exit given to the discharges by enlarging the external 
 opening, employing bleeding, and depletory measures, with emollient, 
 soothing, and cooling things to the parts externally. 
 
 In desperate and neglected cases, we formerly suggested that a 
 seton might perhaps be employed with good effect, run through the 
 soft posterior parts of the foot, to relieve by its counter impression 
 the more deep-seated parts, and to induce, if possible, the discharges 
 to take that course, (ed. I., p. 118.) And this proposition, only in- 
 tended in desperate cases, has been, without the least acknowledgment 
 from whence they derived it, used extensively at the Veterinary 
 College under one silly pretence or other, in cases not requiring it, 
 and would have easily been relieved by other measures, and put into 
 the hands of ignorant young men, always too prone to be operating, 
 has been cruelly abused, from being, as they thought, something new 
 and striking. In slight cases, however, an injection of the sulphat of 
 zinc, and a poultice afterwards, with a brisk antiphlogistic general 
 treatment, has been found sufficient to heal the parts so injured, and 
 prevent the fatal termination of these direful accidents. 
 
 Of the posterior Appendices of the Coffin Bone. These extremi- 
 ties of the coffin bone in the horse appear, from their peculiarity in 
 structure, and liability to painful disease, to deserve a separate notice 
 and designation, as such will greatly influence and facilitate our views 
 and reasonings in the treatment of these cases. They are extending 
 backwards in a remarkable manner, and give a new feature and power 
 to the horse's foot, filling it up posteriorly, ennobling its appearance 
 every way, and strengthening his tread, giving to it quite a peculiar 
 character, not being found with the cow, or cloven-footed animals, and 
 still less with the digitated. After as much reflexion as we have had 
 time to bestow upon this subject, we apprehend a name as little 
 objectionable as any we can devise ; for it is not easy to give a new 
 name that shall be perfectly distinctive, and at the same time clas- 
 sical, short, and of easy pronunciation, and without which they must 
 be rejected. From the phrase or expression, Ossa retrorsum spec- 
 
136 
 
 tantia, or ossa retrorsum, we shall, by an elision or abbreviation, 
 obtain retro-ossa, and Retrossa, which will make us retros in the sin- 
 gular, and retrossal, or retr osseous, in the adjective application of it. 
 
 Now these retrossa, or, if we use other words, posterior appendices 
 of the coffin bone, are evading a too strong pressure by being made 
 of a shelving figure upwards, towards the scutiform process, and also 
 beneath, and interiorly towards the side of the furch. Their very 
 extreme point is vastly rough with knots and excavations, by which 
 the cartilage is strongly held upon them, and the strength of these 
 processes of bone would be greatly diminished if deprived of the 
 scutiform plate of bone rising over them. A large foramen, or per- 
 foration for the passage of blood-vessels, is seen passing transversely 
 through them ; sometimes there are two, and sometimes none, but 
 only a posterior notch. An impressed channel is also seen in the 
 side of the coffin bone for the continuation of these vessels coming 
 through the foramen, which is gradually effaced in approaching the 
 front of the bone. These retrossa are very subject to vary in differ- 
 ent individuals as to their form, and as to their length and bearing 
 also. In the young animal they are also very short, but extend and 
 grow backwards as the hoof and the age advance, and perhaps are 
 not fully completed in their formation, along with some other late 
 parts, before the eighth year. In the cow, and the other cloven- 
 footed animals, the retrosseous structure makes but a mean appear- 
 ance, or, indeed, does not exist, nor is there with them any scutiform 
 process, which appears to be a necessary adjunct where these parts 
 have an existence. 
 
 In the perfectly-natural foot, the retrossa are relieved, or raised a 
 little above the general bearing surface of the bone, by which they 
 have a secondary pressure ; but after some time shoeing, their lower 
 surfaces, continually fixed on the iron, become more or less flat, or 
 corresponding to the surface on which they are placed. 
 
 The internal retros is much larger than the external, and is also 
 extending further backwards, in order perhaps to compensate for the 
 
137 
 
 additional weight and pressure which this quarter receives, from its 
 being placed nearer to, and more immediately under the centre of 
 gravity of the trunk, since the whole frame is gravitating between 
 the fore legs. Hence it is so often injured by the smith, if he does 
 not allow it sufficient room, and lays his iron too flatly upon it. If 
 the Retrossa are too flat by nature, or too long, or too prominent 
 downwards, the bruise will take place with the more facility, and 
 especially also if the hoof be thin and weak, or cut away in these 
 parts ; they are then opposed, confined, and pinched, or bruised ; in 
 the latter case, and blood being extravasated into the horn, it is 
 artfully termed a Corn by the smiths, and the understanding is im- 
 posed upon by a false term, and even his own views often become 
 bewildered by it. Now the knowledge of these retrossial bruises, 
 their causes and prevention, and the proper treatment of them, is no 
 inconsiderable share of the actual practice of the veterinarian ; * for 
 to reform farriery effectually, we must begin by removing her delusive 
 phraseology. 
 
 The Retrossa, or posterior appendices of the coffin bone, form a 
 bold feature in the foot of the horse, and appear to give it a more 
 noble character that distinguishes it from all other animals, and is 
 one of the many traits which, in his make and dispositions, are quite 
 peculiar to him, and contribute to his many excellencies. Of their 
 giving an increase of bearing and superior force to the foot, we think 
 there can be no doubt. 
 
 On the Bearings of the Coffin Bone. If we place the perfectly- 
 natural coffin bone upon a level, flat board, or table, it will be ob- 
 served to bear primarily on the quarters, and the inside quarter will 
 take a more decided bearing than the outer ; for, as we have before 
 stated, it is larger, longer, and projecting more posteriorly, the causes 
 of which we have also endeavoured to explain. The pince, or front 
 
 * The reader is referred, for further particulars, to my Treatise expressly on this 
 complaint and its cure, and of canker. London, 1822. 2nd Edit., pr. 3*. 
 
138 
 
 of the bone, will also be found to take hardly any sensible bearing, 
 being slightly turned up, and away from the table, obviously in order 
 that it might more conveniently make the rotation which the foot 
 performs on leaving the ground. 
 
 Situation of the Coffin bone in the Hoof. In respect to its situ- 
 ation in the hoof, it is very unequally placed, having its upper surface 
 on a level with the cutigeral concavity ; and we may remark, the very 
 anterior summit of this bone is as nearly as possible on a level with 
 the upper edge of the hoof, whilst its basis, or inferior surface, is at a 
 much greater distance, being a full inch from the lower opening of 
 the hoof, or bearing surface upon the ground. The anterior, or front 
 surface of the coffin bone, is ever, in good feet at least, parallel to 
 the front line of the hoof; but when strongly pressed upon by the 
 weight of the animal, is a little diverging at top from this line, 
 through the means of the reticulum, and the other intermediate 
 elastic parts, its posterior parts being then much depressed. In 
 founder, its position is wholly changed ; being detached more or 
 less completely, it sinks towards the middle of the hoof, and takes 
 the most depending part. 
 
 Of the Coronet Bone. As being connected with the bones of the 
 hoof, and partly immersed in it, we are induced to add its description 
 also to our account of this part. A remarkable trait in its con- 
 struction is its solidity, having no interior cavity ; and when we 
 consider where it is situated, and what it has to perform, we need not 
 be at all surprised at this, since it is receiving alone the whole weight 
 and impulsions of the animal, that nothing less could fortify it for 
 such an office, and against fracture, but such solidity ; and even this is 
 not always sufficient, since we see it is sometimes liable to this acci- 
 dent. This bone also is notched out at both ends, having a middle 
 channel in its condyles for the eminences of the bones situated 
 above and below it. And but for the receding properties of the 
 coffin bone, and elastic provisions of the hoof, it would have been 
 much more commonly liable to this disaster. 
 
139 
 
 If we attentively view the inferior condyles of this bone, and espe- 
 cially if we make a vertical section of it near to its side, we shall 
 then see that it is presenting below to the articulating surfaces of the 
 coffin bone, not a rounded, but flattish figure, and is prominent ante- 
 riorly and posteriorly, or enlarged to either side. This at first 
 appears a singular formation ; but if we consider that by this means 
 the bone, in making its rotation, will for a longer time continue its 
 depressing powers upon the coffin bone, we shall then perhaps dis- 
 cover its true cause ; and further, that it will, from this formation, 
 present at all times when at rest a wider range of surface for repose 
 on the bones below upon which it is situated, and especially on the 
 yielding parts of them. 
 
 The upper extremity of this bone is considerably enlarged, that it 
 may be brought into conformity with the larger pastern bone above, 
 and bear its pressure without splitting. And this enlargement, for 
 obvious reasons, is particularly applied at the back part of the bone, 
 the pressure being greater in that direction, as may be noticed on 
 viewing the oblique downwards direction of this range of bones in 
 passing to the foot. The posterior part of the socket also is much 
 elevated, or lengthened out, the more to strengthen it posteriorly, 
 and apparently also that it might keep the pressure of the pastern* 
 bone forwards. 
 
 Such appear to be the leading principles of construction in the 
 foot of the horse in each separate part, and in the whole combined, 
 as far as our humble reflections and researches have enabled us to 
 consider them. It is these principles, when rightly understood, that 
 
 * From paturon, Fr., and pasturon, old French. It is also in the old English writers 
 called the Fetter-lock bone, as being the part on which the broad ring or shackle was 
 applied when the horse was turned to pasture, and confined by a log, or chain and 
 stake ; hence we obtain fetter-lock joint, or fetlock joint, in modern phrase. 
 
140 
 
 can unfold the obscure and intricate effects of the shoe, and these 
 alone ; for the common shoe, from its nature, cannot in any respect 
 participate in these properties of the foot, and hence the cause of its 
 mischievous effects. 
 
 And it may be with truth averred, that such is the simple nature of 
 the animal himself, and his disorders, exclusive of the shoeing and its 
 effects, that if these could be removed, there would be little room for 
 the exercise of knowingness or trick respecting him by stable-men or 
 others, who fatten upon the miseries themselves have created, by pre- 
 tended measures for relief, and the changes which this crippled state 
 induces, and the dread which many have, for very good reasons, of 
 using horses, or having to do with them at all, would be in a great 
 degree done away. 
 
 We now have to see what will be the effects of turning a bar of 
 iron round to the figure of this elastic foot, and of keeping it nailed, 
 day and night, upon it for a series of years, under the delusive name 
 of a shoe. 
 
 Gaulter, Printer, Lovell's Court, Paternoster-Row. 
 
L 
 
PLATE XII, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PLATE. 
 
 Fig. I. represents a sectional slice of the horse's foot longitudinally, and over the commissural 
 ridge of the sole, through one of the podal globes, which is shown by this preparation to be 
 made up, or constituted, of a succession of foliations of thin cartilages, opposed in their direction, 
 and incurvated reciprocally, and thereby forming an irregular sort of flattened globular body 
 lying within the upright lateral cartilages, whose superior incurvation partly covers them 
 over ; together they sustain the skin of these posterior parts of the foot, and afford that 
 plump rounded appearance which these parts present exteriorly to the eye. 
 
 A dense, stout, glossy membrane connects together these incurvated processes of the podal 
 globes, and envelopes them, and then rising upwards, extends itself over the reflexed upright 
 lateral cartilages, and is also covering them. This membrane has been divided by the knife, 
 between these foliations of cartilage, in order to show their figure more conspicuously, in its 
 being retracted by drying. 
 
 Here also is seen in this preparation the part I have called the Stratiform process, c, which 
 coming from the lateral cartilage, and diminishing as it proceeds to the interior, is passing over 
 the commissural ridge to enter into the cavity of the horn-furch, and there to form its internal 
 capsule, which is invested externally by the kerapoia, or secreting membrane of the horn of the 
 furch. Interiorly it is giving out the cartilaginous partitions one above another, which we have 
 called the substrated layers, and which are seen more conspicuously in fig. 2. 
 
 a, is the coronet bone ; b, the coffin bone ; which have been removed to save trouble of repre- 
 sentation : n, is the shuttle bone; on which inferiorly is seen a singular spot of erosion, or ul- 
 ceration, h, which has the appearance of communicating with the anterior surface of the tendon 
 behind it, viz., the perforans tendon. This erosion appears to be the effect of a violent 
 pressure upward of the horn-sole against these tender parts especially in motion, causing 
 irritation, and at length, absorption — one of the dire effects of nail shoeing. Though engaged 
 for more than forty years in frequent dissection of these parts, it is the first time that I have 
 met with this singular disease, to which a frequency has been insinuated that is altogether 
 untrue, in order for some sinister purpose, (perhaps to stifle, disguise, and conceal, as it would 
 appear, the general contraction, hardening, and injury to the hoof and whole interior of the 
 foot) in a publication fraught with much disinegnuousness, illiberality, and falsehood ; and 
 which, though fully answered and refuted in each separate essay as it appeared, is shamelessly 
 brought again before the public as though intact. This miserable effect of the shoeing was 
 indeed first seen and described by my esteemed friend W. Moorcroft. See Calcutta Journ. 1819. 
 
 The actual presence of this erosion can only be known by dissection after death, that any 
 predication of it must be little better than charlatanism. Where it is suspected to exist, the 
 removal of all shoeing whatever, the setting the parts at perfect liberty, a run at grass, for at 
 least a twelvemonth, where the refreshing herbage and the cooling sod to the feet, would pro- 
 bably restore the parts to their pristine condition. A horse however under treatment, might 
 be used during the cure, that is, as much as his natural hoof would afford of work, or de- 
 fended only by leather, or by iron-defended socks, or a paratrite. We are rather led to suspect 
 that it is the hard commissural ridge of the sole that is the offending point chiefly in producing 
 this disease, as being the most prominently opposed to these parts above ; on which we 
 propose hereafter further to enlarge in a separate publication, t, is a short, broad ligament, 
 lodged in its peculiar recess, and opposite to which the disease also appears to be extending ; 
 this ligament is restraining the shuttle bone, and we call it for the present, the ligamentum 
 nuciferum inferius, as being connected with the nut or shuttle bone, in order to distinguish so 
 remarkable a part ; u, being the ligamentum nuciferum superius. This preparation being but 
 a thin slice, gives no appearance hardly of the globular character of the part, or of the limber, 
 gelatinous mass surrounding it, which is nearly lost also by drying. 
 
Fig. II. is a rough sketch of a transverse section posteriorly of the horse's foot, nearly in the 
 course of its axis, and is made to exhibit some of the most interesting particulars of the structure of 
 this organ — especially of the distribution of its complex, cartilaginous machinery. 
 
 a, a, is the outer hard wall of the hoof : b, h, the whiter, softer interior of the hoof : c, c, the 
 keraphylla lashing the foot and hoof together, the podophylla being enclosed between them. 
 d, d, d, place of the elastic reticulum, or web surrounding the bone, and carrying the podo- 
 phylla : t, represents the oval cartilaginous root, or perichondrilla, or, abbreviated, perinilla, 
 which inserted strongly into the skin, produces on its convex, or outer surface, the soft furcaceous 
 horn, forming the periople, or furch-band, which covering over defends the line of union of the 
 skin with the hoof, exercising also very many other useful offices, "for which see the Hippo- 
 nomia. z, is the cutidura anteriorly, firmly connected with the internal concave ring of the hoof, 
 secreting the horn of the wall ; posteriorly, loosely connected with the cartilage. 
 
 g, g, is the horn sole; h, h, the bars or inflexions ; i, i, the horn furch ; j, j, is the super- 
 onuchal portion of the lateral cartilages, formed of a clear, white, crisp cutting, material. Within 
 its reflexed superior portion is seen a hollow cavity, invested sparingly with cellular membrane, 
 which, on admission of air, recedes, leaving a deepish vacuity, a provision, we apprehend, in- 
 tended to facilitate the circulation of the blood in the foot, when it is forcibly pumped up by the 
 actions of the, foot in strong exertions of the animal ; thus preventing the rupture of the vessels : 
 for, although a real vacuum could not exist in elastic parts, on account of atmospheric pressure, 
 a tendency to a vacuum can exist and is sufficient for this aid ; here the openings of several large 
 vessels, chiefly veins, are also discernible. At k, k, we see the horizontally directed portion 
 of the cartilage proceeding interiorly from the lateral cartilage, and which we have named 
 the stratiform process, very irregular and less uniform in its texture than the crisp, white, 
 upright cartilage, being in some places almost brown, and coriaceous, or leathery, in others 
 radiate and implicate ; arriving at the brink of the horn-furch on the dorsum of the ridge, it 
 assumes a more knotted, glittering appearance, and is sending off one, some-times two, liga- 
 mento-cartilaginous expansions, which extend over the chasm of the horn-furch ; it then descends 
 into it, and lines its whole interior, forming the internal capsule of the furch, having on its out- 
 side the kerapoia, for forming the horn; it is hardly however a discernible object, like some 
 other important membranes. Manifest papilliform vessels from it however, enter the substance 
 of the horn of the furch, apparently for maintaining its tenacity, and its very ductile consistence, 
 and perhaps also determining its natural thickness. 
 
 The interior of this cartilaginous capsule, we see is sending off across the cavity, various 
 horizontal portions or layers of ligamento-cartilage, to form what we have called the constrated 
 layers, having between them, jutting out, a white, sometimes yellowish, or sometimes reddish, 
 gelatinous, elastic ligament, mistaken "for bags of yellow oil," and affording, perhaps, the most 
 perfectly non-resistant medium that an organised living part can be made to afford, beau- 
 tifully defending the tender parts above, from accidental contusion. 
 
 We next advert to the cartilaginous podal globes, n, n, which are seen placed on the upper 
 surface of the stratiform, whose plates are concentrically opposed to each other ; and are 
 covered over and connected by a dense, glossy membrane, which above connects them with the 
 upright lateral cartilages at o, o, as stated in fig. 1 ; and the construction of these globes is 
 also best explained by reference to that figure. 
 
 p, p, a mass of cellular membrane extremely yielding, soft, and flabby, covering over and pro- 
 tecting the posterior, or flexor tendon, connecting also the elastic globes, it is sometimes 
 forming a plastic mass of considerable thickness over these globes between them and the skin, 
 together affording the handsome mammiform appearance the horse's foot has within the in- 
 flexures. x, the perforans tendon, singularly made up of two kinds of matter^ a white mass in 
 front and yellow posteriorly, q, a portion of the interior retros, larger than that of the opposite 
 side. For other interesting particulars we must refer the reader to the Hippodonomia. 
 
PODOPHTHORA. 
 
PODOPHTHORA; 
 
 THE DEMONSTRATION OF A PERNICIOUS DEFECT IN THE 
 PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMON SHOE. 
 
 The preceding notices of the foot having now placed us in a con- 
 dition easily to apprehend the results of the following experiments in 
 illustration of the shoeing, previously to entering upon them, we 
 believe it may be well just to remark, that for a period of more than 
 a thousand years has the present mode of shoeing been in use, with- 
 out the public being at all aware that there was any thing wrong or 
 injurious about it, if it was but properly executed ; and though 
 accidents, and unequivocal expressions of suffering accompanied it 
 continually, and were visible to the eye of every one, yet no one 
 ventured to think upon a subject that appeared so abstruse ; or if he 
 did, was it likely to be received but with rebuff and insolence : and the 
 mischiefs arising from it were constantly evaded or denied, and were 
 attempted to be overcome in every way but the proper and natural 
 one, — that of removing the cause, — which cause also was, to the 
 simple as to the more knowing ones, alike unperceived. And many 
 has been the bribe, bestowed through timid fear and apprehension, 
 to encourage the workman " to shoe his horse well" without the 
 donor at all entertaining any fixed notion of what that " good 
 shoeing" should consist in ; for it is lamentably true that the mere 
 labourer in any art may practice it all his life long, and that for cen- 
 turies he may exercise it without his once entering a single step into 
 
 a2 
 
its principles : a bricklayer, for instance, may lay bricks to the day 
 of his death, and his successors in like manner, without ever in the 
 least comprehending one single principle of architecture ; but that the 
 events which daily occurred in this art did not awaken men to a sense 
 of something being fundamentally wrong in all this time, is a most 
 surprising fact. For, as we have said, a thousand years have passed 
 over without the true principles of the art being at all discovered, or 
 that there was a gross defect in the very fundamental part of it, and 
 which had been a source of animal suffering and misery, that cer- 
 tainly has no parallel in the world ! And it was quite unlikely also 
 any remedy should be found out, whilst the true cause of the evil 
 remained undetected. 
 
 For let whatever will be said about these effects being known of 
 the shoe, it is clear, from the readiness with which people consent 
 to have their horses shod at any age, on the first summons of the 
 breaker-in of the horse, that they view the shoe merely as protecting 
 the foot, and are not aware of its insidious effects ; nor do they after- 
 wards exhibit the least jealousy or anxiety about it, but would rather, 
 as we often observe, treat the proposition of its removal as a piece of 
 inhumanity. 
 
 If what we have stated respecting the nature of the horse's foot 
 be true, the effect of the shoe will be almost presumed without any 
 demonstrative evidence ; but as reasoning may easily err, and imagi- 
 nation lead us astray, still the actual experiment, if truly related, will 
 ever stand as plain matter of fact, that can neither err nor be denied ; 
 and the course of the experiment will also unfold a variety of matter 
 for reflection respecting the foot, which would not properly attach to 
 any thing we have heretofore noticed. We proceed, therefore, to the 
 consideration of this first experiment on the effects of the shoe, in 
 which the public, as far as they are interested in this important in- 
 quiry, and especially myself, are greatly indebted to the obliging 
 conduct of George Hobson, Esq., both in providing the subject, and 
 in allowing the mare on all proper occasions to be brought for exami- 
 
nation, and the prosecution of these experiments ; for next in every 
 state to man himself in public utility will be what respects the ser- 
 vices and true knowledge of this animal, and how we can best obtain 
 those services, and prolong the period of them. 
 
 The assertion, at first, may appear singular to those who have not 
 investigated these matters with a close attention, or viewed the chain 
 of connexion of these things from the beginning of the services of 
 the animal to his final termination at the slaughter-house, through 
 the different periods of his rapidly-destructive course ; but is never- 
 theless true, that the shoeing it is, with its multifarious train of 
 consequences, that for the most part has been the root of so many 
 evils to the horse and to mankind, not only by its immediate operation 
 on the structure of the foot, but by its entailed consequences in the 
 use of him, which is so often rendered unsatisfactory, vexatious, and 
 dangerous through it : and these errors, we may observe, in the 
 management of the feet, are ever visited with unmerited punishment 
 upon the animal himself, in order to do away, if possible, or overcome 
 its effects, by exciting other feelings, though for the most part in vain ; 
 and it is principally from this also, that the vehicles for draught are 
 filled with all our best saddle horses, as they cannot longer ride 
 them on account of this tenderness of the feet, and by which, after 
 a most painful and miserable existence, they terminate their lives at a 
 comparatively early stage, often before the half of their natural term 
 is expended, and with an immense loss to the public, setting aside all 
 considerations of humanity, which, for certain reasons, we purposely 
 exclude from this part of our labours. 
 
 No inquiry respecting shoeing would at all be necessary if our 
 horses invariably went well, and with a firm and proper step ; but 
 the case being remarkably otherwise, an inquiry becomes necessary 
 into the cause of this general defect, that the real cause of the evil 
 being understood, the proper remedy may be sought out. 
 
 By many it would be naturally expected, that from Newmarket, where 
 wealth, learning often, and horses, go hand in hand, would proceed 
 
the best intelligence on these subjects ; but not one ray of light has 
 ever yet emanated from this school ; but we hope, now the barrier is 
 broken down that impeded the course to this knowledge, prospects may 
 brighten, and it may become more productive in this respect. For 
 it is indeed but too true, that knowledge in these affairs is not to be 
 attained by stable cant, or " the motley phrase that defies the matter," 
 but by patient research and labour, as it is in all the other arts and 
 sciences, and by which alone these difficulties and obscurities can be 
 removed. We believe the present jockey-system of knowledge re- 
 specting these animals must greatly change before a true system for 
 obtaining the utmost speed of the horse can be attained ; and this, 
 we apprehend, will one day be done without the extreme distress 
 that now accompanies it ; and certainly great advantages and per- 
 fections may be derived at present from the elucidations respecting 
 their feet, already given, and this art is likely soon to become an art 
 that all may understand, in principle and practice.* 
 
 We now propose to enter upon the details of this important expe- 
 riment, by which the nature of shoeing can be illustrated ; and for 
 this purpose refer the reader back to pages 20 and 21 for what has 
 been already given respecting it ; where it was stated, that a beau- 
 
 * And one thing, we think, is very certain, which is, that their plate shoe, as they 
 call it, is not the shoe for a race-horse to do his best in, but has many disadvantages 
 when all the circumstances of the case are taken into consideration, and is an especial 
 folly in wet weather, or where the turf is deep and spungy, and a very uneasy shoe at 
 all times. In pursuing lightness they have lost sight, or not known, other circumstances 
 necessary in a well reasoned horse-shoe for this purpose, that is, taking into view all the 
 circumstances of the case. And as to reasoning, we may plainly see that nothing of 
 the kind has ever been employed upon it, or could have been, under nearly a state of 
 total ignorance of every circumstance attending the question. Extent of surface in the 
 shoe (cover, as it is mistakenly termed) is an unquestionable advantage carried to a cer- 
 tain extent, not only by presenting more bearing surface, but by not sinking in too much : 
 but without much enlarging here on the advantages of this extension of bearing surface, 
 we may refer the reader to the reasoning used in the figure given to the Expansion 
 shoe. — Description of the Expansion Shoe, 2nd Edit. London, 1827. 
 
tiful young blood mare, the property of George Hobson, Esq., of 
 Harley Street, Cavendish Square, was sent to my forge to be shod ; 
 and this circumstance, I may here observe, happened to take place in 
 a most extraordinary manner, about a week or ten days after my 
 mind had been strongly impressed that it was the shoe itself that 
 occasioned so much mischief, from the nails sticking fast in the iron, 
 and too strongly girting the hoof ; and it also occurred shortly after 
 that the truth or falsity of this opinion could be rendered experi- 
 mentally demonstrable, if a fit subject could be found with a tolerably 
 good natural foot ; when in the remarkable manner above-mentioned 
 was presented this mare ; for right well I knew the obloquy that 
 would attend the giving forth such an opinion or assertion as this, if 
 the proof were wanting to support it, and that it would most probably 
 do harm also instead of good to the cause it was meant to advance, 
 the cause of this worthy animal, and of that truth that is his right ; 
 but which opinion, if established, must one day infallibly produce a 
 great revolution in the practice of shoeing, and lead also to an 
 amelioration of the general treatment of the animal. 
 
 In the former edition, the matter of this experiment was often in- 
 terrupted to bring in details respecting the foot : in this edition these 
 will be nearly excluded, which we hope may contribute to give a 
 greater force to the circumstances of the experiment. 
 
 A twelvemonth having elapsed from the taking of the first cast or 
 impression, I was desirous of seeing what change had been effected 
 by these iron measures, and proceeded, June 13, 1805, to take a 
 second cast, being exactly a year and nine days after the application 
 of the shoe. During the whole of this period the shoeing smiths, 
 who were as steady men to the full as any others in their line of 
 employ, were left to the practice of their own art without the small- 
 est interference or controul on my part. They were aware of the 
 cast being taken from the foot, and were not less careful on that 
 account in their attentions in shoeing her. And m plate 8 is seen a 
 representation by the same eminent artist, Thomas Milton, (grand- 
 
child of our noble Poet's brother,) of the second cast from the foot 
 of this mare. 
 
 Let us now mark with precision the differences that have taken 
 place, and see what have been the effects of fixing the foot without 
 intermission, for a period of twelve months, to an inflexible iron ring, 
 for such is briefly the fact with respect to the nature of the shoe, by 
 whatever name it may be called ; for the word shoe has also had its 
 fascination in concealing its effects, by bringing to our view the com- 
 forts we derive from our own shoes made of leather, and elastic to 
 the foot, to which, neither in the material of which it is made, or in 
 the mode of its application, has it the smallest correspondence ; of 
 such force are names that mere chance often confers on things in 
 blinding our views of their actual nature. 
 
 The original state and proportions of the foot being before us, and 
 perfectly preserved {vide Frontispiece, ox PI. 1,) we are enabled to make 
 an exact comparison of its former and present condition ; a dimi- 
 nution of volume throughout is strikingly manifest, but more so in 
 the elastic parts. A mechanical hardness marks the appearance of 
 it, in place of the flowing, easy outlines observable in the original. 
 The evident competency of the parts to their respective offices, which 
 the eye recognizes in the former, is done away in this; and such is the 
 general diminution of the foot, that actual lameness would naturally 
 be supposed the effect of so much alteration unless explained ; for 
 this does not take place for the following reasons ; that the parts 
 have suffered their alterations slowly, and, from being in their nature 
 yielding and elastic, have given way to the effect of the shoe, as far 
 as the diminution extends at present, without much resistance ; and 
 above all, that during the application of the shoe, the parts that have 
 most suffered are not called into action, nor are their uses required, 
 so that the foot by degrees assumes a new sort of existence, and gra- 
 dually adapts itself, as much as a living part can do, to the effects of 
 the iron circle, and cannot afterwards well do without it. 
 
 We now examine the nature and extent of these changes wrought 
 
PL- 6' 
 
 THE SAME FOOT AFTE1 T^'KLO', :-lO:ri".hUS SHOEITf'G, 
 
 -,/ EJ:;ar,lrDel. 
 
 Jkil.lyB.CU.'Jc e>'//:r, n! .,- Stree-t.Ja 
 
by the shoe ; first observing, that in our drawing away this second 
 impression, we were surprised to find with how much greater force it 
 was held and came away from the foot than the former cast did, and 
 as immediately appeared from certain alterations that had taken place 
 in the relative situation of the parts of the foot, as the slanting sur- 
 faces of the bars and frog had now assumed a more perpendicular 
 direction. 
 
 The furch bulbs, a and b, suffering with the furch, have lost their 
 noble, swelling, rounded, figure and appearance, and the surface they 
 now are seen to present is an ugly, flat slope, towards the base or 
 cleft of this organ. And this has not been the effect altogether of 
 the compressing power of the shoe, but has been occasioned by the 
 senseless cuttings and carvings of the knives of the smiths. And 
 though the representation in the plate does not reach it, it is probably 
 accompanied also with a withering and diminution of the internal 
 bulbs or resilient globes, from the compression of the cartilages, and 
 by condensation or absorption, or both. 
 
 The extent or space between the inflexural columns, from one 
 to the other, was, in the original state of the foot, somewhat more 
 than four inches ; in the second cast it measured scarcely three. 
 The foot across its widest part, viz., at its greatest swell at the 
 quarters, measured in the original cast nearly five inches and a half; 
 in the second cast, only four inches and seven eighths. The actual 
 length of the foot, we may remark, is not materially changed, which 
 seems to confirm the circumstance, that the cause operating these 
 effects had been lateral principally, and consequently serves to evince 
 its having been chiefly the effect of the nails. 
 
 The furch had lost, through its being wasted by compression, and 
 the cuttings of the smiths, the rounded useful swelling and projection 
 we had distinguished by the name of the Cushion ; and although its 
 substance was so much diminished, still its lower surface was lower 
 by nearly one fourth of an inch than the inflexural columns or wall ; 
 for it may be recollected in the account we gave of the furch under 
 
10 
 
 the chapter on Frog-pressure, that this part was then three eighths 
 of an inch higher, or within this level. The sole appeared somewhat 
 more arched or cupped than formerly, but the degree of thickening 
 it had undergone, as also the elasticity it had lost, could not be 
 accurately ascertained in the living subject. 
 
 Thus we see the beautiful and useful symmetry of nature's mould, 
 no part of which is without its use, has been changed by artificial 
 restraint to deformity and incompetence. Many there are who have 
 contributed unnecessarily to the obscurity of these cases by con- 
 founding them with, or supposing them the effects of standing in the 
 stable, which has served to blind their eyes to the effects of the shoe, 
 and on which account, in a future page, to set things in a more clear 
 light, we shall give proof enough from actual experiment, that how- 
 ever inimical to the feet the stable may be, it is wholly incapable of 
 producing such powerful effects as these, which can be shown most 
 convincingly in two ways, viz., by shoeing, and turning the horse to 
 grass, when the same effects will ensue ; and also by keeping a horse 
 unshod in the stable, which we have for years done, when no effects 
 of this kind have taken place. The worst cases of contraction also, 
 we may observe, are with stage horses that have but little oppor- 
 tunity, unfortunately for them, of standing in the stable, being almost 
 continually on the road. 
 
 Also our views formerly, on observing these obviously-glaring cases 
 of contraction, were used to be confined to the heels only, and the 
 mischief was attributed, as we have stated, to some natural deficiency 
 of the foot, to bad shoeing, as it was called, to bevelling the heels of 
 the shoe too much, or to the want of pressure on the frog, or other 
 causes of this sort; and immediately followed propositions for the 
 futile task of expanding the heels again by frog-pressure, without in 
 the least guessing at the source of the evil ; and, with the same in- 
 tention, the smiths would have recourse to cutting away the arch of the 
 commissure, expecting, vainly enough, that the heels would then fly 
 open ! but which drying, contracting, and often cracking, served only 
 
11 
 
 to increase the mischief, — the attempt at expanding feet so contracted 
 having cost us more attention and expense than almost any other 
 part of our studies and labours respecting the horse, we shall give 
 the general result of them on some future occasion. Indeed it was 
 in making those fruitless attempts that we were first led to see the 
 true nature of the evil ; for it is singular, that those views of con- 
 tracted heels were not at all accompanied with any right apprehension 
 of the true cause and origin of the mischief; that it is very possible 
 to see without perceiving things most obvious, and to perceive and 
 yet not fully understand ; so difficult is it to overcome preconceived 
 notions which we doubt not the truth of, or entertain that which our 
 suspicions are not awakened to ; and obscure and repulsive are the 
 paths which lead to light. 
 
 Seen by itself, there are many now who would deny there was any 
 contraction at all in the foot, tab. 8 ; and more would say it was not 
 of the smallest consequence, because they had been used to see feet 
 much more contracted ; and as far as it extends at present, it will 
 not be so 'much felt as to be made sensible, by external indications at 
 least, while the shoe is used, the animal being patient and courageous 
 in bearing any necessary pain. But that a defect, of an injurious 
 nature to the foot, exists, can be proved even here ; for by experi- 
 ments in similar cases we have found, that by taking off the shoe, 
 and using the foot only a few miles on the road, it will acquire con- 
 siderable heat, and be inflamed in a way that would not, in the 
 smallest degree, have taken place in the natural foot ; and arising, as 
 appears, from a deficiency of the elastic parts of the foot, which by 
 pressure, or want of use, or both, have been condensed or absorbed, 
 and their uses being again called for in this experiment, for the well- 
 being and ease of the foot, painful sensations and inflammation are 
 created by the want of them. For it is not from external resistance, 
 as would at first appear, that this pain arises, for this resistance, it is 
 evident, will be more complete when the shoe is on the foot, but from 
 b 2 
 
12 
 
 efforts at expansion of the different parts of the hoof, which the loss 
 of the elastic parts does not permit. 
 
 Five years of unrestrained growth have perfected this foot beyond 
 what is generally seen at the commencement of shoeing, which usually 
 takes place on the second, third> or fourth year of the horse, and 
 before the foot is nearly unfolded or grown to its size ; so that the 
 great change that is here observable is more strongly manifested than 
 it would be in ordinary cases of shoeing ; and the foot cannot be ex- 
 pected to exhibit differences so great and conspicuous in succeeding 
 years as in the first, there being less of elastic matter to act upon. 
 Nevertheless every year will have its effects, and will bring the hoof 
 in closer approximation to the coffin-bone ; and at length we shall 
 see that a partial diminution of the bone itself will be the con- 
 sequence, with other derangements of its accompanying parts. 
 
 The horse, we may remark, like other large animals, is slow in 
 acquiring maturity, and, like them, is not very short-lived. Some 
 celebrated writers have considered the natural period of his life about 
 fifty years. This was before the art of shoeing commenced, and may 
 be not far from the truth in those times. If we were to give an 
 opinion on this matter, we should state it as our belief, that he 
 acquires his stature or height at about Jive years, but obtains his full 
 bulk and strength about the eighth year ; and this period, as in most 
 other animals, if multiplied by four, will give somewhere about the 
 period of his natural life ; which, without any desire of unnaturally 
 extending, would be from thirty-two to forty ; * and at the former 
 age we have seen (setting aside the state of his feet) horses capable 
 
 • Vivunt annis quidem quinquagenis : feminas minori spatio. — Plin. lib. 8, c. 42. 
 
 Gignunt annis ad quadragesimum. — Plin. 
 
 There is a cart-horse on the canal, near Warrington, 63 years old, to be seen at 
 the Bear in Lutford. — Liverpool Advertiser. Also a hunter near Amersham, in Buck- 
 inghamshire, 52 years old, that was never out of the gentleman's hands who bred him. 
 
13 
 
 of a great deal of service. But what we wish to remark is, that 
 frequent visits to the slaughter-house, a useful school, but not much 
 frequented, have led us to observe and conclude, that six arrive there 
 before, to one after the fourteenth year ! for they so early become 
 cripples through the injuries of their feet, that it is found most 
 advantageous to the interests of those who get these kind of horses 
 that are daily becoming tenderer, to " use them up" by the severest 
 measures, and most unnatural usage, rather than to endeavour to 
 prolong their labours by preserving them ; and there is no want of 
 supply through the causes above described, at least principally ; and 
 it deserves a closer attention from the public than it has ever yet re- 
 ceived ; for men, as we have before observed, have been really afraid 
 to look into these things about horses, as though their affairs were 
 somehow clothed in fearful and impenetrable mysteries. 
 
 Let us now quit these considerations for a more close view of the 
 nature of the shoe, and how it produces these effects. 
 
 The first and most obvious evil of it will be its- permanent appli- 
 cation and constant pressure against the bottom of the foot, with a 
 force altogether indefinite, depending on the strength with which the 
 nails are clenched, and the proximity of the shoe to the sole, which 
 causes it to act with more or less violence against the lower surface 
 of the coffin bone. Next, the nails in the sides of the hoof, being 
 immoveably blocked in the perforations of the shoe, create a solid 
 resistance of iron at this part, not admitting the natural expansion of 
 the hoof; and it must be obvious that they almost, though not 
 entirely, prevent, by keeping the quarters fixed, every movement of 
 the posterior parts and heels. To obviate this, the nails have been 
 placed as much as may be in the front parts of the foot and shoe, 
 though in reality it was not so much the intention of those who 
 recommended this mode of shoeing, to remove the nails from those 
 parts on this account, as from their being occupied with the mistaken 
 idea of the necessity of pressure on the frog ; and to obtain this, the 
 shoe was directed to be made very thin or low at the heels, (as in the 
 
14 
 
 shoes of Lafosse and Coleman,) that by the ground meeting the frog, 
 it might force open and expand the heels ; and the nails were in 
 reality not inserted in the posterior parts of the foot, in order to give 
 an opportunity for this apprehended operation of the frog. In 
 examining the structure and relative situation of the frog, we have 
 seen how little probability there is, that this softer and more retiring 
 part of the foot could be designed by nature for any such office ; 
 much less then could it operate with any effect after the nails had in 
 any manner restrained the natural movement and dilatation of the 
 wall. Indeed, the want of success attending all attempts to bring 
 this shoe into actual practice formerly, as well as in these days, suffi- 
 ciently shows that the doctrine was unsound, though where the defect 
 lay did not before clearly appear. 
 
 The feet of horses that have been shod with the low-heeled shoe, 
 we have remarked, have been kept very open by it ; yet those who 
 have used it have after a while almost universally abandoned it, pre- 
 ferring the usual methods of shoeing with a level or thick-heeled 
 shoe, nailed along the sides of the foot. This change, we apprehend, 
 they were induced to make from experiencing a degree of sensation 
 and tenderness after much exercise with this sort of shoe ; proceeding, 
 perhaps, as might indeed be expected, from the unequal bearing and 
 pressure on the posterior parts of the foot, which such a shoe would 
 inevitably occasion, and also from the strain and distension which the 
 back sinews would suffer from a shoe lowered at the heels ; for in 
 order to be indulgent, it ought rather to be raised than lowered, as 
 is the case with our own shoes, the heels of which are always made 
 thicker than any other part, and for the same obvious reason. For 
 with calkins I observe horses almost invariably go the best; and 
 which I was led into the discovery of by turning them up for frost, 
 having been before rather prejudiced against it. 
 
 Though subject to the inconveniences above mentioned, a thin- 
 heeled shoe will be perhaps the least injurious to the structure of the 
 horse's foot of any of the rigid nailed shoes ; and if applied or adopted 
 
15 
 
 with more correct views than those of producing pressure on the 
 frog, it might perhaps be rendered much more useful than it has ever 
 heretofore been ; and particularly to young and growing feet, where 
 it may be resorted to with obvious advantage, if no better means for 
 protecting the foot can be devised.* 
 
 Nor are we disposed to attribute the open condition of the foot 
 when this sort of shoe is used, to pressure on the frog ; the cause 
 usually assigned, except in a very subordinate degree : we should 
 rather consider it as arising from the opportunity which this sort of 
 shoe affords to the oblique surface of the bars themselves to come in 
 contact with the ground : these, by their structure and direction, 
 sloping downwards and outwards, present interiorly a more solid and 
 proper surface to the ground than the frog, for dilating the posterior 
 parts of the foot. The frog, it will be obvious, also contributes its 
 share, though in an inferior degree, admitting rather of these move- 
 
 * To make this sort of shoe answer best the purposes designed, we apprehend it 
 should be made of steel properly tempered, and not of iron, as it may thus be made 
 thinner and lighter, and be even more durable than with iron : it also might, from its 
 thinness, be in part or wholly let into the hoof in front, so as not to disturb the natural 
 course of bearing of the foot on the ground. And as to Lafosse, and all those who 
 followed his frog-squeezing notions, they never arrived beyond this idea, that as the 
 foot was contracted, and apprehending that it proceeded from want of pressure on the 
 frog, they thought that it was necessary to use as much pressure on the frog as pos- 
 sible to prevent it ; and the shoe was lowered at the heels for this purpose, that it 
 might operate the better in letting this pressure take place : and it is singular, that 
 satisfied and absorbed in this apprehension of their's, they were never carried to the 
 true source of the evil, nor did this apprehension lead them to a knowledge of the 
 elastic actions or expansive properties of the foot, which is quite a different view of the 
 subject, and leads to different results in the shoeing, viz., to a shoe with a motion, or a 
 removeable shoe, the one which is necessary to the latter doctrine, but which never did 
 in any instance occur to Lafosse, or any of his followers, under the former impressions, 
 proof enough of the difference which, when known and fully understood, to some may 
 appear but small ; yet the want of that little difference has been the cause of unspeak- 
 able torment to the horses. And the mischief to the horses and to the public that these 
 colleges, as they are called, have done in reviving this stupid old doctrine of Lafosse, is 
 almost incalculable : wherever I go, I still see its abominable effects. 
 
16 
 
 ments than producing them ; for we must not be misled by the 
 appearance which this part makes in shod feet, as it always hangs 
 considerably lower than it will be found to do in the full-formed good 
 natural foot. But the preservation of the form of the foot by this 
 kind of shoe, is to be attributed more than to either of these causes, 
 to the almost perfect liberty in which the quarters or sides of the 
 foot are left by the non-insertion of nails into them ; the weight of 
 the body then maintaining the movement of the hoof, which will 
 preserve entire the figure of the foot. 
 
 This discussion on the shoe is rather a digression from the object 
 of our present inquiry ; belonging chiefly to a subsequent chapter of 
 this work, where we shall consider the different shoes, and the reasons 
 of their preference : here we propose alone to consider the cause of 
 the mischievous effects of the shoe. 
 
 The nails driven by violent hammering into the square perforations 
 of the shoe, are lodged therein so firmly as to form with it a solid 
 mass, wholly preventing any movement of the hoof at the parts 
 where they enter, and at some distance from them ; the quarters 
 being held in this fixed state, the rest of the hoof is also robbed of 
 that motion which is necessary for the healthy existence of the foot : 
 being thus held for months, and even years, in a constrained state, it 
 becomes stiff and inelastic, then diminishes in size, and a train of 
 effects ensue which we shall more fully consider hereafter. 
 
 This elastic movement and dilatation of the hoof will admit of 
 being not inaptly exhibited by comparison with the ordinary move- 
 ments of a bow for shooting arrows, having under the weight of the 
 animal an evident motion of this kind. Bows also are brought, we 
 believe, from the eastern parts of the world, which are occasionally 
 seen in the museums of the curious, and whose ends or extremities 
 are inflected, or turned inwards towards the centre of the bow, and 
 afford a further illustration of the structure of the wall of the horse's 
 hoof. It is clear also, that if a bow be firmly confined at one or 
 more points along its extremities, it will lose the power of motion, 
 
17 
 
 and become more or less perfectly fixed, as these points are more 
 numerous, or are placed at a greater distance from the centre of the 
 bow. And the nails, by passing through a perfectly inflexible iron 
 ring into the hoof, will make the hoof as inflexible as itself, accom- 
 panied with different degrees of restraint, according to the size and 
 figure given to the shoe, or the size of the nails, and the direction 
 which they may have taken in passing through it ; which, depending 
 entirely on the judgment of the workman, or rather his simple appre- 
 hension, totally unaware as he is of the structure and properties of 
 the organ he is fettering, will be ever liable to great uncertainty 
 and abuse. Nor is he aware, as he adds nail to nail, with violent 
 hammering and clenching, that when he has driven the last, he has 
 circumvented the hoof with a perfectly inelastic barrier of iron, 
 destroying almost entirely any motion it has, for one part cannot well 
 move but in conjunction with the rest ; and thus is produced the first 
 part of the evils of shoeing. 
 
 The manner of paring the foot, and of bevilling interiorly the 
 upper surface of the shoe, will bring the exterior edge or circum- 
 ference of the hoof to bear alone against the shoe, and on which the 
 whole weight of the animal will rest, instead of being distributed 
 over a more general bearing. This seems an unavoidable defect in 
 all shoeing of this nature, and which cannot be wholly removed ; and 
 this mode of bearing will sometimes occasion, and especially if the 
 hoof be not very strong, a bending in near its middle region, and in 
 other feet producing a contraction of the hoof about the coronet, 
 attended with a miserable feeling, tenderness, and often lameness, 
 and which the French term, Le pied encasteU, and for which the 
 English, that I know of, have no proper term. The natural bearing 
 of the hoof on the ground is a very broad and extensive one, em- 
 bracing several parts of the hoof, and is quite different to this. 
 
 Horses also about to be shod are usually led from the dry stable, 
 and in the most dry and hardened state of the foot have the iron 
 applied to them, which cannot afterwards in the least relax. And it 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 is also true that the shoe is affixed to the foot whilst the foot is off' 
 the ground, and free from any weight or pressure, and consequently 
 in its least extended state — a circumstance which greatly tends to 
 augment the evil, and accelerate the contraction. 
 
 Nor should it be forgotten, that the nails when driven into the sub- 
 stance of the wall, distend it, like wedges driven into wood. — For 
 it is obvious, that they will always remove a portion of horn from 
 its situation equal in size to the bulk of the nail, the impression 
 of which will be partly lost by condensation of the horn immediately 
 surrounding it, and partly by the dilatation of its substance ; which 
 dilatation will take place chiefly towards the inside of the hoof, the 
 horn being more soft and less resisting than on the outside : it is 
 true, this effect of the nail where the hoof is large, as in feet that 
 have not been much diminished or impaired by shoeing, as in the 
 fresh feet of young horses, will not be much felt ; but where the hoof 
 by contraction has got into closer approximation to the coffin bone, 
 or in feet that have been trimmed pretty close, or pared small for 
 neatness, or to prevent cutting, or where the hoof has been broken, 
 and there is a necessity for nailing to the broken part, then it will be 
 severely felt, and produce various degrees of compression arid tender 
 feeling. 
 
 There is in these cases no yielding or power of adaptation in the 
 iron to the foot ; that if the shoe be irregular or deformed, it will 
 always draw the horn after it ; and if the nail, in being driven by the 
 smith, should bend in its passage through the hoof, which it is very 
 liable to, it will have the effect of compressing the foot. On exa- 
 mining horses' hoofs after death, we have frequently observed ribs of 
 horn running in a perpendicular direction, and bulging towards the 
 inside of the hoof, the obvious effects of nails that had been driven 
 too close, or had bent in their passage : an inconvenience which at 
 times cannot be prevented even by real skill and care. 
 
 Again, after the hoof has been pared so as to satisfy the smith, we 
 generally see him make the shoe somewhat less ; and after it has 
 
19 
 
 been nailed on, the projecting horn is rasped, or cut away with the 
 knife. This, it has been said, is done to prevent the foot being too 
 large, to prevent cutting, or for neatness : and most certainly it will 
 but too frequently bring a compression to the interior more than it 
 ought to be ; and as to the cutting, we have been well satisfied it has 
 on most occasions proceeded from the benumbed state of the foot 
 more than from the size of the shoe, of which we shall give some 
 striking proofs hereafter. And as a further abuse, we may observe, 
 that it frequently happens after the first nail has been driven, that 
 the shoe is violently hammered on the side to bring it into its proper 
 place, and thus compression is conveyed to the foot, and the fine 
 edge of the coffin bone gets damaged — that this evil should also as 
 much as possible be avoided. 
 
 Another circumstance unfavourable in the use of the common shoe is, 
 the constant advance of the hoof forward by its growth, by which the 
 narrower parts of the shoe are carried forwards to the wider parts of 
 the foot, and create a degree of compression at these parts : and at 
 times we even see the shoe buried in the horn of the hoof which 
 hangs over it, exhibiting plainly the compression that attends it, for 
 the narrower parts of the shoe are now opposite the wider parts of 
 the hoof. 
 
 It is also a truth that cannot be denied, that by shoeing the tender 
 feet of the young and growing horse, which are then enlarging to 
 their form with the other parts of the body, not only the evils arise 
 that would occur to a full-grown foot if shod, but there is a partial 
 arrestation of the growth attends it, with frequent disfiguration also ; 
 so that whilst their limbs and body are every where increasing in 
 bulk and weight, their feet, placed in bonds of iron, are diminishing 
 in size and fitness to support and move them. 
 
 It is a circumstance certainly of less moment than some of the 
 
 preceding, although not to be passed over in silence, that the foot, 
 
 with the shoe placed upon it after the usual custom, is much longer 
 
 at the toe than the natural foot, creating an unnecessary purchase on 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 the back sinew, which will tend to embarrass the movements, and 
 strain and fatigue the limb ; for if we attend to the natural hoof, it 
 will be found that this wearing extremity of the hoof on the outside 
 of the toe is short and removed, forming an obtuse, broad, blunt 
 surface, that can occasion no impression or strain on the limb : the 
 shoe, it is true, will, when nearly worn out, assume this figure in some 
 degree ; but we propose that it should possess it on its first applica- 
 tion. This suggestion, however, we leave to be determined by future 
 experience. 
 
 It is also serious matter of regret, that not only the principle of 
 the art is defective, and especially obnoxious to the young and 
 growing feet, but unfortunately the practice of the art is peculiarly 
 exposed to abuse and accident : being a laborious employment, it is 
 necessarily occupied by men of little or no education, who after 
 a short time become strongly prejudiced with the powers of their art, 
 and their own super-mysterious skill, and, getting into difficulties, 
 commit errors from misconception and a defective knowledge, that 
 makes the practice as much, or more destructive than the principle. 
 A brief enumeration of some of these errors may not be without its 
 use : and preceding writers have inveighed bitterly against the 
 practice of burning the feet, and formerly, perhaps, with justice ; but 
 at the present time we do not recollect to have seen much mischief 
 from this source ; and we should apprehend that the evils they expe- 
 rienced, and conceived as arising from this cause, should have been 
 more justly referred to the general principle :- in cart-horses, where 
 the growth has been considerable, it saves much trouble to burn 
 away the superfluous horn, though an unsightly, and somewhat dan- 
 gerous practice ; with nag horses it should never be at all per- 
 mitted. More frequent injury arises from clumsy and ill-fitted shoes, 
 or shoes made too straight on the sides, or with irregularities and 
 roughness, or pritchel burs, raised in making the holes on their 
 upper bearing surface, that in tender feet may come in contact with 
 the circumference of the sole, or rather that part the smiths call the 
 
21 
 
 vein, a more tender vascular part circumscribing the sole. But the 
 most frequent evil of all is from pricks or stabs of the nails, by their 
 taking a wrong direction ; or from the nails, too large, compressing 
 the foot, splitting and tearing the hoof, admitting air into its sub- 
 stance, and drying it. Rasping away the useful cuticular covering 
 of the hoof, we have also already spoken of as an ordinary error, and 
 should not be permitted : and of the ill effects of slicing the frog, 
 and other injurious practices, we have already given our sentiments, 
 and which, as they do not attach necessarily to the principle, may 
 all be removed. 
 
 We shall now quit these considerations, to contemplate the effects 
 of the second year's operation of the shoe, which is exhibited in 
 Plate 9, Jig. 3, engraved also from the actual cast of the foot by the 
 same excellent artist. The stiffness and increasing rigidity of the 
 hoof is more strongly manifested than in the last year ; the quarters 
 are more straitened, and a further reduction of its bulk of near half 
 an inch has taken place. The cleft of the furch has become nar- 
 rower and more lengthened ; the foot has run out or lengthened at 
 the pince, as though this part, from having no restraint, had increased 
 at the expense, as it were, of the diminishing quarters and heels, 
 being carried out further in extent before the point of the furch. 
 When an impression of the foot was taken, it was always done on 
 the removal of the shoe, and before the foot was pared, that it might 
 appear as natural as possible, and not narrower than was real. And 
 most certain it is, that now the foot can less perfectly serve the 
 designs which a kind Providence proposed in its construction ; for 
 where no superfluous or unnecessary part had been given, nothing, it 
 is obvious, could be changed or taken away without some prejudicial 
 effect. 
 
 If the hoof be contracted in its diameter, or has become of less 
 area, the softer parts within will be brought into closer contact* or 
 
22 
 
 be absorbed, which condensation, or loss, must be followed by sen- 
 sations to the animal which it would be difficult to define or ascertain ; 
 we should, however, be reasonably led to expect a degree of numb- 
 ness from the compression, attended with faintness, or a dull, aching 
 pain. An impeded circulation of the foot will be one of the obvious 
 consequences ; and whether the elastic processes are not injured by 
 being compressed from a diminished area of the hoof, is not easily 
 ascertained : in very old cases we have thought them paler than the 
 natural ones, and not so broad. That this compression in the latter 
 stages of shoeing is attended with severe suffering (whatever may be 
 the degree of feeling in this stage of the business) is certain, since 
 neither the spur or whip, however severely inflicted, will make the 
 animal for many minutes together put out and use his feet to the full 
 extent of their natural action, or set them fairly to the ground. 
 
 If now any thing unsafe or disagreeable begins to be experienced, 
 the rider will be led to suspect that idleness or carelessness is the 
 cause, or weakness of the limbs, or, which is as usual, that the horse 
 is somehow not well shod ; and finding that chastisement does not 
 long avail, or prevent him from tripping and being tender, and unac- 
 quainted with the actual changes which have been going on in the 
 feet, and considering the shoe as a natural and beneficial defence, 
 and not aware of its defective principle, he will attribute his diffi- 
 culties to a variety of causes, neither of which may be the true one ; 
 he may become desirous of investigating and obtaining a knowledge 
 of the shoeing art ; its abuses and errors will strongly arrest his 
 attention, nor will the slow and invisible operation of the shoe upon 
 the foot probably become a matter of his observation : seeking infor- 
 mation from the grooms, he will perhaps be first recommended to try 
 good shoeing, and to have recourse to some more knowing limb of 
 the business, who, "from practising shoeing all his life, must know 
 the thing well," and who will be expected, by some cunning trick or 
 device, to rescue him from his difficulties ; but in this he may also be 
 grievously disappointed : harness will probably be recommended to 
 
23 
 
 him as the next resource, and a proper vehicle being provided, his 
 tenderness will be surpassed by measures I shall not here describe ; 
 and girded to the bearing rein, and sharply bitted, he is compelled at 
 all events, to perform his allotted work. 
 
 Some deviations or exceptions from the general rule. As it is a 
 fact that all houses do not suffer alike, and which has tended greatly 
 to embarrass reasoning, and conceal these effects, so we may state 
 that in horses, where the foot is large, coarse, and the horn very 
 strong, it is not so very much perceived, and the contracting process 
 may go on yet further, and not be much felt, especially by a rider 
 that has been long accustomed to this malady, or has had more 
 tender subjects to deal with ; or if his hand and seat be not very 
 sensible to what is passing under him, in which respect there is a 
 surprising difference amongst men ; or by assiduous attention to the 
 animal and the ground he passes over, its inconvenience may pass 
 almost disregarded. Also the natural courage of the animal in bear- 
 ing pain, and which has been slowly induced, and to which he has 
 become accustomed — the fear of punishment — the rewards of de- 
 licious food looked for at the end of his labours, — will also all tend 
 to make it the less perceived, and the pride of not admitting a defect 
 shall occasion even the existence of it to be denied where it is 
 obvious. — On the other hand, if the hoof be small, and closely em- 
 bracing the foot, — the horn thin or very hard, as is particularly the 
 case with blood horses, and if the shoe has been applied early in life, 
 then the evil will be operating in its greatest severity, and at a very 
 early age he becomes a cripple, and is brought to the destructive 
 measures we have mentioned. At five, and even four years old, 
 I have frequently seen horses from this cause incapable of taking 
 more than half steps, and going in the greatest pain and misery, and 
 with difficulty kept on their legs : in tripping he perhaps falls, when 
 it is quaintly said by the grooms that " he has thrown his horse 
 down ;" or, as sometimes happens, he falls with the groom himself — 
 and then he is " a poor tumble-down devil, not fit to ride;" and 
 
24 
 
 then, " What a shameful thing it is to put a poor fellow on such a 
 dog-horse" — that " he is only fit for harness, or in reality the dogs," 
 or that a rolling-stone had caused his fall — though perhaps just 
 before purchased at a high price, and by his own recommendation. — 
 Or still another course of events may occur, and such an accident as 
 the above may have been brought on suddenly by a tight shoe, or a 
 nail driven too close ; he may fall in consequence, and be sold on 
 this account : the nail removed, and a shoe better fitted, shall relieve 
 him, and he may pursue the ordinary course of other horses for 
 several years without a similar accident. — Such casual circumstances 
 tend to obscure and embarrass what otherwise would have been 
 almost natural and easy inferences in respect to the feet and shoeing, 
 
 Or it may happen in these cases where complaint is made of bad 
 going and tenderness, that the smith will have recourse to the only, 
 or almost only resource he has for giving relief ; and this is the ope- 
 ration which he is pleased to call " throwing open the heels" a 
 phrase which mightily fascinates, since it is the very thing that is 
 wanted. For though the expression itself is a mere delusion, yet 
 relief is often obtained by the measure ; for it will be clear on in- 
 spection, that the heels are not wider after the operation than before, 
 nor are in the way to become so, but a fallacious appearance of width 
 is communicated by the divided parts appearing at a greater distance. 
 This operation, and what we apprehend is the real cause of its relief, 
 is of sufficient importance to deserve a particular description : it is 
 thus performed : 
 
 We may observe that the wall of the horse's hoof, at its inflexure 
 or posterior extremity, is projecting to a sharp solid edge or angle of 
 horn, which is turned inwards towards the frog ; and in the collapsed 
 or contracted state of the foot, this part resting against the side of 
 the base of the frog, is compressing and almost cutting it : this sharp 
 angle of horn is removed by a slice of the buttress, and, by a second 
 cut, a piece is also removed from the base of the frog, leaving a deep 
 wide notch in these parts ; and it is usual to see a deep incision made 
 
25 
 
 into the thick bulbous covering which the frog sends over the inflex- 
 ural column at its upper part. After this, the sides and bottom of 
 the reverted arch of the frog are most unmercifully sliced away, 
 and without any just reason whatever, as we have before shown in 
 our account of these parts. Indeed the hard horn of the bar might 
 be better spared, as it is the encroaching part, than the soft and 
 more necessary horn of the frog : — next, the sole is miserably 
 thinned with the drawing knife. — And now the effect of all this cut- 
 ting away is, that the foot is not actually wider than it was before, 
 or likely by these measures to become so ; but a temporary release 
 is obtained from the pressure of the encroaching horn, and a degree 
 of elasticity, which is natural to the part, is once more communicated 
 to the foot. And if the shoe is now applied, and adroitly fitted and 
 nailed, a great relief will be experienced, and abundant applause 
 may attend it. 
 
 It is, however, only a temporary resource, and will in its conse- 
 quences, with most feet at least, be ultimately ruinous ; for it is 
 obvious that this proceeding does not at all extend to the cause of 
 the evil, without which no permanent advantage can be expected : 
 the horn robbed of its harder, exterior coat, and the interior, more 
 succulent one, exposed, quickly dries, and in drying, contracts, and 
 pinches, or compresses the parts beneath, or perhaps cracks, as is too 
 frequently the case, between the hoof and the inflexion ; and the frog 
 also, from frequent cutting, dries and diminishes, and at last sepa- 
 rates from its connexion with the bar, and wet and dirt being admit- 
 ted to the quick, it swells and cankers, and is the forerunner of much 
 suffering and mischief, and renders necessary (from the uncertainty 
 and expense of doctoring, at least by those men who have occasioned 
 it) the wretched policy we have stated of " working them up." The 
 frog also flayed to the quick, a frush is generated by the weakness 
 of the frog-stay, and the frog being frushed, and next cankered, and 
 unfit for its offices, — the animal, no longer capable of work, even by 
 the severest abuse, is led to the slaughter-house, its doors are closed 
 
26 
 
 upon him, and the pole-axe, by removing the object, is ever ready 
 to cancel all errors. 
 
 It should ever be the object of the skilful veterinarian to preserve 
 the main frame of the hoof as entire as possible, as in it consists its 
 strength to resist the mischief of closing; and as the foot cannot, 
 when nailed to the shoe, expand outwardly, it will, the more the in- 
 terior is weakened, close interiorly, that we cannot too forcibly incul- 
 cate the necessity of preserving these parts. 
 
 It may however happen, and frequently does, that instead of even 
 a temporary relief, the very reverse is experienced ; and he who, by 
 his boasted resources, was expected to mend, only makes bad worse, 
 by not understanding the application of all the measures necessary 
 to make it succeed ; or the want of success may proceed from the 
 foot being already in a state that does not admit of further relief by 
 such means : whichever way is pursued, it is usually found that, 
 year by year, the horse is becoming on the whole more a cripple, and 
 the owner, either with or without having had accidents, in order to 
 get rid of the evil, and avoid further inconvenience, is induced to 
 part with him. — But with the horse himself, alas ! it is otherwise ; 
 his diseases cannot be parted with, and at each remove falling into 
 worse hands, and a more base and distressing service, he is at last 
 prematurely destroyed ; and this happens most frequently before his 
 bodily powers, that is, if they have been duly supported, are mate- 
 rially impaired, or ought to be so at least, for it is before the half 
 of the natural period of his life is expended. 
 
 And although there are feet, it is true, that can withstand the in- 
 fluence of these measures much better than others, and resist them 
 for a longer time, such as a strong, capacious foot, as we have before 
 stated, with a slow, uniform progress of the contraction, and good 
 management in the rider, may prevent his coming to harm, yet in a 
 general way it is undeniably otherwise, and especially with our finest 
 blood-horses, and best horses for the saddle, where the greatest perfec- 
 tion in the provisions and symmetry of the natural foot is observable. 
 
27 
 
 Neither in such situations hitherto has the experience of the rider, 
 however long, afforded him the smallest clue for solving his diffi- 
 culties, or enabled him to warn others how they might escape the 
 evils he has had to contend with ; and the conclusion of many a tra- 
 veller's tale, after a most aggravating, and perhaps ruinous conflict 
 with these circumstances, has been — " that horses are by nature 
 troublesome and uncertain things, and are attended ivith difficulties 
 that are not to be overcome." And it is remarkable also, that in the 
 case of these crippled horses, coachmen, smiths, and jockeys will 
 often assume an air of consequence and an affected knowledge, or 
 rather knowingness, about the nature of these evils, though in reality 
 they never could comprehend them or their causes ; and, far from 
 shame, take a merit in the very mischiefs and difficulties they them- 
 selves have created, without knowing how, though they often know 
 well enough how to turn them to their advantage by recommending 
 a frequent change. 
 
 Some, in order to avoid the evils of tender feet, ride furiously over 
 the ground, believing the danger to be greatest in going slow ; and 
 though in one sense this may be true, yet the miserable accidents 
 which at times accrue from this expedient, sufficiently exhibit the im- 
 prudence of such a dangerous alternative, that it is not by such 
 measures that these evils are to be conquered. 
 
 We now propose to consider the third year's experiment on the 
 foot of the mare, which then appeared as represented in Plate 9, 
 Jig. 4, and it will be remarked that the foot is somewhat larger than 
 it was in the year preceding ; for in the engraving a rigid adherence 
 was observed to the actual state of the casts. The reason of this 
 unexpected difference we shall now explain. — The possessor of the 
 horse had become somewhat alarmed, and though an experienced 
 
 d 2 
 
28 
 
 horseman, perhaps for the first time, at the effects of the ron, and 
 the change the foot had undergone, which had been fully explained 
 and pointed out to him, and which induced him in consequence to 
 take off the shoes, and turn the mare to grass without them, doubt- 
 less to prevent the further progress of the evil, and to remedy the 
 present defect. The effect of this was, that a degree of fulness and 
 plumpness was communicated to the frog and parts about it, which 
 served for a while to interrupt the regular course of the experiment. 
 And we at one time proposed to turn this circumstance to advantage, 
 in recounting here the curious result of our experiments on the 
 restoration, or proposed restoration, of contracted feet, by this mea- 
 sure of removing the shoes, and turning the horse out ; but we shall 
 rather prefer to introduce them under a more advanced stage of the 
 contraction, or in a separate account. 
 
 As this unexpected interruption to the experiment prevents any 
 direct conclusions from this year's experiment, we shall in this place 
 state to the reader the interesting result of an experiment on a new 
 subject, which is given in Plate 10, fig. 1 & 2, made purposely to 
 examine and remove one of the hitherto-apprehended causes involved 
 in this contraction of horses' feet, and tending much to obscure and 
 perplex the notions entertained of this matter ; for the influence of 
 the stable has been on most occasions, as may be seen by the writings 
 of my predecessors, thrust in to account for this malady, and cast a 
 ten-fold obscurity in the way of the veterinary profession. 
 
 A coarse, ordinary, grey mare, five years old, was purchased for 
 this purpose of Mr. Lush, a distiller in Holborn, who informed me 
 he received her in part of rent from a tenant in the country, and 
 that she had never before, or more than once, been shod, which her 
 feet indeed sufficiently evinced ; the form of one of her fore feet i& 
 seen in fig. \, and the amplitude, and almost exuberant strength of the 
 
furcaceous parts is remarkable.* A cast was made from this mare's foot 
 in Plaster of Paris, from which the engraving was made, and which 
 gives an exact expression of its features. After the cast of the foot 
 had been taken, she was shod, and then turned into a grass field near 
 the village of Peckham, that I might observe if this contraction and 
 hardening of the hoof would take place without any influence of the 
 stable ; and the result, after near a twelvemonth, was as seen in Jig. 2, 
 where the cavities in the furch bulbs, from the loss of elastic matter, 
 and the horn sinking in and following it, are not at all exaggerated, 
 as might perhaps, if not particularly stated, be otherwise appre- 
 hended : this more than ordinary diminution, and loss of matter in 
 these parts, will be readily accounted for from the very redundant 
 size and fulness of the softer parts in this foot, as we have just 
 stated in our description of jig. 1. 
 
 By another experiment also, the converse of this, we are led to a 
 similar conclusion. At the St. Ives autumn fair of 1808, in Hun- 
 tingdonshire, I purchased a chesnut mare that had been very little 
 shod, (my express object in this journey being to procure one of 
 three or four years old, that had never been shod, but which I found 
 impossible, so early with us are horses usually shod :) this mare came 
 
 * The horse's hoof appears to receive, or to be imprest in its formation with very 
 different characters, as to the relative proportions of the two leading parts in its com- 
 position : in some feet the wall and its continuous parts are particularly strong, with a 
 frog not in the same proportion ; in others the frog, with its continuous parts, will be 
 found pre-eminently strong and full, assuming as it were a power at the expense of the 
 wall, which is not stout in proportion. — The frog-stay also, we may remark, in some 
 feet appears large and completed at the third, and in others not till the fourth or fifth 
 year. — Again, the upright or mule-footed horse appears to have a distinct, and almost 
 opposite form and qualities to the low and flat foot, communicating such different pro- 
 perties to the foot, as not only to alter very much its appearance, but greatly to inter- 
 fere with the regular uniformity of the effects of the shoe. The perfection of the foot 
 of the horse, therefore, would appear to consist in a symmetrically-distributed and duly 
 mingled power of each of the above parts. 
 
30 
 
 the nearest to my purpose of any I could find ; and I learnt after- 
 wards that she had been vicious in breaking in, and had been turned 
 out to grass for a twelvemonth without shoes, that she might forget 
 her vicious habits, and the ill treatment she had received. 
 
 I purchased her, and led her from St. Ives to Huntingdon, to my 
 friend Mr. Baumgartner's, who kindjy interested himself in assisting 
 me in obtaining her ; and thence to London. By gentle treatment 
 she in time forgot her fears and vicious habits, and I continued to 
 make her the subject of all my experiments on a new mode of 
 shoeing ; and during the whole of this time she stood exposed in 
 every respect as horses at livery are to the litter and dung of the 
 stable without shoes ; and though so situated, her feet grew both 
 larger and rounder instead of diminishing, as would have been the 
 case had they been confined by the iron. And that I might more 
 accurately ascertain the truth of this, I took occasional casts in 
 plaster of Paris, but have not deemed them of importance sufficient 
 to deserve being engraved for the work. 
 
 That the stable is in no way ever inimical to the feet of Horses it 
 is not our intention by any means to assert ; but we are only desirous 
 of exhibiting proof, that alone it is not sufficient to induce the con- 
 traction that has been apprehended. 
 
 It may be urged that feet often contract in the stable, and without 
 shoes : this we readily admit ; but its explanation appears to be that 
 a disposition to contraction has been previously brought on by the 
 shoeing, and which afterwards can proceed without the operation or 
 continuance of the original cause. 
 
 Having brought greater clearness into our views by the removal of 
 this generally-apprehended source of contraction, we can now, with 
 more unclouded views, return to a consideration of what the original 
 experiment unfolds respecting feet. 
 
31 
 
 Let us now consider the well-marked cast of the year 1808 : we 
 have contrived to have that of 1809 and 1810 represented on the 
 same plate — the dotted lines serving to exhibit the otherwise con- 
 cealed outlines of one side of each of the two last feet. 
 
 The area of the foot in its transverse diameter is seen further 
 diminishing, and the condition into which the preceding reduction 
 has brought the foot will occasion lesser degrees of this change to be 
 now more severely felt. The horn is every where in more close em- 
 brace to the sides and posterior parts of the foot ; and the horny 
 sole thickened, and almost inactive, is creating a resistance to the in- 
 ternal foot also in this direction, and with the general want of elas- 
 ticity, will occasion the movement of the bones within the hoof, and 
 of the hoof itself, to be diminished and constrained ; the vascular 
 organization also, which is uniting and attaching the hoof and bone 
 together, has also become diminished, and their functions impaired, and 
 has thus prepared the way for Founder, and other morbid affections 
 of the foot allied to this disease. 
 
 In very upright feet, where the inflexions are lofty, the bars, as the 
 mischief advances, approach the frog, and nearly close upon it, and 
 embrace it almost from top to bottom, as may be seen in the foot re- 
 presented in Plate 3, fig. 3, and by their irritation and compression 
 is quickly generated the running frush, and which in such feet is with 
 more difficulty also got rid of. 
 
 That the word Founder* may be clearly understood, — for the term 
 has been strangely misapprehended and misapplied by the college,f 
 and through their teachings vaguely used to signify simple con- 
 
 * As the ship at sea founders, or sinks into the waves, so in this disease does the 
 bone sink down in the hoof: but the term is probably immediately obtained by us from 
 the old French, morfondre. 
 
 f So little aware was Coleman of- what constituted this disorder, that till lately he 
 confounded it with simple contraction, and evidently did not understand the distinction, 
 which can easily be shown by his works, as also by his lectures, manuscript copies of 
 which are scattered about the country. 
 
traction, or any affection which prevented the proper going of the 
 horse, — that, from seeing this abuse, we are the more induced to give 
 a brief description of this very distinct and peculiar disease of the 
 foot, that there may be no longer any misrepresentations or obscurity 
 about it ; for, taking advantage of this state of things, they have 
 made their boasts of pretended cases, which, to look the more won- 
 derful, were s£ated to be of foundered feet, though in reality they 
 had only given a state of insensibility to badly-contracted feet by the 
 vile barbarity of cutting out the nerves of the leg. 
 
 A description of true Founder. The foot of the horse not unfre- 
 quently has its connexion with the hoof, weakened or wholly de- 
 tached. The coffin bone in this case dislodged, or its adherence 
 impaired, is pressed down by the natural operation of the weight of 
 the body, and sinking till it meets the sole, it there rests, with its 
 front parts bearing on the front parts of the horn of the sole, forcing 
 it downwards, and sometimes outwards, in such a way that this part, 
 from being naturally concave, becomes of a flat or a convex form. 
 The horse is then truly enough said to be foundered or pomme- 
 footed* 
 
 * From pomme, (Fr.) an apple — not pomet, ponied, or pumice, as we often see it 
 written. — One writer has endeavoured to make the " pumiced foot" as he calls it, a 
 distinct disorder from founder, but certainly erroneously, since the state of the hoof he 
 so designates and describes is neither more nor less than the foundered foot after a 
 considerable lapse of time, the hoof then assuming that thick appearance. {See Stereo- 
 plea, pi. 1 , fig A. 
 
 To afford a name, and of a cast somewhat more classical for professional use than the 
 one vulgarly employed, I formerly ventured, in some lectures I gave on these subjects, to 
 arrange the different appearances or modifications of this complaint, and its congeners, 
 under the following heads or divisions : — 
 Pedicida, or The Perfect Founder, where the disease was complete, that is, with a 
 
 total detachment of the coffin bone, and a perfect subsidence and resting of 
 
 it upon the horny sole. (Stereop., pi. 1. f. 1.) 
 Pedimota, or Imperfect or Partial Founder, where there is a disturbed attachment 
 
 only, attended with certain deformities of the hoof, and a partial sinking of 
 
 the bone. Sometimes in recent attacks of this affection, bladders, galls, or 
 
33 
 
 Many appear to be the varieties or gradations of this affection in 
 feet, and the disease may be formed by a gradual chronic process, or 
 suddenly, and at once, as in a few hours. — Cases within our practice 
 have occurred where it has happened after violent exercise, and the 
 body has become considerably heated, that the foot, suddenly chilled 
 by the imprudent application of cold water, has been attacked by a 
 most destructive kind of inflammation in the vascular tissue and 
 apparatus uniting the bone to the hoof; and these parts being sur- 
 rounded and confined by the solid hoof, through which, as the fluids 
 thrown out could not penetrate, necessarily take a course to the top 
 of the hoof, and with dreadful pain and suffering burst their way 
 out at various parts of the coronet, lacerating and destroying the 
 texture of these parts. Now it is not in these cases the usual 
 process of purulent suppuration ; but a red, watery ichor, escapes 
 from the ruptured vessels, and rends the texture of these parts in 
 such a way as to give them very much the appearance of a torn 
 sponge drenched in blood : and with the sole also it sometimes 
 happens, after such sudden chills, that a destructive inflammation 
 follows in these parts, and the vessels rupturing, pour out their lymph 
 or blood between the vascular and horny sole, which, softening the 
 
 or bullae, filled with bloody serum, have burst out upon the coronet, and by 
 which a timely relief has been afforded, that prevented the total disunion 
 and fall of the bone. And these bidlce, or bladders, on their subsidence, 
 after a time disfigure the skin and subjacent membranes with adhesions, 
 knots, and warts. The next affection to this in degree I have called the 
 
 Pediturba, or wrinkled Foot, by which I understand certain febrile actions and affec- 
 tions, that go no further than to disturb the regularity of the growth, and 
 disturb and wrinkle the hoof, but do not constitute a founder. And next, 
 and last, the 
 
 Coarctipes, or compressed Foot, which is a simple state of condensation of the whole 
 interior of the foot from shoeing, not however implying founder, though 
 with facility leading to it. To this disease, though as yet undescribed in 
 intelligible characters, a very large proportion of the horses may safely 
 assert an indubitable claim. 
 
34 
 
 horn, it is with dreadful suffering presently forced from its place, and 
 descending, is reduced to a convex form ; and if the attack has been 
 vigorous, it may bring the foot into this state in a few hours ; or it 
 may be that a mitigated attack may happen, not dislodging the bone 
 from its place, or forcing the horny sole, but producing various 
 partial derangements of structure in these connecting parts of the 
 hoof only ; and we have seen callous enlargements of the bones and 
 thickenings of the cellular texture, about the coronet and these 
 parts, arise from this cause, and in a less degree from mere long con- 
 tinued fever or heat, &c, induced in the foot, and the waved, the 
 crooked, ribbed, wrinkled, incurvated, and otherwise deformed hoofs, 
 appear many times to have their origin in affections of this sort. 
 All we wish to observe in respect to the operation of the shoe is, that 
 if it weakens in any manner the attachment of the hoof to the bone, 
 it prepares the way for such disorders as these ; and they will then 
 arise on the application of slighter causes than could produce them 
 in the healthy, sound hoof. Long, dry, hot summers, therefore, will 
 cause horses to founder, or excessive exercise, or violent or protracted 
 labour, and especially ill-fitted shoes and close nailing, we have seen 
 often in England, and oftener in France, the finest blood-horses 
 foundered in a few weeks from this cause. 
 
 In these cases of dislodgement of the bone, the Keraphylla, or 
 horn processes, and the Podophylla, or cartilaginous processes more 
 particularly extend, in following the bone, and appear to fill the space 
 that would otherwise be vacant between the hoof and the bone with 
 a singular material, or mass of corneo-cartilage, hard and tough, and 
 occupying sometimes an inch, or inch and a half or more in width. 
 The bone becomes rounded by absorption, its sharp edges being re- 
 moved, finally occupying a round cavity, or nest in the horny sole. 
 
 In foundered feet the inflexions, or posteriors of the foot, in the 
 fully-foundered horse, stand wide, by which at a distance the sunken 
 foot may be known, which is caused by the coffin-bone forcing its way 
 backwards and downwards, and stretching these parts by resting for- 
 
cibly against them — such horses generally try to go as much as they 
 can upon the posterior parts of the foot, bringing them first to the 
 ground, by which the bone, resting against soft matter, is relieved 
 from the suffering which the resistance of the more solid anterior 
 parts of the hoof would have occasioned it. For the treatment of 
 this complaint, as being foreign to our present purpose, we shall refer 
 the reader to p. 9 of the Stereoplea. 
 
 Founder also appears to arise from very long standing in the stable 
 without exercise, with the mal-influence of the iron assisting in the 
 mischief; for where there is exercise, a slight movement in the bones 
 of the hoof will take place in spite of all the restraints of the shoe ; 
 but here there is none at all, no sort of elastic action. And the 
 parts inflame, and derangement is the consequence. 
 
 There also appears to be another disease which the Americans 
 call founder. A horse in prolonged travelling becomes heated and 
 feverish and uneasy, and if Indian corn or maize, especially if it be 
 new, be given to him, he is seized with a peculiar affection of the 
 bowels, and they say he becomes foundered. Not having ever seen 
 this complaint, I am not assured of its exact nature, and whether the 
 feet are connected with it or not, or only so casually, and if the 
 attack has been very violent when he casts his hoof. 
 
 The ancients describe a disease similar to it, which they call Cri- 
 thiasis, from K piOt,, hordeum, barley, and the account of the Greeks 
 agrees very much with the description given by the Americans. We 
 could desire further information on this matter from those who may 
 have favourable opportunities of observing it. It may be mistakenly 
 called founder, without their knowing the proper meaning of that word. 
 Immobility of the limbs, from a load of Undigested matter on the 
 stomach, is perhaps what they mean by this term. If so, the diluting 
 or mixing the maize with bran or chaff, and not to give too large a 
 dose at once, we should recommend ; or a portion of water along 
 with it, to dilute the heavy gluten of the corn, may prevent it. 
 e 2 
 
36 
 
 All horses which race, especially old ones, must ever be in the 
 greatest danger of founder, being kept all their days in broad iron 
 shoes, and then suddenly, on the day of racing, put into narrow 
 ones, called plate shoes. These kind of shoes are so thin and weak, 
 that they spring to their impression, and being used with all their 
 whole force in the race, the sudden expansion of the foot must inevi- 
 tably create excessive pain, and tend to dislodge the bone, and finally 
 occasion founder ; and hence we see that not only Eclipse and 
 Worthy were foundered, but a numerous host beside, whose deeds, 
 though great, have not led to their history being recorded, quod 
 " vate sacro carent," — perhaps some experienced amateur of the turf 
 could afford me the means of abundantly filling up the deficiency. 
 Horses, in the commencement of the preceding complaints, put out 
 and shift their feet as they stand in the stable. Horses also with 
 the shoes kept on too long, and never removed, will acquire this 
 disorder of founder. A contraction also about the mouth of the 
 hoof will give a bulged appearance of its middle parts, an effect we 
 sometimes see ; for on differently-formed feet different effects are 
 produced. In some the hoof takes to elongating at the toe, and 
 then they say, very properly, the foot " runs to toe." A natural 
 consequence of the contraction of the sides of the wall will be the 
 protrusion forwards of the toe, lengthening thereby the foot in this 
 direction. 
 
 Reverting to the impression, we see, PL 11, Jig. 5, the figure 
 of the foot at this period. The frog, or furch, we observe, has 
 become reduced to but little better than the half of its original 
 bulk ; being a reverted arch and soft, it has yielded and given way 
 to the impression of the bars without making any great resistance, 
 as they in their turn have given way, with the wall, to the more 
 powerful iron — by absurd cutting of its exterior coat, its figure has 
 become wholly changed from an almost equilateral triangle to a 
 figure not unlike a man's thumb, and its texture, from soft, yielding 
 
37 
 
 and elastic, has become perfectly stiff and hard, and, together with 
 the frog-stay, hacked by knives and debilitated, from its weakness, 
 has become exposed to frush, which in the following year will be 
 seen to invade it by a rupture and breaking up of it, which any casual 
 blow is now sufficient for its appearance, but which could not have 
 happened had it been let alone. 
 
 It cannot, as the mare is still living, be ascertained in this par- 
 ticular case ; but it has been found in several feet that we have 
 examined at about this stage of the contraction, that the cartilages 
 had begun to ossify, and first at their base or insertion into the bone ; 
 and it would appear also that this has taken place from the confine- 
 ment and want of motion in the hoof, which is necessary to maintain 
 the health and tone of these parts. And we have observed also, 
 that in those cases the posterior parts of the cartilages are more affected 
 than the anterior, their motion being of more consequence to them. 
 In cart-horses the ossification of the cartilages through their whole 
 extent is remarkably frequent, naturally ; and this occurrence was to 
 us formerly a great difficulty to account for. The above circumstance 
 explains it, and seems to show that the want of freedom in the 
 motion of the hoof, whether impeded by natural causes or artificial, 
 will produce this effect ; and the cart-horse's hoof, from being of a 
 much thicker substance, and with less elasticity, consequently is the 
 cause of the generation of these morbid ossifications in them. 
 
 And not merely are the cartilages affected, but, what was never 
 known or suspected before, we can clearly show that the very bone 
 is affected, and suffers a diminution, with all the soft parts under the 
 impression of the iron, in a manner that is truly remarkable, losing 
 its beautifully-organized exterior, which becomes obliterated, as may 
 be seen by referring to Plate 7, where both states are exposed. 
 
 From this collapse or condensation of the hoof, and the morbid 
 actions accompanying it, we get an increased heat of the part, and 
 a more rapid departure of the moisture and perspiration of the hoof, 
 
38 
 
 which again contributes, by the dryness, to create hardness, and to 
 further aggravate the evils that are supervening. 
 
 Flat-footed horses appear not so sensibly to feel these effects of 
 the shoe ; and in some cases the defects of their nature even appear 
 assisted and relieved by its operation ; so these longer sustain its im- 
 pression, and with less injury than the upright feet. The sole, how- 
 ever, of such feet, from its flatness, is apt to feel the iron, and the 
 pressure of the shoe, by bruising this part, will more frequently give 
 rise to corns in them. The wall is also often ribbed and wrinkled in 
 these feet through weakness, which occasions them sometimes to be 
 called shelly feet by the smiths. The furch also is often spreading, 
 and large in such feet naturally, but soon diminishes with the cutting 
 and the iron, and becomes circumscribed by the wall. 
 
 The foot now greatly changed, is in a condition for the attack 
 of a variety of disorders ; its diminished bulk and increased hardness 
 cannot but be accompanied with pain and its consequences. 
 
 We now advert to the 6th cast or impression, made from the same 
 foot of this mare in June, 1809, PI. 11, Jig. 6. Formerly it was 
 stated that contraction of the foot was not sufficient alone to produce 
 the frush, since we see the most contracted feet free from that 
 disease ; yet contraction prepares the way for frush, and afterwards 
 certain casualties are sufficient to excite it. A diminished, hard, and 
 brittle state of the furch, from contraction and thinness in the horn 
 covering it, from its being too closely pared, will render it liable to be 
 broken by collision or impulse against the stones ; great heat alone 
 in the feet, proceeding from a feverish state of the body, in con- 
 sequence of too strong or too much food, and the want of due exer- 
 cise, or the feverish effects of shoeing, will also induce a frush at this 
 weakened part ; or, after the frog-stay has been weakened, exposure 
 
39 
 
 to wet, by occasioning the remaining weakened horn to rot, will 
 induce it. From one of these causes, and we apprehend chiefly the 
 latter, a frush has actually taken place in the mare's foot now under 
 consideration. 
 
 The miserable appearance the foot now makes, strongly marks the 
 wasting and impoverishment which a frush, and the loss of the frog- 
 stay, bring upon it : — the meagre sharpness of the heels is very 
 striking, and one side of the frog has suffered considerably more 
 than the other, either by casual encounter with a stone, or from 
 being more cut and denuded by the knife ; the inflexion, bent over 
 this side, is encroaching, and nearly surrounds and incloses the 
 wasted base of this smaller side of the frog; and this part would 
 now but ill bear the pressure even of the thumb, much less the 
 weight of the body of the horse in passing over any irregular 
 surface. 
 
 The compressed sides of the hoof, and the lengthened appearance 
 of the toe and heels, have now brought the foot to a sort of parabolic 
 figure, from being round and bulging laterally : and the frog, from 
 an elastic, broad, and nearly triangular form, is fast assuming the figure 
 of a man's finger ; its centre, wasted by the frush, and its sides col- 
 lapsed from the pressure of the bars, it is incapable of making any 
 resistance whatever to the encroachments made upon it ; so the foot, 
 if now exposed without the shoe, would become as painful, or more so, 
 than if kept in the fixed state to which it is accustomed. This is 
 seen if the shoe be taken off, or lost on the road, and the horse is 
 obliged to travel even a small distance without it, for he then goes 
 lame ; and hence the great utility and necessity of the shoe to the foot 
 would be established in the opinion of the public, and would occasion 
 its imperfections to be overlooked : indeed, in this state of the foot, 
 the shoe becomes of the greatest necessity ; for, it must be admitted, 
 that the horse cannot now do even tolerably well without it. 
 
 If the foot has been previously well formed, or in such way, and 
 
40 
 
 with such properties as it is found with, in the middle order or medium 
 stature of horses, or especially as in the blood horses, it is impossible 
 that inconvenience should not be felt in some way or other in his 
 manner of going, at this degree of the contraction. Some leave the 
 stable tolerably well, and do not at first appear incommoded ; but, 
 ere they have travelled far, a want of firmness and proper stepping 
 is almost sure to be perceived by the rider : some, on the contrary, 
 go very crippling and badly at setting off, and mend as they get warm. 
 Their manner of expressing what they suffer will be very various, 
 according to the temper of the animal, the nature of the foot, the 
 more gradual or sudden progress of the contraction, and also the 
 manner in which the shoes actually on the feet are fitted and nailed. 
 
 We have not terms to express with any precision the affections, 
 and their gradations, of the modes of going in these different states 
 of the horse's feet ; and it is usual to take as little notice of these 
 defects as possible, for very obvious reasons — the fear of lessening in 
 any way the value of the animal, and the dread of being reproached 
 with timidity or want of jockeyship, &c. It is therefore commonly 
 glossed over as of little consequence, or considered a natural sort of 
 defect, and rather to be treated as a subject of jest and ridicule than 
 as an object deserving commiseration : it is usual to consider it as 
 somehow a defect of nature, or that it has some relation or corre- 
 spondence to the decrepitude of age. 
 
 With men employed to drive stage-coaches, these defects are but 
 ill understood, and often made subjects of much humour and merri- 
 ment, and they continually are inventing pleasant phrases to disguise 
 their being too seriously considered, and remove from public attention 
 the too obvious sufferings of these animals, and prevent what they 
 deem impertinent inquiries respecting them, or any notice or commise- 
 ration. The more jocular these phrases are, and the less meaning 
 they convey, the more they are suited to their purpose ; for though 
 such men have but blind and obscure views, if any at all, of the 
 
41 
 
 manner in which these imperfections are produced, yet they 
 cannot but perceive them, and there is a pride in not admitting their 
 existence. Thus if any inquiry be made, we are told the horse is 
 " only a little groggy," insinuating thereby that he is tipsy, or goes 
 as a man does that has taken too much liquor, though it is but too 
 obvious that the poor animal could have borrowed his grog only 
 from the glowing countenance of his ruddy friend on the coach-box. 
 At other times, if one presume to inquire respecting it, we learn 
 that "he is chest-foundered:" — how this part can ever founder 
 remains to be disclosed : but it is a notorious fact, that the pains of 
 the feet of many horses will occasion a strong retraction of the 
 chest, and hollowness*of the skin and muscles at the front of the 
 breast, from its operating probably as a man with a belly-ache holds 
 in his stomach, till the parts habitually take this form, or the effort 
 or exertion of always standing or going on the toes may assist in 
 causing this restriction. " A stitch let down" or " a screw loose," 
 are other rather figurative modes of describing this condition ; " as 
 lame as a tree" is also a favourite expression, not confined to jockeys, 
 and trees that never move are brought in to illustrate the subject of 
 the going of horses. " Queer understandings" " shook in the 
 shoulders," " a cat on hot irons," " a nodding cove," or " a hop 
 merchant" are choice and lucid terms, ever ready for the satisfaction 
 of impertinent inquirers into the affairs of horses, and serve to guard 
 this mysterious department of knowledge from the danger of expo- 
 sure. And such answers are but too often received as proofs of 
 deep skill in horse-flesh ; for as they convey nothing that any one 
 can comprehend, so they serve to throw an impenetrable veil over 
 these defects, and excite a dread of interference with the intricate 
 affairs of horses. 
 
 We have already stated, that phrases are wanting to represent the 
 various exhibitions of suffering ; but we may observe as to the fact, 
 that the first effects of tenderness or of pain in the feet that is not 
 very acute, will be, that the animal will not permit the limb to take 
 
42 
 
 the full extent of its motion, and, restraining the action of the 
 shoulder, will occasion a contracted step. This being the first ex- 
 ternal indication of the pain, it is often, by superficial observers, 
 referred to the shoulder itself. The foot in general, for the same 
 reason, will not be raised so high above the ground, in order that the 
 impulse on its descent may be less, thus inducing tripping. And the 
 going on the toe, as it is the most fixed part of the hoof, and is left 
 unrestrained by the nails, so it remains the soundest, and the least 
 injured by the operation of the shoe ; the horse accordingly, when 
 travelling, endeavours to make it serve all the purposes of the foot ; 
 and hence the digging, hobbling, and often blundering manner of 
 going. There is frequently also, in the more early stages of the 
 mischief, as at about five or six years old, a degree of faintness, and 
 most distressing sense to the rider of a sinking under the weight, and 
 hardly endeavouring to uphold himself : this is the dangerous period 
 where no art of the rider can scarcely keep him from falling, and is 
 distressing almost beyond endurance. This is the moment of conflict 
 between nature and the iron, which, after a time, differing according 
 to circumstances, terminates in the recedence of all the parts of the 
 foot before its iron protector. In travelling we have often witnessed 
 this feeling, and knowing its source, with an indescribable anguish, 
 without daring to do the willing animal the injustice of punishing 
 it as an offence of his own. Such appear to be the affections and 
 their causes, and by considering them, we hope that in time a more 
 just view of them will lead to a mitigation of their multiform and 
 most cruel wrongs and sufferings. 
 
 Our roads every where exhibit what may be naturally looked for 
 as the consequences of these imperfections in the mode of going of 
 our horses. People on horseback are seen quarrelling with their 
 horses, and violently abusing them for their negligence and want of 
 care, as they apprehend it to be, in their going, jagging their mouths 
 with the bits, or using the whip or the spur, " to keep them alive," 
 and prevent their falling ; sometimes cutting them on one shoulder, 
 
43 
 
 and sometimes on the other, — for it is a matter that has not yet been 
 decided, whether in these cases it is better to punish the offending 
 limb, or that which is opposite. The nodding of horses, alluded to 
 in one of the above phrases, is a habit frequently seen, and, we have 
 thought, more especially with the hackney-coach horses ; it perhaps 
 affords a momentary relief to the fore feet, from partially taking off 
 the weight of the head at the time of making this movement. 
 
 And as horses, when brought into this crippled condition, are no 
 longer of much value, so they usually fall soon after into the hands 
 of unprincipled men, who make them serviceable by severity of 
 treatment, with harness more particularly, and the use of the bearing 
 rein, inflicted in a shameful manner ; and with such insolence are 
 their measures carried on, that reasonable men scarcely dare to inter- 
 fere, as the laws do not protect them ; * and being cheap, there is no 
 
 * Lord Erskine has, however, greatly to his own, and the honour of his profession, 
 (for one should have expected it more reasonably from either of the other learned pro- 
 fessions,) stepped forward in their behalf, and endeavoured to obtain for them the pro- 
 tection of the law. We hope his generous intrepidity, and hatred of oppression of 
 every kind, will not let him desist from renewing the attempt ; though we could wish a 
 more generally diffused information, inducing a spirit of humanity towards them, should 
 rather take place to effect their relief, than the terrors of offending against the law. 
 Claims so natural and strong for protection surely cannot long be resisted. Heathen 
 Rome had more humanity ; for in the early periods of the Commonwealth, it was death 
 to any one maliciously to ill-treat the oxen, so meritorious were they deemed, and de- 
 serving kind treatment for their services and uses, and as having the particular protec- 
 tion of the gods. The horses of their public games which acquitted themselves well, 
 were kept at the public expense till they died. of old age. 
 
 The sacred writings were not meant to convey a code of laws respecting the usage 
 of animals ; but from a single precept we may judge of what complexion it would have 
 been if made, when it is said, " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the 
 corn," intimating figuratively, that not only they should not receive abuse and cruelty, 
 but that the most liberal and generous treatment should be extended to them. 
 
 Richard Martin, Esq., Member for Galway, has, since my writing the above in the 
 former edition, perhaps encouraged by the then ministry, brought in, and carried this 
 bill through the house, and very meritoriously enforced it afterwards in Smithfield and 
 F 2 
 
44 
 
 restraint to cruelty on account of their loss, that they are made to 
 endure the most intolerable hardships and abuse, as though their in- 
 ability were of their own making, and they merited to be ill-treated 
 for it ; excess of labour and suffering soon renders them totally use- 
 less, even for this service, and they are then obliged to be slaughtered; 
 for, continual severe pain, which in various ways is their portion, will, 
 as in all other animals, wear out and exhaust the bodily powers, and 
 prematurely bring on disease, and the necessity of their being de- 
 stroyed ; and in this wretched state, often are they seen severely 
 punished and abused, for errors they cannot help, and " when they 
 have done their utmost exertion, because they cannot do more;" 
 and the laws which maintain the most trifling rights of men, in 
 respect to personal safety, had no protection till lately to these inno- 
 cent and often beneficial slaves from ill usage, however gross and un- 
 merited. Indeed, the shoeing, as it is called, does in fact create a 
 necessity for cruel measures, as it goes on, to keep pace with, and 
 oppose its effects. And much of their ill usage also comes from the 
 ill temper and savage disposition of the half-drunken people usually 
 employed about them, who have little patience with them, and the 
 failings their miserable condition brings upon them. It seems, 
 indeed, a monstrosity of injustice, that after the use of his feet has 
 been taken from him, he should be abused and chastised because he 
 can't go ; and especially when we recollect his willingness on all 
 occasions to exert his strength and powers for us, by the slightest 
 intimation of our wishes, even to the extinction of life itself,* and 
 contributing, as he most willingly does, to the benefits of every class 
 of society, — the pomp of the great, the pleasures and interests of 
 the middle ranks, and the wants of the poor, — and assuredly not de- 
 serving such a return. 
 
 about town, setting an example that has been followed with the most beneficial effects 
 in other parts of the kingdom : we hope the example will also soon be extended to 
 other nations. 
 
45 
 
 Horses by thousands are annually thus destroyed with circum- 
 stances of shameful barbarity, by errors induced upon error, and 
 which custom has rendered but too familiar for us to see in its true 
 enormity ; and whole centuries* have blindly passed away, in which 
 these errors have not been perceived, in an ignorant and thoughtless 
 acquiescence with them ; and formerly with more effrontery and 
 harsh proceeding in those inflicting them than at present. From 
 these causes horses are made scarcer and dearer consequently than 
 they otherwise would be ; and a greater number are obliged to be 
 raised for the public supply, and tracts of land must be kept untitled 
 for their support. Men scarcely begin to get used to their horses 
 often, and their horses to them, than they are obliged to abandon 
 them. Post-masters and jobbers of horses are struck with astonish- 
 ment at their prodigious and unaccountable losses, which can, for a 
 great part, be traced to these causes. It is often the case, however, 
 that from a timid or avaricious spirit, inn-keepers and stage-masters 
 are under-horsed, or without a sufficient number for their work, in 
 order to save the expenses of purchase and of keep, which brings on 
 those they have more labour than is consistent with health: pains of the 
 feet, gross offences to the mouth, unwarrantable and distressing loads, 
 harass and exhaust their natural powers, and farcy supervenes, and is 
 with difficulty again removed. They suffer losses in consequence, 
 which further intimidates them \ and they progressively get into worse 
 disorder, and sink at last into the most destructive violence and abuse 
 of them ; and then we hear complaints made of great losses, ill luck, 
 &c. I may be wrong in venturing such opinion ; yet I cannot but 
 consider that every animal has his natural rights, and that if we avail 
 ourselves of his faculties, we have no right to abuse and maltreat him 
 
 * How much later than the fourth century we know not ; but we shall presently ex- 
 hibit undeniable proof that it was not till after this sera that shoeing with nails was had 
 recourse to, although it is generally imagined by the public that shoeing, and the use 
 of the horse, were necessarily nearly or quite coeval. 
 
. 46 
 
 in return. Loads ought by law to have some restraint, or we may 
 still with impunity see inflicted more severe sufferings than by the 
 whip ; and the cruel and unmerciful is often most ignorant also of 
 his own best interests in this respect. Both this and the bearing 
 rein, by its intolerant application and abuse, may become a more 
 severe scourge and persecution than the lash ; mechanical powers, 
 and levers of great length, instead of bits to guide, are now become 
 the rage, and a most shameful annoyance of these poor sufferers. 
 
 The implements of the forge, as the hammers and the rasps, 
 are often severely used upon them, and even injuriously, because, 
 forsooth, they will not stand quite still to have inflicted on them 
 what they cannot but perceive does them so much injury. — And I 
 have thought also that in the colder climates, as in England, the 
 temper of the horse is more mild and gentle, and he bears it better 
 than in warmer regions ; for even in Paris, which is much warmer } 
 their manners are sensibly changed, and more violence in shoeing 
 them is used by the smiths ; and in India, I am informed, the differ- 
 ence of their manners, and their increased fieryness of temper, is 
 very marked and striking. 
 
 The enlightened veterinarian should ever as his right, undertake, 
 from his superior acquaintance with the physical properties of the 
 animal, to be his friend and protector from merciless usage ; and 
 though it will hardly be allowed in the present day, at some future 
 period, not very distant, this kindly office will readily devolve upon 
 him by general consent. 
 
 We are now about to consider the last cast of this foot, that we 
 shall find it necessary to notice PL 11, fig. 7, since the effects and 
 causes have been pretty fully traced, and here we may discover a 
 further derangement and deterioration of nature's fair form, by this 
 pinioning of the hoof, a further elongation of the foot, and running 
 
47 
 
 to toe, and compression of the sides, which must necessarily be 
 attended with correspondent changes in the bone and interiors of 
 the foot. The furch is narrower than it has been at all, and its 
 base, though screwed in and narrower, appears to be less diseased, at 
 least both its sides are become alike, and equally deficient ; the frog- 
 stay is only noticeable by its cleft, or rather fissure of the frush, which 
 is become dry, and in a better state than in the year preceding, though 
 the foot be more contracted, disproving the idea of contracted heels 
 being the genuine cause of frush as had been supposed. This 
 diminution and sinking in of these parts must have been preceded 
 by a reduction of the cartilaginous inflexures we have formerly 
 described, and of the elastic resilient globes, or internal bulbs ; 
 and nothing now is scarcely left to these parts but horn and 
 bone, the sharp angles of the inflexural columns being covered with 
 a meagre covering of furcaceous horn. And the real width of these 
 parts is now not more than two inches and a half, or hardly so 
 much. How incompetent therefore for its offices is it become, and 
 that he should trip, or blunder, or stumble, can it be any matter of 
 surprise, but is it not rather to be wondered at that he can go at all 
 after this devastation. And what must be the chagrin and astonish- 
 ment of the animal himself to find that as his feet get worse, his 
 jaws and his sides also become more painfully afflicted in the same 
 degree. For certainly, if we debilitate or destroy the basis of the 
 edifice, the edifice itself becomes afterwards of but little value. 
 
 And here we may introduce a further additional circumstance which 
 takes place in some feet, and which we were not fully aware of when 
 we published our first edition, which is, that the Shuttle bone is 
 sometimes fixed by this general contraction of parts, and is found 
 adhering to the flexor tendon, and at other times, (either with or 
 without adherence,) it appears to be affected with points of ulcer- 
 ation of its surface. No case of this sort had occurred to me when 
 I described formerly the effects of contraction, and I have since ascer- 
 tained, that though such exist, they are comparatively cases of great 
 
48 
 
 rarity. Moorcroft had, however, seen instances of it, and has well 
 described it, and a veterinary practitioner has been very elaborate in 
 his account of it, giving it a frequency that does not accord with facts, 
 and disengenuously it would appear to diminish the notice of the 
 general contraction. Nothing certainly is more easy than to pre- 
 dicate a disease that only the death of the animal, and subsequent 
 dissection could verify the existence of, taking advantage of this, 
 he makes as much or more of it, than the old farriers did in re- 
 fering all lamenesses to the coffin joint, which puts all denial or 
 dispute out of the question, as nothing could be proved, and therefore 
 men- acquiesced, and often gave them credit for a discrimination and 
 skill that did not exist. I have examined no inconsiderable number 
 of contracted feet, without finding a single case of it, and so have 
 others desired by me, that I am convinced it is a truly rare disorder. 
 If the reader wishes to see the discussions upon it both pro and con, 
 he may find them in the Lancet for 1829, and in the Farrier and 
 Naturalist for the same year, and in the Edinburgh Agricultural 
 Journal for 1830, where nearly all is said that can be said upon it. 
 
 To us it would appear that this rare affection has place when the 
 shoeing has been so executed, as to drive the compressed horny 
 sole upwards against the tendon and shuttle bone, forcing its 
 interior edges or the margins of its cleft against these parts, — per- 
 haps in addition to this forcible operation of the shoe, another 
 condition may also be necessary for its complete production, that is, a 
 long retention without exercise in the stable, since at any time the 
 smallest motion of the tendon upon the surface of the bone must 
 prevent it. We hope for the future that the cruelties exercised by 
 interested persons under this pretence will not be submitted to by 
 the public. For it is certain the ignorant and interested are ever at 
 work to find out some pretext for operating in one way or other 
 upon these patient creatures. 
 
 And any one would be astonished, who is unused to horses, to 
 observe the patience of the animal under many of his sufferings, and 
 
49 
 
 how little he is disposed to exhibit any appearance of pain. Nails 
 from shoeing we have several times seen taken out of their feet, 
 where they had been driven into, or so near the quick, that they had 
 caused suppuration, and matter and blood has followed their extrac- 
 tion without his driver having at all discovered, by any external indi- 
 cation, that anything was the matter ; so that it is clear they do not 
 flinch at a little, — and indeed what avails him to express a suffering, as 
 it only gets him a severer application of the wrenching iron to his jaws, 
 or of the spur or the whip to his sides, that he soon learns to know 
 that endurance is the lesser evil, — their patience is indeed beyond 
 all praise ; and I may safely defy any pen, however able, to paint the 
 ungrateful amount of their wrongs and their sufferings : a share of 
 which may now, however, be guessed at. Their strength, supposing 
 them whole and unmutilated, is still tried often with loads that would 
 make one shudder, and much more suited to the force of the elephant 
 than of the horse : if they do it a few times, and are not visibly hurt 
 by it, they then think they may do it always ; but not so — the effects 
 are at last seen, and one horse doing it for years, on account of 
 extraordinary strength, the rest ought, say they, also to do it — a 
 common and fallacious reasoning. And my only wish, in thus stating 
 these things, is to call up more able advocates to his cause. 
 
 In the present state or degree of collapse of the foot, as given at 
 Jig. 7, the horse becomes but ill suited for the purposes of the saddle, 
 and her owner had sometime ere this put her in harness, and at 
 length made a brood mare of her, and turned her out without shoes. 
 I saw her some eight or ten years ago, and examined her feet, which 
 had a little plumped up from being without shoes ; but this does 
 but little for them, since the growth of parts that have been once 
 absorbed is but a miserable representation of the original material 
 and organization, and will bear comparison with the scar to the 
 natural skin, a mere puffy substitute. 
 
 Such are the effects of the shoeing when moderate measures are 
 pursued ; but I am confidently of opinion, that I have seen this iron 
 
50 
 
 fetter applied by the smiths in such a way, and it has induced such 
 pain and misery, that the animal has never after recovered from its 
 effects, or had the perfect use of the foot afterwards, and one shoeing 
 has rendered him a cripple for life, and others have, after a time, 
 foundered from the effects of the violence so committed. 
 
 Jt has also appeared to me, that the operation of the effects of the 
 iron is not lateral only, but that the sole also is affected by it, from 
 the clenching of the nails, and their being so forcibly driven ; and 
 that this long-continued pressure upwards occasions numbness, and 
 sometimes lameness, and is one of the principal causes of cutting 
 where motion is denied to the shoe itself. It must also be evident, 
 that the rapidity of the deterioration of the foot will much depend 
 on the more or less cutting and denudation it suffers by the smith, as 
 well as the more confined or more liberal manner of fitting out the 
 shoes, for which there can no rule be laid down, but which must ever 
 be left to the simple apprehension of the workman. 
 
 Another use may be also made of this experiment and of these 
 figures, where we are desirous of describing cases of contracted feet ; 
 the degree of it may be pointed out by a reference to them, whereas 
 before, contraction was contraction, and much or little was all we 
 could express of it. 
 
 Now in this stage of the condensation, as seen at Jig. 7, the animal, 
 in spite of all his gayety and courage, must begin to make some ex- 
 ternal indication of suffering ; and whether in this case it happened 
 or not, I know not; but in similar feet I have observed, in some 
 horses, perhaps, where they were more sensitive, and could not bear 
 the pain so well, they would exhibit it by a bowing of the knees and 
 legs ; and this is done obviously to avoid a too direct pressure upon 
 the suffering parts, as a more perpendicular direction of the column 
 would obviously occasion : this is often asserted to be natural, and to 
 some horses I do not deny that it may be so ; but I can say, that in 
 several instances considered as such, I have known the expansion 
 shoe in a very few weeks bring their legs straight enough : very high 
 
51 
 
 heeled horses, or with high inflexions of the hoof, I have thought 
 were more subject to this affection. 
 
 There is no telling the extreme point to which contraction can go ; 
 but I once recorded, about fifteen years ago, the appearances of two 
 fore feet that fell in my way, where the extremest contraction existed 
 that I had ever seen ; and this was a blood-mare, I believe, some- 
 where about twenty years old : the following is a copy of the memo- 
 randum made of it at the time. " The frog was reduced to the size 
 of the little finger ; the cartilages were both, at their posterior por- 
 tion, thickly ossified : this bony deposit extending inwards, had 
 reached the shuttle bone, (os transversum) surrounding its extre- 
 mities, which were impressed and locked in it. The ligamentary 
 stuffing of the heels, or, to use a more intelligible phraseology, the 
 convoluted, or rather convolved internal globes, were also ossified in 
 their cartilaginous parts, with rough points, and variously perforated. 
 The posterior edge of the middle part of the shuttle bone was 
 eroded ; and of the other foot, the front elevation of the coffin bone 
 was enlarged and grown higher by three quarters of an inch, from 
 ossific cauliflower deposit, which appeared to be the effect of a per- 
 fectly fixed state of nearly all things. This, perhaps, is only wit- 
 nessed in extreme cases. But what is singular amidst all this ossifi- 
 cation, the anterior portion of the fossa of the coffin bone, in which 
 the cartilage is lodged, was in its natural state, and clear of bony 
 deposit. This, I was led to apprehend, was occasioned by its being 
 connected, half of it with a ligament which rarely ossifies, and which 
 supplied it possibly with a slight degree of motion. The extremities 
 of the coffin bone in both these feet appeared to be full of large 
 cavities, and much absorbed ; but whether longer than natural, there 
 was no means of ascertaining. The Keraphylla were, for the most 
 part, removed, and a sort of smooth horn cartilagefo und where they 
 were attached, and so were the Keraphylla of the inflexions in the 
 parts opposite to the coffin bone." 
 g 2 
 
52 
 
 The ultimate effects of the iron on the feet, especially such as the 
 shoes are particularly inimical to, are never seen, since they are no 
 sooner, from loss of parts or disfiguration, rendered unserviceable, 
 than they are slaughtered, that we know not to what condition the 
 foot would at last be reduced. 
 
 That I might notice in a more particular manner the first visible 
 effects of the shoe on the foot, I this year, 1811, ordered my own 
 bay mare to be shod with common shoes ; she was nearly five years 
 old, and never had had a shoe on. In this experiment I was sur- 
 prised to find that the upper parts of the hoof first felt its effects ; 
 the upper part of the hoof and coronet became heated by it after 
 about three weeks application, and the coronary frog-band became 
 more dry and brittle, cracking away, and leaving the hoof sooner 
 than formerly, and seemed to embrace and bind the hoof more 
 strictly. After the removal of the shoe, which was kept on about 
 five weeks, as the horn grew down, the traces of its effect could be 
 discerned in a depressed ring, which grew down as the hoof grew, 
 and was visibly different to the horn preceding and following it. 
 
 Another effect, I believe unperceived of the shoe, is, to reduce 
 and diminish the Keraphylla, and to redden them. An opportunity 
 was afforded me of ascertaining this curious fact in a valuable horse, 
 which belonged to my late valued friend, James Kidd, of Brentford. 
 He was five years old at the time of his death, and had been hardly 
 ever shod. His feet being brought to me for examination, the Kera- 
 phylla were found much thicker in substance, and in a remarkable 
 degree broader, even to nearly double the width of many I had seen 
 in feet that had been long shod ; and what was singular, and contrary 
 to what we had before apprehended, were not of a red or pink color, 
 but a clear white. The action of this mare, by those who broke her 
 in, and by others who rode her, was particularly noticed as being 
 free, extensive, and firm, to an extraordinary degree, beyond any 
 horse they had ever recollected to have rode before ; and their expe- 
 
53 
 
 rience in this way was not inconsiderable ; which must have been 
 greatly contributed to, if not chiefly occasioned, by the full unfolding 
 and perfect developement of the organization of the foot. 
 
 In 1819, I examined with close attention the Keraphylla of the 
 hoof of a horse that was eight years old, and that had never been 
 shod, or with any other than the jointed shoes, and not much with 
 these. And these parts were found broader than in the shod foot, 
 being a full eighth of an inch wide, and when washed were perfectly 
 white ; they appeared also thicker in substance, and their loose edges 
 more smooth, and not so torn or ragged as these are generally seen. 
 And a remarkable difference presented in these feet in the depth of 
 the inner heel, or column of inflection, being very considerably 
 deeper, and the sole also lower down the inflection than in the outer 
 side, to a degree I never witnessed in feet that had been sometime 
 used to be shod. 
 
 Having now exhibited the inimitable beauty and simplicity of 
 design in the structure of the foot of the horse, and its provisions 
 for destroying a too sudden resistance to the weight of the animal on 
 meeting the ground, and disclosed by actual experiment, proofs of 
 the injurious nature of the shoe in respect to this property "; and 
 though much labour and care have attended these elucidations, yet 
 we apprehend our readers will expect from us the consideration of 
 further topics relating to these matters, and about which they may 
 be even more solicitous than about the above illustrations, which 
 were, however, previously necessary properly to understand the 
 nature of these evils. The reader would perhaps be desirous of 
 asking, What can be done with feet, already injured, as to their 
 restoration ? and whether we must be obliged to go on with these 
 errors from the impossibility of removing them ? or whether we may 
 partially remove them with those horses whose very utmost work is 
 not required ? — for it will be readily admitted by us, that to obtain 
 the full measure of work which the horse is capable of giving on the 
 
54 
 
 road, some artificial defence is necessary ; or whether, by refraining 
 from early shoeing, except with tips, the mischief may be greatly 
 palliated, and we must rest content with that ? or if we may look for 
 a total removal of the evil in all cases by shoes on a principle widely 
 different ? Time has hardly been sufficient for us to consider and 
 answer all these inquiries ; nor do we consider ourselves pledged, in 
 consequence of these discoveries of the defects of the present 
 system, to find a remedy ; since it has been much to point out a 
 gross evil, that was scarcely before suspected, and certainly not seen 
 in its true light. We believe, however, that preventative measures 
 may be resorted to, to a great extent, and remove a considerable 
 share of the evil, without much inconvenience and loss of labour ; 
 and of the remedial means in part, or perhaps wholly, we can, after 
 much reflection, hold forth promising expectations, and which we 
 believe will not be disappointed. 
 
 The above extracts, taken from my former edition, serve to exhibit 
 the state of things at the time of concluding that work, about the 
 year 1812. At that period, my views and attempts were considered 
 as quite visionary, and I often experienced the reproach of having 
 discovered an evil for which there was no remedy. But what is still 
 more singular, nine years elapsed, with all the above facts before the 
 public, without the least proposition from any one for the removal of 
 the mischief, as though the case was indeed hopeless. Having, years 
 before the commencement of publishing that work, seen how advan- 
 tageous would be the disuse of nails, and conceiving that shoes might 
 be attached without them, and be made removeable at pleasure, I 
 had been long occupied with this object ; and afterwards, from be- 
 ginning to see the full effect of the nails, I redoubled my efforts, and, 
 sanguine in the success of it, secured my rights for a shoe of this 
 kind by a patent ; but after a long and tedious trial, abandoned it, as 
 being too troublesome for general use, though great advantages had 
 been fully proved by their use on several occasions. I then, fatigued 
 and injured in my health, quitted these shoes, and resolved upon 
 
55 
 
 pursuing the other principle, — for there are but two, that is, to use 
 nails, but to give a motion to the shoe itself. And after trying this 
 for some time, and finding that the purpose was answered, in saving 
 the foot from contraction, and extending the step of the horse, I 
 proceeded to publish, in 1817, the Stereoplea, giving an account, 
 and recommending the lap joint shoe, and also giving some account 
 of the former removeable shoes, using a steel-headed rivet for the 
 lap shoe, otherwise it could have been of very little use. I also in- 
 vented at this time a new kind of shoe or defence, which I called The 
 Paratrite, which defended the front of the foot and wearing line only, 
 and was held on by teeth inside the wall and a helmet in front, to which 
 a strap round the coronet, and buckle was attached, and then fastened : 
 this was easily driven on by means of a hammer, or even a stone, 
 being made of thin steel, and became a defence that doubled and 
 trebled the natural powers of the hoof. To pursue, however, histo- 
 rically, or chronologically, the narrative of these proceedings, I may 
 observe, that now the public attention in several instances began to 
 be attracted to it ; in this year, my ingenious friend, Benjamin Rotch, 
 Esq., a barrister, seeing the importance of the elastic principle, took out 
 a patent for a new sort of shoe, formed of several pieces, connected 
 together in the form of a horse-shoe by a thick piece of sole leather, 
 rivetting them upon it, and actually sold licenses for using it to 
 some shoeing smiths about town : it, however, though ingenious, 
 proved abortive, as each piece could only receive one, or at most, 
 two nails, which were insufficient, in case one of the pieces should 
 bear the whole weight of the horse, as in the circumstance of his en- 
 countering a stone would happen, when the clenches would either 
 give way or break, and then the next piece would also loosen, and 
 thus in succession, the whole would come off; so that it was soon 
 after abandoned. 
 
 A little after this period, I found out what appeared to me a much 
 better way of making a joint shoe than the above lap ; and that was, 
 by a shoe of two halves united by two rivets, holding a steel piece 
 
56 
 
 between them, imbedded in the pince of the shoe. The trial of 
 this realized every expectation and wish, as being a more durable 
 shoe than any other, and with plenty of motion, which also could be 
 easily limited. I hesitated some time whether to take out a patent 
 for this novelty ; but at last determined to give to the horses and the 
 public all the benefit of it, without any clog of this sort, and pub- 
 lished an account of it in 1820, and constructed a forge at consider- 
 able expense in the Edgeware Road, near Paddington, for the per- 
 fecting it, and applying it, calling it The Steel Tablet Shoe of 
 Expansion. In the next year, 1821, Colonel Goldfinch took out 
 a patent for a shoe, having no other property than a simple division 
 of the common shoe into two pieces, — of course the two halves, not 
 supporting one another, they would come away, and carry a large 
 mass of the hoof with them, — so that this also was soon after aban- 
 doned.* 
 
 About this period, whether later or a little earlier I don't exactly 
 know, my worthy friend, Joseph Dockwra, of Kelvedon in Essex, 
 
 * To those who prefer the lap joint, the great evil of it is, the friction of the two 
 surfaces, especially if these are at all extensive, and are rivetted a little stiff. To pre- 
 vent this, I propose that these surfaces should not be quite flat, but a little matter 
 raised or elevated in the middle, by which the possibility of much friction would be 
 prevented ; for the power of the hoof in overcoming lateral resistance is not great, and 
 will be easily obstructed. There is the same difficulty with the tablet shoe, but not in 
 quite so great a degree, and the same measures should be used to avoid it. Both these 
 shoes, made of Lucas's malleable cast iron, are found to wear extremely well, and are 
 formed with the nicest accuracy. In this case, instead of casting the holes, we cast a 
 deep fullering, and perforate them afterwards with the common pritchel with perfect 
 ease. The less these shoes are put in the fire and knocked about the better. We 
 have also thought that, to render these surfaces of the joint less obstructive by their 
 friction, a concentric raised thin circle round the rivetting hole, and another raised line 
 near the external edge, would prevent those surfaces coming in contact, or having any 
 friction. Suet might be lodged also in the vacant depressed space between the two 
 circles, that would facilitate their motion, and prevent rust also, or the anti-attrition 
 compound might be used for this purpose, of suet and black lead. 
 
5 ? 
 
 having purchased and read my work, and disliking the going of his 
 horse, and not being able conveniently to get any expansion shoes, 
 directed his smith, as a resource of necessity, to omit the nails, or 
 leave them out on one side of the shoe, or at least with but a single 
 one near the pince on the opposite side of the foot. This mode of 
 proceeding could not of course but occasion solicitude for the safety 
 of the shoes as to their coming off: finding, however, on trial that 
 the horse went better, and that they did not seem so dangerous as he 
 expected, he persisted in using them, and recommended this mode to 
 his friends at Coggeshall in particular, and it became with many of 
 them a great favourite, and afterwards extended into all the sur- 
 rounding parts of Essex. 
 
 Visiting France in the year 1828, and not being able to obtain a 
 regular supply of the expansion shoes from England for my own 
 grey mare, which was purchased of the Duke D'Escars, who himself 
 took a warm interest in these discoveries, I resorted to these shoes ; 
 and from a state of the most miserable decrepitude from con- 
 traction, brought, her round to go in the most beautiful style by 
 their use. She was vicious in the highest degree in letting the 
 grooms or smiths handle her feet ; but after some time would allow 
 me to do any thing with them I wished, without the least resistance, 
 no doubt from experiencing the great relief which they afforded her. 
 At this period I first added two broadish front clips to this shoe, 
 embracing the two sides of the front of the hoof, about three inches 
 asunder, having previously, two years before, done the same with 
 great advantages to the expansion shoe. These additions prevented 
 the shoe from being forced backwards on the pince striking the 
 ground, which is the way shoes most often are forced from their 
 place and become loose, and so applied, they proved of essential 
 benefit, rendering the few nails employed quite equal to the task of 
 holding on the shoe ; and in every kind of shoeing they may be re- 
 sorted to, to render nails less necessary, especially those in the back 
 
58 
 
 parts of the inside quarter, the main point of offence, and which 
 may in a general way be omitted when these clips are employed. 
 
 They also act beneficially in steadying the shoe, and, in another 
 respect, that they prevent the front nails, if we nail round the toe, 
 which we most often do in these sort of shoes, from being driven 
 backwards against the quick, and compressing it. In order to the 
 forming these clips conveniently and easily, I use a tool on purpose, 
 to raise the metal from the surface of the shoe, consisting of a shaft 
 of some length with four sharp corners to it, on one of which I raise 
 the clip. This shaft is inserted for this purpose into the hole of the 
 anvil : (see its figure in the description of the Expansion shoe, PL 5, 
 Jig. 3.) These clips should be made to stand fairly out on the 
 margin of the shoe, in order that little or no horn be removed from 
 the hoof for their insertion, as the loss of this defence must make the 
 pressure more liable to be painfully felt. 
 
 In this state it was recommended to the attention of my friend 
 M. Crepin, a celebrated veterinary surgeon in the Rue de Bourgogne, 
 in Paris, who shod his own mare with it, which had lately fallen with 
 him, and found in it a perfect remedy for this defect, and an in- 
 valuable means of restoring lame and contracted feet, and that had 
 refused to yield to all other treatment. M. Delaguette, of the king's 
 body guard, a very distinguished veterinarian, also used them with 
 the horses of the officers of his regiment, and with the happiest 
 effects. These gentlemen have both of them since nobly come 
 forward, publicly to attest the result of these experiments, in the 
 Journal Pratique of the year 1829 ; and several very valuable 
 horses in Paris were restored by this means to a state of remarkably- 
 fine action that before were but cripples, and almost useless. And I 
 have understood, that since then it has been taken up with success 
 by other professional gentlemen of that metropolis ; and thus was 
 introduced the advantages of expansion shoeing into that country. 
 And we may here observe, that although this mode or plan of shoeing 
 
59 
 
 consists merely in the omission of the nails of the common shoe, yet, 
 carried to the extent to which we here describe it, it may be fairly 
 designated a third principle of shoeing; for we have before stated 
 there are properly but two, viz., a shoe that was moveable in itself, 
 but firmly fixed by the nails, and the other, a shoe entirely without 
 nails, and removeable at pleasure. Here the motion or liberty is 
 obtained in a third way, viz., by a shoe firmly fixed by nails, but 
 omitting nearly the half of them on one side, the foot therefore is 
 left to enjoy almost its natural liberty on the other, and, for dis- 
 tinction, we may call this the Unilateral Principle. 
 
 My friend, Isaac Brightwen, who shoes extensively in this manner, 
 often bevils the heels of his shoes outwards on their upper surface, 
 which greatly facilitates the expansion of the free quarter, and the 
 horses are found to go remarkably well with it. Caution, we believe, 
 however, should be used with this proceeding, in not making the slope 
 too considerable or sudden, in order that the higher metal should 
 not come in contact with the inflexion or bar, which would inevitably 
 occasion pain and uneasiness, as we have formerly experienced. The 
 inclination outwards should also not be too sudden, as it might force 
 a degree of distention that would become painful ; therefore the 
 slightest possible degree of slope is what we should recommend, or 
 an entire flat, if this slope is found oppressive ; for it is obvious that 
 a shoe, with the heels inclining inwards in the usual way, would be 
 liable to prevent the expansion altogether, and compress the foot, 
 leading it inwards down the declivity. In this state, we may remark, 
 that this shoe has a distant resemblance to the shoe of old Labroue, 
 two-hundred years ago, but with a much more excellent effect, as his 
 notions about it were confined to the heels only of the foot, and went 
 no farther ; and the foot being nailed extensively on both sides in his 
 shoe, but little benefit was derived from the bevilling, and not where 
 it was most wanted, viz., on the sides of the coffin bone. Where the 
 shoe itself opens and moves, no such bevilling is at all necessary, as 
 the hoof and shoe move and open together ; but to such a shoe a 
 
 h 2 
 
60 
 
 bevilling may be given to the underside of the heels, in order to 
 assist in forcing the shoe open on its pressing upon the ground. 
 
 The above appear to be nearly all the propositions for shoeing these 
 discoveries have given rise to, that are worth recording ; others have 
 indeed been made, but of too futile a description to deserve notice. 
 Two forges now, however, I have the satisfaction of saying, and from 
 the bigotry and senseless prejudice that at present prevails, I am 
 sorry to say, two only, professing to shoe on the principle of Expan- 
 sion, are found in this great city — one is held by my nephew, 
 Charles Clark, in Stamford Street, BlacJcfriars, whose ingenuity 
 and discussions on these subjects are well known to the public — and 
 the other by my friend, Isaac Brightwen, of South Place, Moor- 
 fields. 
 
 I may here just observe, in terminating my labours, that the busi- 
 ness of shoeing the horse, hitherto the most difficult, obscure, and 
 almost incomprehensible department of horse knowledge, may now 
 be fully understood by any one inclined to study it, and can only in 
 future remain obscure to the wilfully blind. Those points or matters 
 which the present treatise cannot with propriety embrace, will be 
 found treated of, and discussed in a new edition, lately published, of 
 a Description of the New Tablet Shoe of Expansion, giving all 
 the requisite information upon it, and the reasons of its figure and 
 proportions of its parts, &c., with the best manner of forming it, 
 whether by hand, or of cast metal ; — testimonies also accompany it 
 of many who have long been in the habit of using them. — 
 
 Other branches of this study, such as rearing the young horse and 
 his hoofs to the most perfect state— the different kinds of hoofs and 
 forms which they assume — on foundered feet and their treatment — the 
 actual manipulations of the Forge, with other miscellaneous matters, 
 not properly admissible in either of the former treatises, will be found 
 in the Stereoplea, a new edition of which is in contemplation, it 
 having been nearly ten years out of print. Numerous cuts, beauti- 
 fully executed, accompany the above works, which are sold by 
 
61 
 
 Underwood, Fleet St., and Limebeer, Giltspur St., Newgate St., 
 the former at 12s., and the latter at 7s. 6d., and when combined with 
 this present work, form together, in one thin quarto volume, an entirely 
 new and original system of the foot of the horse, and its defence. 
 
 Simplicity and clearness have been the chief aim of the writer in 
 forming this work on a subject naturally deficient of expression, and 
 difficult : if any are offended at the strictures it contains, his only 
 defence will be to remind them that the first edition, which might 
 have been rendered severe, contained none of these, and it was not 
 thought necessary to use reproof till twenty years had passed over, 
 and it was obvious no advances or progress had been made towards 
 the light, or towards those truths they could not overturn, and the 
 establishment had become a real clog and obstruction in the fair way 
 of the profession. Then it was that reproach became necessary, and 
 we could easily show that reproaches more severe might have been 
 used without at all o'erstepping the bounds which truth prescribed. 
 And these relate only to those professors now existing at the head of 
 these establishments, and which, from natural causes, cannot be of 
 long duration, when great changes, and it is to be hoped, beneficial 
 ones, may be expected. It is our earnest wish, as we ardently love 
 the pursuits of this profession, and at great cost have laboured in it 
 to promote its views, to take by the hand, and give assistance to all 
 concerned in it that are simple-hearted and honestly inclined ; and 
 on many occasions we have given proofs of our zeal in this respect, 
 though badly affording it, and receiving nothing in return but the 
 satisfaction accruing from the act. Public abuses are not often re- 
 dressed till they have once, or more than once, gone through the 
 operations of the printer's art, and suffered exposure. I believe the 
 pertinaceous blunders, and mercenary patents of the professor, would 
 have rendered the situation precarious to any less confident character; 
 and had it not been for intrigues in army appointments, his seat 
 would have been still less certain. About twenty regiments in the 
 public service require veterinary surgeons, and the appointment, or 
 confirmation of such appointments, have been very much left to him. 
 
62 
 
 This afforded the opportunity of holding out hopes, delusive for the 
 most part, to many scores of pupils, for the few vacancies that might 
 occur, and those would of course be preferred that were the most 
 supple, or likely to carry on the college system. 
 
 Schools are certainly for instruction, and not for intrigues or favor- 
 itism for private ends : all should be allowed a fair start that either 
 by industry, talents, or qualifications, are rendered fit for these situ- 
 ations ; as well might the masters of Eton or Westminster officer our 
 armies, or appoint our ministers, — all dabblings, therefore, of this sort 
 cannot but have an injurious tendency on the general profession. 
 This prerogative, however, we believe to have been gratuitously 
 assumed by him, for appointments have lately been made without his 
 concurrence. 
 
 Some few of his partizans, and not wholly disinterested ones, 
 defeated on the main question at issue of frog-pressure, and other 
 matters, have endeavoured to give to the inquiry a personal turn, the 
 too usual course of these things, and have opened a battery of low 
 personal abuse of a most unfounded description, and in no way con- 
 nected with the question. This will not induce me to follow them 
 in the same line, and I hope none of my friends will engage in it, 
 although even in this way they might have the advantage. 
 
 It has been hard to see, after the painful efforts and exertions that 
 have been bestowed in making these small accessions to our know- 
 ledge, the wretched attempts that have been used to stifle and suppress 
 them, to support the interests of one or two individuals who have 
 done truly little for the art. The interests of the general profession 
 are quite otherwise, since success in practice will ever depend on the 
 correctness of their views, and he most serves them who contributes 
 to this. 
 
 It is by labour and research that a totally new system for the horse 
 will in time be formed, and which, it is fair to suppose, will relax his 
 fetters, and remove the present shameful treatment of this noble and 
 generous slave. 
 
An Essay on turning Horses out to Grass, with a view to remedy 
 Contraction of their Feet. 
 
 Some explanation is due to the reader for subjoining this present 
 essay to our work on the foot and shoeing, but which we are almost 
 compelled to do on account of Plate 7 in that work, of the two coffin 
 bones, which properly belonged to this essay, and for which it was 
 originally executed. We are also induced to subjoin it to the fore- 
 going work, as its details afford us the important intelligence that the 
 foot, deeply injured by the use of the shoe, is not, as has been natu- 
 rally supposed, ever to be restored again to its original condition by 
 grass, and the removal of the shoe. And in the making these expe- 
 riments it was that our eyes first became opened, and which led the 
 way to the important truths contained in the preceding work, and to 
 the practical veterinarian and general horseman these facts are hardly 
 of less moment than those discoveries and details. 
 
 The high value of the horse will in general make his loss severely 
 felt, but if he is disabled, so as to be incapable of work for any 
 length of time, it is often attended with more serious inconvenience 
 and detriment than death itself; that one should apprehend any 
 accession of knowledge, however small, respecting him, if it has a 
 tendency to preserve him from being injured, cannot but be well re- 
 ceived, and acceptable to the public. For it may now be seen how 
 little these affairs of horses have been really understood, or were 
 likely to be so, by those who were supposed by the public " to know 
 them" best ; and how impenetrable a bar to their being fully under- 
 stood did the obscure affections of the feet present ! and what an 
 incitement to ill usage, and cloak and protection these intricacies 
 afforded to the machinations and knavery of the ignorant ! 
 
 Our practice is very often affording fresh proofs of the extensive 
 injury done to horses from the want of knowledge of the facts we 
 
64 
 
 are about to disclose, which we hope may induce greater caution with 
 people in having recourse to this seemingly-natural and obvious 
 remedy for the evils of contraction. 
 
 Hardly any employed in these arts could have failed to observe 
 that very many horses' feet became contracted by shoeing ; but as it 
 did not occur to all alike, it made them rather refer the evil to some 
 defect of the feet than as being the effect of the shoe, though it 
 might have been seen that the finest and most perfect models of feet 
 were the greatest sufferers by it. And that when this contraction 
 was very strongly marked, and especially if attended with lameness, 
 the practice was, and continues so to be, to resort to measures for 
 expanding the heels again, believing these parts to be the chief suf- 
 ferers, and that the pain resided there principally. Cutting the horn 
 of the heels away ; turning to grass without shoes ; setting them to 
 stand in wet clay, &c, or screwing them open, are the methods 
 usually resorted to for this purpose ; and many, after the heels had 
 been thus treated, asserted confidently the great advantages that had 
 followed their labours : and in some instances this might be true, but 
 in a general way, we believe, a more close attention to facts would 
 have led them to think differently : for some are so blinded by pre- 
 conceived reasoning and notions, that facts and results, if they turn 
 out the very opposite to what they expect, do not in the least appear 
 to open their eyes — for, say they, if horses' feet suffer from con- 
 tracted heels, and these are opened, it must be attended with advan- 
 tage : the reasoning appears strong ; it is, however, as we shall see, 
 delusive in too many cases.* 
 
 We cannot convey what we have to remark on this subject in any 
 way more usefully than by a faithful narrative of some of the expe- 
 
 * Mr. Moorcroft, in his little treatise, has also noticed the fact : he says, that 
 although these horses, after being blistered on the coronets, and fomented daily, &c, 
 and turned out, come up from grass with their feet considerably expanded, they do not 
 appear thereby to have their lameness removed. 
 
65 
 
 riments we made, and their actual results, as they occurred to us, and 
 which, though they embarrassed us very much at first, ultimately 
 served to open our eyes to the truth ; but so strong did the reasons 
 seem for these measures of restoring feet by removing the cause, and 
 giving opportunity of expansion, that it was not till after much 
 research and repeated failure that the reason of the want of success 
 appeared : now it appears only matter of surprise that so obvious a 
 reason for this could have been so long concealed. It serves to show 
 how necessary it is for those who would make new discoveries, to 
 hold their minds open to receive impressions which may not comport 
 with their present reasoning, nor lean too much upon it, as it may 
 close the eyes to very obvious and simple truths ; it is from this pre- 
 judice of reasoning that discoveries when made are often lost again, 
 because the reasoning on which we repose cannot reconcile them, and 
 they go rejected till more enlightened times and views give them a 
 reception ; on the other hand, errors supported by apparently-good 
 reasoning shall be continued to be practised for ages, and their ill 
 consequences be overlooked, though constantly accompanying them, 
 being stifled in the apparent reasons which supported them, till at 
 length more accurate research shall point out their evil tendency, and 
 then will appear also the fallacy of the reasons which upheld them ; 
 or, which is more common, that the error arises from too general and 
 sweeping conclusions, drawn from apparently simple grounds or pre- 
 mises ; but where some lurking condition that is overlooked is neces- 
 sary in the account, and is sufficient to falsify all the conclusions and 
 reasonings, however clear and strong they may appear. 
 
 It would be perfectly natural and easy to conclude, that when the 
 shoe was removed from the foot of the horse, and his foot was left 
 again in its natural state, that it should recover from the effects of 
 its embrace, as naturally as we at night remove shoes from our feet 
 that have been too tight, and find in it a ready and effectual remedy 
 for our uneasiness : and with horses it would be as confidently ima- 
 gined, that if their shoes were removed, the same good effects should 
 
 i 
 
66 
 
 as naturally ensue : hence the difficulty of apprehending a different 
 result. And long have these measures been acted upon, led by pre- 
 sumptive opinion, and believing in it though false. 
 
 The fallacy of the reasoning is now obvious enough ; the horse's 
 foot in nothing resembles the human, and the shoe is a bar of iron 
 that has no similitude to our leather shoes ; and the perpetuity of its 
 application has no correspondence to the removal of ours every night. 
 That similarity of names merely has served to beguile our reasoning 
 in this respect : a relation of the experiments themselves, in which 
 we have endeavoured as much as possible to divest ourselves of any 
 bias, will better serve to unfold the real effects than a generalizing 
 narrative of the results. 
 
 In the month of April, 1804, a Mr. Mangnall applied to me for 
 assistance respecting his horse, a handsome bay hunting gelding, well 
 bred, and about fifteen hands and a half high. A complaint was 
 made of his being tender on one fore foot, blundering with it fre- 
 quently, so as to endanger his coming down. There appeared no 
 swelling or external appearance in the limb that would indicate a 
 strain or preternatural heat, or other cause for it, which led me to 
 apprehend that a pinching shoe, or a nail too close, might be the 
 cause of the evil. I ordered the shoes to be removed, the foot pared 
 out, and the nail-holes to be examined, and a new nailing and shoe 
 to be used ; the foot to be immersed in cold water, and to be after- 
 wards stopped with emollient stoppings. These were applied for 
 some days, but with little relief; complaint was still made of his 
 manner of going, and an anxious desire expressed of parting with 
 him, to avoid expenses, which perhaps before had been found but too 
 often of little avail. He proposed the purchase of him to me, with 
 all faults ; and I purchased him at once for 24/. Apprehending, with 
 tolerable confidence, that it had been, or was the effect only of the 
 embrace of the nails of the shoes and of contraction that had caused 
 this defective going, and that by a few weeks turning out to grass he 
 would be restored, and become a valuable horse, I had the shoes 
 
67 
 
 removed, and turned him to grass in a field near Peckham, having 
 first pared the hoof thinner, that it might make the less resistance to 
 the expansion of the heels, as we called it. On having him up from 
 grass, about six weeks after, I could not but be struck with the sin- 
 gular alteration of figure that had taken place with both his fore feet, 
 but more especially the near one, which was the tender one. The 
 toe, to use a phrase of the smiths, had " run out," and appeared 
 longer ; the quarters or sides of the foot had become flattened and 
 almost bent inwards ; the heels had somewhat opened, and were pro- 
 jected more backwards, or at least appeared so, that his foot had 
 more the appearance of a square than a round ; his chest was re- 
 tracted and hollow, — a frequent but not a constant attendant of pains 
 in the feet ; he stepped short and tender, and went near the ground, 
 and on his toes as much as he could ; his hoof also appeared bent in 
 in front, or was incurvated about the middle region of its height, and 
 assumed somewhat of a twisted figure. 
 
 Having no knowledge or suspicion at this time of the effect of the 
 nails, I was wholly at a loss to account for these appearances : ap- 
 prehending, however, that, whatever it was, a more complete ex- 
 pansion of the foot would probably remove it, I resolved to send him 
 to grass again, by which I hoped soon to obtain the benefit I appre- 
 hended must ensue. After being at grass several weeks longer, I 
 had him brought up again ; and, having occasion for his services, de- 
 termined to use him, and not to apply the shoes, that the expansion, 
 from the exercise and the additional weight of the rider, might be 
 the more effectually accomplished : and this I continued to do for 
 several weeks, using him only at times, as his hoofs would bear it ; 
 notwithstanding, he went painfully crippling and tender ; and some- 
 times at grass, and sometimes in use, this I continued in the practice 
 of for several months ; for though it was during this period my sus- 
 picions began to be awake to the probable influence of the nails, and 
 the former experiment to detect it was made, yet I saw no reason 
 
 i 2 
 
why feet should not be restored again if the cause were removed. 
 Sometimes he would put forth his feet with considerable boldness, 
 and go tolerably fair ; but for the most part his pace was miserably 
 crippling and tender, and saving his feet. This difference I have 
 since believed was the mere effect of the spirits he happened to be 
 in to endure pain, or his insensibility to it, or from the manner he was 
 fed, or the state of the atmosphere : he tripped, however, and hobbled, 
 both with and without shoes, that riding became highly dangerous. 
 Finding these measures not likely to restore him, and that longer 
 perseverance promised no advantage, and tired of the ill success and 
 expenses of the experiment, which had now been continued more 
 than a twelvemonth, I broke him in for harness, and resolved to sell 
 him, but with bad success also for several months more, and at last 
 sent him to Tattersall's, to be sold for whatever he might fetch, 
 which was little more than one half of what I had given for him. I 
 drew no other conclusions from this experiment at the time, than 
 that there must have been some other evil than the contraction of 
 the feet to account for his not being relieved. Still confident in the 
 efficacy of the means, a few months before 1 sold this horse, I bought 
 another also, a brown hunter, of a Mr. Forster, whose feet were 
 tender before, and from corns, as he had been told ; but on examining 
 his feet, and finding there was nothing of the kind, I apprehended 
 contraction was" the sole cause here also ; and the removal of the 
 shoes, and turning out, would set his feet to rights again. I pur- 
 chased him for about the same sum, and sent him to the same grass 
 field, to be company for the former. The. bars were pared away 
 from the frog ; the heels, as we are used to express it, were well 
 opened, the quarters rasped thin, the hoof smeared with emollient 
 ungents, &c, that there might be as little resistance as possible to its 
 expansion ; and nothing that we could devise, with a prospect of ad- 
 vantage, was omitted. Briefly, he became very nearly in all respects 
 the same as the former ; his hoof fell in at the quarters, his chest 
 
became retracted, and his action the same as the former ; and I sent 
 them both on the same day to Tattersall's for sale, with a similar 
 result. 
 
 The ill success of these experiments made me more cautious, but 
 did not at all open my eyes to the cause of their failure. Hoping 
 still to obtain a valuable and sound horse by expanding their feet, I 
 purchased, late in the autumn of the same year, a favourite brown 
 gelding, suffering evidently from contraction, of a Mr. Soley, an emi- 
 nent surgeon in London ; and resolved to try stronger expedients 
 with him, and to give the utmost opportunity for the desired expan- 
 sion of the foot. 
 
 I was very desirous of restoring him to soundness, on account of 
 his good temper and inestimable qualities. We shall call him Tippoo, 
 the name we received with him. He was bred by Mr. Shum, a 
 brewer, and, as I learnt afterwards, had early been shod and brought 
 into use : he was sold for tripping, for he 'had no vice ; and I bought 
 him Oct. 7, 1804. His fore feet were tender, going with short steps, 
 and very much on his toes, which appeared evidently to proceed from 
 the contraction of his feet, (his heels as I then apprehended,) and the 
 following measures were used for restoring him. He was seven years 
 old, consequently had been shod about four years, or four years and 
 a half. 
 
 Many expedients occurred to me for forcing the heels open mecha- 
 nically, as by screws, springs, wedges, and the like, or by the means 
 St. Bel used to propose, by bevilling the heels of the shoe outwardly 
 instead of inwards ; yet from what I had seen of the want of success 
 attending such measures, and from considering also that if the heels 
 were forced open, unless there was something within that could 
 support them in that state, it could be of no real or permanent 
 utility, I did not pursue any of them ; and from reflecting that living 
 sensitive parts cannot bear much restraint or violent mechanical dis- 
 tension, or endure very sudden alterations of form, unless accom- 
 panied by a slow process of growth to maintain them ; and if disten- 
 
70 
 
 sion was oppressively made, he should have it in his power to relieve 
 himself, which mechanical violence will not admit of, for alteration 
 may be too rapid to be useful. Rejecting therefore these, I con- 
 sidered the hoof divested of the shoe, and moistened by grass and 
 dews, and with a deep channel cut with a drawing knife longitudinally 
 down the front of the hoof, that there might be the less resistance 
 to the expansion of the sides, as sufficient. Further, however, to 
 assist these measures, the inflexions were thinned, and the horn 
 pared away from the sides of the frog. 
 
 Anxious for his restoration, for the reasons I have stated, I deter- 
 mined to spare no pains in the accomplishment of it, and turned him 
 out to grass in the fields near Paddington ; and conceiving my former 
 experiments had failed from a want of sufficient expansion only, I 
 determined to carry it in this case as far as possible ; and attended 
 him almost every week at grass, and continually kept thin the new 
 growing horn, and smeared his hoofs with a compound of wax, tallow, 
 and tar, in order to keep them supple, and prevent the effects of the 
 wet. The frog frequently exfoliated ; and it was in attending him 
 there that the nature of these exfoliations first became known to me, 
 as explained in the former part of this work : this part grew much 
 larger, and the clefts and chops, which had formed from cutting and 
 exposure to the dry air of the stable, became very slowly closed and 
 grown out ; also a thrush, in the same manner, became dried up, and 
 ceased to discharge, and was without irritation ; but the two surfaces 
 or halves did never perfectly unite, from want of powers in the frog- 
 stay. At Paddington, Peckham, and in various places, he was kept 
 during two whole years, and in the winter at straw-yard at Barnet, 
 &c. ; occasionally he was rode and drove without shoes, to observe 
 the progress and effects of the remedy, and that the weight and un- 
 equal pressure afforded by the road might further assist : but after 
 all this, though his feet became widened, I could not discover much 
 amendment in his going, but thought him on the whole rather the 
 worse for what had been done. I still, however, hoped the removal 
 
71 
 
 of the cause, and the advantages of it would one day appear, perhaps 
 on its being more perfectly completed, and kept him on several 
 months beyond the period I have stated ; but at last grew so tired of 
 the expenses, and ill success that attended it, that I determined on 
 his sale, and it was with some difficulty that I at length sold him. 
 The gentleman who purchased him complaining of his dangerous 
 mode of going, I took him again, and kept him in all full three years ; 
 but finding no benefit, and rather than have this worthy creature 
 pass through the using up service, I had him destroyed, though for 
 coach work he might have brought me from ten to twelve pounds 
 perhaps. I did not, however, yet see why the foot should not 
 recover on the removal of the cause of the mischief. 
 
 Beginning, however, now to apprehend that the want of success 
 was occasioned by the feet being undertaken too late, I next bought 
 a young bay Welsh mare, that was stated to have been shod not 
 more than two or three times; though I was afterwards led to believe 
 from her age, which was three years and a half, and from considering 
 the practices of the country from whence she came, where young 
 horses are made, even at a year old, to do a deal of heavy, improper 
 drudgery in tillage, and in conveying wood, coals, iron, &c, (which 
 often strains and ruins them before they are even brought to market,) 
 that she had been shod nearly or quite two years. I entered, how- 
 ever, with tolerable confidence on the experiment, on account of her 
 age, and hoped to get a sound mare by it. I cut away and thinned 
 out the horn of the inflexions, and rasped the hoofs till the blood 
 almost appeared, pared the sole thin, and turned her to grass at 
 Peckham; indeed, that she might have no risk in travelling, this 
 process was performed in the very field she ran in ; and after fairly 
 trying the experiment nine or ten months, I still found the same 
 results as in the former, for she went rather worse than better, though 
 at first advantages appeared to attend these proceedings ; and after 
 some time her sole appeared more sunk or prominent before the 
 point of the frog than it ought to be, and the hoof rather incurvated 
 
72 
 
 in front, her step became very contracted and tender ; and after 
 nearly two years keeping, exposed to all the measures I could devise 
 for expanding them, I sold her at a considerable loss, more a cripple 
 than I bought her. 
 
 These repeated disappointments damped my expectation of success; 
 and the expenses of them were severely felt ; for in the removal of 
 the cause, the remedy appeared so natural and certain, that any other 
 than a successful result could hardly be believed : this uniform 
 failure, however, led me more attentively to consider if some other 
 change than mere contraction might not have happened to the foot 
 during this collapse of the hoof, and which reflections finally disclosed 
 the true cause of our want of success. Before, however, we enter 
 on this explanation, we shall briefly relate the result of yet another 
 experiment made about this time, which, as it contains some further 
 remarks and particulars than are contained in the preceding experi- 
 ments, may not be without its use ; for in seeking the truth by expe- 
 riment, we ought not to disguise any circumstances that occur, how- 
 ever contrary they may appear to our present views or wishes. We 
 were greatly incited to this last trial by the cheap terms on which we 
 were offered the subject of it, a stout chesnut hackney gelding, about 
 six years old, with rather flat feet, which kind, we have before re- 
 marked, are not so soon injured by the influence of the iron. He 
 had been from some cause or other so offended by the shoeing smiths, 
 that he would not let one of this fraternity approach him, much less 
 suffer them to touch his legs. When I bought him, he was not reco- 
 vered from marks of violence, which he had got by being confined in 
 a trevis ; and now that mode of confinement was become imprac- 
 ticable, for he would not suffer himself to be blinded, or approached 
 with a twitch, or any of the other measures used in such cases, but 
 would exhibit the most determined resolution to use all the means he 
 possessed of offensive warfare ; if a smith entered the stable, for he 
 could smell him at a distance, he gave warning by furiously blowing 
 and snorting. This horse was one day inadvertently led into a 
 
73 
 
 shoeing shed, by one not acquainted with his scruples in this respect, 
 and getting loose, he with heels and teeth soon cleared the premises 
 of every individual, who were happy enough in being able to escape 
 his rage. Being almost useless on this account to his owner, I pur- 
 chased him for about half his value, and made him the subject of a 
 very troublesome series of experiments on a new means of shoeing ; 
 for it was become very obvious that if the expansion of the feet was 
 effected, the application of the original cause would very soon reduce 
 them to the same state again, that some other mode of defence 
 therefore appeared necessary. And I so far ingratiated myself with 
 him as to remove his shoes, though not without great caution, and 
 some threatenings on his part ; and he was kept for nearly two whole 
 years in the stable during these trials ; and if he was rode out, it was 
 without shoes, or with those I applied without nails. His feet under 
 these circumstances (for no particular measures were employed for 
 their expansion) grew larger in all respects, corroborating the experi- 
 ment with the Huntingdon chesnut mare already related, showing 
 that the stable is not alone a sufficient cause for contraction ; and 
 this horse would go better without shoes than any I had before tried, 
 though somewhat crippling and tender, and subject to heats after 
 exercise in the feet and coronets, and would stand sweating in the 
 shoulders and chest for hours afterwards : the expansion having 
 been more slowly effected than in the foregoing experiments, and 
 without cutting or rasping was, I believe, favourable to him. And in 
 the course of making these experiments, a circumstance occurred 
 that gave me much satisfaction ; for I found if the horn of the bars, 
 or infiexures of the hoof, was pared away and cleared from the sides 
 of the frog, it greatly contributed to the pleasantness of his going. 
 We should state also that the heels of this horse at length became 
 tender, and with bruises, or corns, as they are called, arising perhaps, 
 in part, from the flatness of his feet, and lowness of those parts 
 naturally, and also from the heels, which by shoeing had become 
 stiff, and had suffered a loss of part of their elastic provisions, were 
 
 K 
 
74 
 
 unfitted for use ; for with unshod feet, in the perfectly-natural state, 
 which we since have had several opportunities of trying, these things 
 did not occur : and we should also mention, as a circumstance par- 
 ticularly worth attention, that after some time the frog-stay split in 
 this horse, with a dry cleft ; and this at length became a running 
 frush, and discharged a foetid moisture, a circumstance which the 
 more surprised me, as pressure on this part, according to the gene- 
 rally-prevailing doctrine of the times on this subject, should have 
 rather suppressed than created a frush. The same circumstance also 
 occurred to two other horses I tried that had been shod, and which 
 I am the more induced to state, that others, endeavouring to avoid 
 the evils of shoeing, and who may have recourse to the shod foot, as 
 some within my knowledge have done, may be aware of the diffi- 
 culties they will be liable to. 
 
 As the circumstance is alluded to in a former page of this work, 
 we think it right to make mention of it here, that, whilst employing 
 these removeable shoes, though often indifferently made, by our own 
 hands, this horse never used to cut with them, though they had the 
 appearance of danger in this respect ; but on one or two occasions, 
 for longer journeys than usual, he was shod with the ordinary shoes, 
 with nails, with which he uniformly cut himself; and which led me 
 to suspect that numbness from the pressure of the nails was an occa- 
 sional cause of horses' cutting.: for after a considerable time, this 
 horse would permit a man, not dressed as a smith, to fasten on his 
 shoes, if I was present and encouraged him. But some time after- 
 wards becoming tender of the near leg, from an old strain, got pro- 
 bably by being put in the trevis, and from the other circumstances 
 we have mentioned, we were induced to send him also to Tattersall's, 
 where he was sold for about a third of his original cost. 
 
 I was now induced to give more attention to the condition of the 
 coffin-bone in those horses that had been shod, though without much 
 expectation of its leading to any thing important, and procured seve- 
 ral from the slaughter-house, and macerated them so as to get them 
 
75 
 
 clean from their envelopements ; but from these no conclusions could 
 be drawn, having no bone in its natural state to compare them with, 
 and, for aught I knew, the appearance they made might be the natu- 
 ral one. At length, a three-year old natural bone was obtained, 
 which gave me proof of these bones being changed materially in 
 their structure by the operation of the shoe ; and some time after- 
 wards, through my worthy friend Mr. Bloxham, veterinary surgeon, 
 of the Royal Guards, I obtained one that was four years old, from a 
 horse that died with his first shoes on. The extraordinary exterior 
 of this bone was delineated most accurately from nature by the 
 pencil (to which I have been before so often indebted) of my much 
 esteemed friend Mr. Sydenham Edwards, and was carefully copied in 
 the engraving by Mr. Sansum. We may see in its surface an organi- 
 zation of extraordinary beauty, perhaps more so than is to be found 
 in the bone of any other animal : see PI. 7, fig. 1. 
 
 On the same plate is given also the representation of the coffin 
 bone of a horse about eight or nine years old, (see PI. 7. fig. 2,) that 
 had been uniformly shod ; and the difference of their form and sur- 
 faces will sufficiently exhibit the cause of our want of success in 
 restoring feet. For the general figure of the bone is changed, and 
 the beautiful organization of its surface has undergone almost perfect 
 obliteration, that if there be any convenience or use in this remark- 
 able construction, it is now lost. 
 
 The sides of this bone, from a wide or enlarged crescent, have now 
 assumed a flat oval figure, and from sloping, have become nearly 
 upright. The patiloba, with its exquisite configuration, is entirely 
 lost, and the surface, where it formerly existed, exhibits a collection 
 of ragged cells and cavities with hard sharpened edges, and which 
 surfaces have been usually hitherto given as the natural surfaces of 
 this part of the bone. The physiologist well knows there can be no 
 regeneration or reproduction of a bone so diminished. 
 
 On the same plate is also seen, at fig. 3, a view of one extremity 
 or retros of the coffin bone, having a portion of the cartilage ossified, 
 
 k2 
 
76 
 
 and adhering to its upper edge, in the way it is found in many horses 
 after they have been shod a few years, showing the commencement, 
 as well as the direction that these ossifications usually take in their 
 growth, and which at length rising above the hoof to the sight and 
 touch, are then called ring-bones, being found in the circle or ring 
 of the coronet. 
 
 The general conclusions, which these experiments seem to afford 
 us, are these : — In the two first experiments it was observed that the 
 hoof became incurvate, or bent inwards in front, a circumstance we 
 have since noticed very frequently with horses turned to grass with- 
 out shoes, and which appears to arise from the coffin bone sinking 
 under the weight, and dragging the hoof after it, and which, we 
 apprehend, is occasioned by the operation of several causes. The 
 general frame of the hoof being now unsustained by the shoe and 
 the nails, and moistened by the dews and the wet ground, is softened, 
 and thinned also by the rasp or the knife, gives way, and opens in all 
 directions ; the inflexions, which had been for a long time closely 
 confined, suddenly open also, and extending, dilate the horny furch, 
 and thus diminishes its power of support to the parts above ; the 
 shoe and nails being away, the sole also will flatten, and its commis- 
 sural ridge, or line of union of the bar, sole, and furch, will sink, 
 and no longer afford support to the parts above, and these will incline, 
 or be drawn downwards ; also the coffin bone itself diminished and 
 absorbed, as we have before explained, will be forced down either 
 alone, or bringing the front of the hoof along with it : in the one 
 case we have a decided founder ; in the other, a pedimota, or a flat- 
 tened, or a protuberating sole, and inflected hoof. 
 
 The flattening of the sides of the hoof also, that we have observed 
 frequently to happen if horses are turned to grass, seems to arise 
 either from a partial descent of the coffin bone, or by a rapid absorp- 
 tion of the sides of the bone itself; for it would appear not impro- 
 bable, that although the nails, acting by pressure against the sides of 
 the bone, occasion its absorption, yet permit it only to proceed in a 
 
77 
 
 certain ratio, depending on their application ; but that after their re- 
 moval, this disposition to absorption which they communicate to the 
 foot, can perhaps proceed with greater rapidity, that is, if the hoof 
 be rendered flexible enough in this part to fall in and follow it, than 
 when the shoe is on. The running to toe, and its enlargement, may 
 also be another cause of these parts diminishing. 
 
 In the experiment with the bay mare, the hoof, from being very 
 much thinned, and naturally not very strong, the coffin bone de- 
 scended so as to bear on the sole, creating a fulness there, and bring- 
 ing on a species of imperfect founder, that the experiment is not 
 conclusive as to the benefit that might be derived from turning out 
 at this age, though it may serve, however, as a useful warning not to 
 resort to the application of similar measures with such kind of feet. 
 
 The experiment with Tippoo seems decisively to show that three 
 years of liberty, or nearly so, of the foot, is insufficient to do away 
 the effects of five years of shoeing, with all the assistance that can 
 prudently be given it, that is, if the shoes, as was his fate, have been 
 applied at an early age. 
 
 The important conclusion we draw from these experiments and 
 facts, and which we wish to impress forcibly on the reader's attention, 
 is, that after the foot has been exposed for a certain time to the opera- 
 tion of the iron, it becomes so much changed from its natural state, that 
 it is more advise able for it to remain in the diminished and fixed con- 
 dition to which it is reduced, than by any measures, especially severe 
 or coercive ones, to attempt its restoration ; as any sudden or violent 
 change appears to disturb the foot and bring on morbid affections, 
 rather than the healthy condition of the part ; so that a continuance 
 of it in this state appears the lesser evil, or even an advance of the 
 mischief, if it be a very slow and uniform one, is to be preferred. 
 Such appears the disclosure and unfolding of this mysterious matter, 
 and which, though it may appear simple when explained, has been 
 a most seductive and perpetual stumbling-block to people both in 
 and out of the profession. 
 
78 
 
 The exposure of the foot for a few days or weeks without shoes at 
 grass, if the foot be strong, with a view merely to cool the foot, or 
 remove any casual compression from a nail, is not intended to be in- 
 cluded in the above caution ; but from further exposure, detrimental 
 effects may be apprehended. In the course of our professional 
 labours, we have often been called to feet lamed and disfigured by 
 turning out, and have recommended, as speedily as possible, the re- 
 application of the shoe, as the best resource, in order to bring back 
 the fixed state of the foot ; but for a long period after, we have seen 
 them to go very crippling, and that accidents, and the sale of such 
 horses have generally followed. 
 
 How long, after the shoe has been in use, we may turn out without 
 it with good effect, remains to be ascertained, as this will depend 
 very much upon the constitution of the foot ; for the variations of 
 the hoof are very great, and very different effects will arise upon 
 similarly constituted feet, according to the period of life at which the 
 shoeing commenced, and the manner of its having been conducted. 
 Certain it is, that few think of having recourse to these measures till 
 serious inconvenience be felt ; and then it will be found, in a general 
 way, too late to do much good ; that such means cannot certainly be 
 resorted to too early. 
 
 Those horses which have been shod, and used with expansion shoes, 
 will better bear exposure than the others with common shoes ; and 
 with the expansion. shoes, if no great allowance of motion is made, 
 (for it can easily be regulated,) the most perfect security from injury 
 may be relied upon, and their feet be usefully relieved. 
 
 In terminating this work, we may observe, that the facts and the 
 knowledge contained in the preceding pages are such as Veterinary 
 Colleges were instituted to discover, and to lay before the public for 
 general advantage, as well as for that of the profession ; but it 
 appears that the principals, having lost their way among the briars 
 and thorns of false doctrine, have endeavoured to keep real improve- 
 
79 
 
 ments out of sight. Nor is it altogether on my own account that 1 
 have so often adverted to their conduct in this respect ; but on 
 account of a large body of men, whose interests have suffered by it, 
 and who have been taught -erroneously, and conceived prejudices in 
 consequence greatly to their own and my injury. 
 
 False theories spread with ease, and are often more fascinating 
 than the real truth, as she generally comes surrounded with her 
 numerous train of circumstances and conditions ; she may be said to 
 rise as from a deep and obscure well, gradually and slowly, sifting her 
 dubious way as she advances to the light ; when arrived,' however, 
 she is a rich reward, verifying every thing she proposes, and becomes 
 to the anxious practitioner a true delight. 
 
 Gaulter, Printer, Lovell's Court, Paternoster Row, 
 
PL. 1. Fiff. 1. 
 
 THE STEEL TABLET EXPANDING SHOE. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
DESCRIPTION 
 
 A NEW HORSE SHOE 
 
 WHICH EXPANDS TO THE FOOT. 
 
 INVENTED BY 
 
 BRACY CLARK, RL.S. 
 
 Member of the dead, of Sciences of Paris, of the Nat. Hist. Society of Berlin and of Copenhagen, Honorary 
 Member of the Lyceum of Nat. Hist. Nero York, and of the Royal Agricultural Society of Stutgard. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 
 BY C.RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, CHARING CROSS, 
 
 AND SOLD BY T. & G. UNDERWOOD, FLEET STREET. 
 1827. 
 
 [Entered at Stationers' Hall.'] 
 
ON THE EXPANSION SHOE. 
 
 Having published some time ago a Treatise on the Foot of the Horse, and demonstrably proved 
 that the unnatural tenderness of the feet, especially of the fore feet, arose from the common shoe 
 embracing the foot too rigidly, and did not admit the play and elastic expansion which is natural 
 to it, and for which an obvious provision is made in the structure of the foot, and which expansion 
 under pressure is necessary to be exerted to preserve it in a sound and healthy state and in good 
 order for use ; so after a laborious, painfid and expensive conflict with the difficulties of the case 
 during fifteen or more nearly twenty years, it is with a feeling of great joy and satisfaction that I 
 lay before the public this discovery of a shoe which I trust will be found an efficient remedy for this 
 great evil, and I hope be attended with considerable public benefit, and also a grateful offering to 
 humanity by its diminishing the intolerable sufferings of these abused animals, and extending also 
 their valuable services to a much later period of life. 
 
 I may here obseive, that the alteration of the figure of the foot and its dimensions, on receiving 
 the weight or exertions of the animal, is a property common to all quadrupeds, and most highly 
 necessary and useful for obvious reasons ; to break all jar and concussion to the body on the foot 
 meeting the ground, and to save the foot from the destruction which an unyielding point would 
 have occasioned ; yet has this property not been attended to, but has been strangely overlooked, 
 and his foot treated more as a senseless block of wood than as a living elastic organ most beauti- 
 fully constructed to receive without solid resistance the impression of his weight, and assist his 
 advances after yielding by a return to its first state. 
 
 This change of figure in the foot we may obseive is brought about or effected differently in 
 different animals, and affords matter of very curious speculation ; but suffice it to say, that in the 
 horse's foot, to which I confine myself, it is provided for and accomplished by means of the circle 
 of the hoof being broken, with its ends inflected towards the centre of the foot, and the vacuity 
 thus formed being filled in with an elastic soft yielding frog, which then becomes very much a 
 passive organ to the operations of the wall of the hoof. The sole also being arched, flattens and 
 extends itself, under the impression of the weight.* 
 
 In the human foot this change of figure, on receiving the weight of the body or its exertions, is 
 produced by the hollow arch of the sole becoming flattened and depressed, which extending it, 
 the upper leathers of the shoe being thin, readily yield and afford the necessary relief. 
 
 » Any one disposed to consider these provisions in the foot more particularly, may consult my Treatise on the Foot, with numerous 
 plates of new objects, price £1. 1 Is. 6d. ; or a curious pasteboard model of the foot, exhibiting its properties, contained in a neat 
 box, lock and key, and description, 8cc. price 12s. 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 Having briefly premised these circumstances, I proceed to describe the New Shoe, which fully 
 obviates these inconveniences and restraints which are attended with such deplorable effects 
 from their unremitted application in the common shoe. 
 
 I have taken out no patent for this invention, though by my friends strongly pressed to do so, 
 and have been offered sums of money for it, that if it is good the public and the horses may have 
 the full benefit of it, for it would have been an ungrateful feeling to have seen any poor crippled 
 horse miserably going along, and to have it stated that the expences of a patent invention 
 precluded the remedy. 
 
 To give a name to this shoe and to avoid any circumlocution in speaking of it, I have termed 
 it the Steel Tablet Shoe, or Steel Tablet Expanding Shoe, from the plate of steel 
 which occupies its front parts, and forms so essential a character of it. 
 
 This shoe consists of three pieces — see Plate I. Fig. I. viz. one of steel and two of iron, which 
 meet nearly upon the upper surface of the steel piece, and are strongly fastened to it by two stout 
 rivets, deeply received into a counter sink, and which impart a power of motion to these lateral 
 pieces. The width of the steel piece or tablet is so considerable as to afford ample room for the 
 rivets and their heads, and protection to the joint, and nearly occupies the whole line of wear, 
 which is principally outside the toe, as any one may perceive by examining an old worn out shoe, 
 and this steel tablet being hardened to the spring temper from its thickness and extent, confers 
 upon it a durability unknown to any former shoe, and vastly surpassing the shoe in common use. 
 The two lateral pieces which may be seen — Plate 2. Fig. I. a. a. fastened upon the steel plate by a 
 single rivet each, permit both to move and extend in a lateral direction whenever the hoof pressed 
 upon by the weight of the animal is disposed to dilate, and by the spring of the hoof it returns 
 again to its original state, on the remission of the j>ressure. These lateral pieces are deeply 
 stamped out in front to form a recess or lodgement for the reception of the tablet, and the two 
 halves of the shoe though near, do not touch in front, but a free space is allowed admitting of 
 motion on the rivet, and one or both pieces may be made to move as may be thought desirable : 
 if one only moves, we believe it will be sufficient to prevent the mischievous effects of the contrac- 
 tion of the hoof ; but if both move the liberty is more perfect, and such is we apprehend more 
 desirable. 
 
 This shoe is perforated at the sides or quarters for the insertion of the nails as in the common 
 shoe, and with the same number, that in respect to fixedness it is held on as firm as they can be. 
 The new shoe is made somewhat stouter than the horse shoe is in general made, from a 
 conviction after much experience and practice, of its many advantages ; a more lasting service is 
 performed by it, (which however may be an objection and matter of jealousy with some, whose 
 views are chiefly led to considerations of interest :) its greater width and covering protects the 
 weaker and more sensitive parts of the foot, as the sole and frog ; but a greater advantage perhaps 
 than either of these is the extensive bearing it takes upon the ground, which contributes much 
 to the ease of the animal ; and practice also confirms it, that it makes him go more agreeably, 
 firmly, and safely, and with less fatigue, a circumstance hitherto not much noticed or understood 
 n the practice of this art, though it must be obvious on reflection to most, that the more points of 
 bearing or division there is of the weight, the more easily will it be borne, and the less severe the 
 pressure on any one point, and hence also is derived in a great measure the advantages and ease 
 of a bar shoe, which often surprizes people unused to it. 
 
Pl. II. 
 
 THE EXPANSION SHOE. 
 
 a. a. 
 
 Upper Side. 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 A thin light shoe is also apt, with horses of any weight, to bend and lap the edges of the sole, 
 especially after the roads have a little reduced its substance, guarding however against excess 
 on either hand is necessary. 
 
 Though there is nothing difficult in the making of this shoe but what a common mechanic can 
 perform, and they have been often well made by those who had never seen them before, yet it 
 will perhaps be found that to make them in the greatest possible perfection, and in great numbers, 
 that they should be the subject of a manufactory expressly, which may hereafter profitably 
 engage some of our towns celebrated for iron work, and very usefully in these times of scarcity of 
 employ, and in this way there is no doubt they would come cheaper to the public. 
 
 Whim and caprice have hitherto been too much the guide of the common smith in the form of 
 his shoe, some thinking one form best, some another. In the present system I have endeavoured 
 to reduce it to a rule, and have taken the circle for a general basis or outline of my shoe, which 
 though it is not the figure of all is by far of the greater number of feet, especially in the natural 
 state, and before they have been injured by shoeing. I have also endeavoured for the first time, 
 to bring the other parts of the shoe into certain determinate parts of the circle, — see the diagram 
 for working by, Plate I. Fig. I. 
 
 This mode of proceeding will be attended with manifold advantages, as any deviation, whether 
 improvement or otherwise, from the general law laid down which future reasoning or practice 
 may lead into, can be clearly stated and expressed, which, in a shoe made at random, could never 
 be the case ; thereby opening a plain road to improvement, which an empirical practice could not 
 give. If however the circle is departed from, it should always be to a shoe somewhat straighter on 
 the sides or quarters, and such shoes should be ever kept in readiness in the magazine of the forge, 
 for it is obviously easier to bend a shoe that is straight over the bick of the anvil, than to straighten 
 one that is akeady bent ; still the circle in the greater number shoidd be adhered to as suiting a 
 very large proportion of feet.* 
 
 In order to give more of scientific precision to this art of shoeing horses, I shall next describe 
 the rules by which this shoe, which is allowed even by the smiths themselves to be truly beautiful, 
 may be formed, and although numbers or figures must be used to express these divisions, I have 
 endeavoured to avoid as much as possible fractional parts, though sometimes necessary, and have 
 chosen such as are of easy recollection ; but let it not be imagined every time a shoe is- made, that 
 the workman is compelled to have recourse to these numbers, that is not necessary, he is only to 
 lay them down to form his first pattern or model from. 
 
 The steel piece is made in front to occupy a fifth part of the entire circle ; and its width is also 
 a fourth part or quarter of the diameter of the same circle ; which is sufficient to afford ample 
 protection to the joint, an extensive bearing on the ground, and good room for the rivets and 
 wear. The thickness of this steel plate is two-thirds that of the iron of the shoe, and is made to 
 project a very little below its inferior surface — see Plate I. Fig. 2. Again, the two extremities or 
 sides of the steel plate have their angle or obliquity determined by a ready law, namely, by simply 
 
 * I may here remark, however, that in scrupulous exactness of description this lower opening of the hoof ought to be of the nature 
 of an ellipse, and for this reason, that a cylinder obliquely cut or truncated must ever present this figure, the length of the ellipse 
 increasing with the increased obliquity of the angle of truncation or slope of the hoof; but, in reality, in the natural good foot this 
 figure is destroyed by the enlargement or bulge of the outside quarter which brings it again more nearly to the circle — see Treatise on 
 the Foot, page 18. 
 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 drawing a line to the centre of the circle — see Plate I. b. b. By conforming to these rules the 
 fitting of all parts of the shoe is rendered easy, even though the workmen be at a distance from 
 each other, or in different countries ; and the diameter of any foot being given, the relative 
 proportions of all the parts of the shoe are immediately known, and for illustration I have taken 
 as the most useful, a foot of exactly five inches diameter, being a very common size. The outside 
 rim or circumference of the shoe being a circle, the figure of the inside also is not left to chance 
 or accident, but is a certain portion of one likewise ; for the present however we defer giving this 
 rule, as the heels of the shoe must first be determined which regidate it. 
 
 To determine the place of the heel and the angle of its truncation, we divide the diameter of 
 the circle transversely into four equal parts or spaces, c, d, e,f, and intersect them by a perpen- 
 dicular line, g, through the centre ; if from the last of these tranverse lines where it meets the 
 edge of the circle at h, we measure one-third of the space between it and the vertical line, g, we 
 get the place of the point of the heel, i, and the degree of obliquity of the truncation is determined 
 by a line carried to the concurrence of the longitudinal line at k ; and for the internal point of the 
 heel, divide the last oblique line into four equal parts, and one of these gives the point, I, for 
 the inside angle of the heel. By such rules a beautiful shoe is formed ; but ugly as Chaos will 
 be that which is formed without order or method. I find by practice that the shoe must often be 
 made longer than this, in order to take a decided bearing on the strong point or column of the 
 inflexion or duplication of the heels of the hoof, otherwise it may, after it has been on some time, 
 sink in too much, and press upon the intertortional point of the sole or corn place : there is also 
 another reason for its being longer, which is to allow of the shoe being bent or turned down with 
 calkins at the heel, which appears to give evident advantages in his going, and as I apprehend, 
 from its determining the weight towards the front and strongest parts of the hoof; a half therefore 
 of this division, for feet that have been long shod with common shoes, will not be at all too much. 
 Next, we may observe, that it is a practice universally followed, and not without utility, of 
 making the shoe posteriorly wider than the hoof itself, in order to allow of a small degree of 
 motion of the heels, and to increase the width of its bearing surface. In this shoe this augmenta- 
 tion is ascertained by a certain law, for this purpose we measure the fourth part of a quarter of 
 one of these horizontal spaces, and by fixing one limb of the compasses as much below the 
 original centre at t, and having the same radius as the original circle, describe an arc till it meets 
 the former circle on each side, which gives the due increment of the shoe ; and we then extend 
 the place of the outer heel to the line, at m. Being now prepared for forming the internal rim 
 or margin of the shoe, we place the compasses first at the point of the inner heel, and continuing 
 the same radius, describe a short segment of a circle at n ; and next placing the compasses at the 
 inner angle of the steel plate intersect it by another portion of a circle at o ; and the compasses 
 placed at the point of intersection of these two lines will describe the inner margin or edge of the 
 shoe at p. 
 
 No determinate figure could be well laid down for a contracted foot, but a parabola straitish on 
 the sides and left long enough, would I found, if slightly altered according to circumstances 
 best accommodate these feet. 
 
 On the nail holes— -The first nail hole is brought as near to the steel plate as it conveniently can 
 without disturbing the rebat, and is directed very obliquely inwards or towards the centre of the 
 circle the others, observing a measured distance of about seven-tenths of an inch from each 
 other in middle sized shoes, as those of five inches diameter, which space between is sufficient 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 to prevent the liability of breaking up the horn from one nail to another : the last nail hole is 
 generally smaller than the others, on account of its being inserted in rather thinner horn, and is 
 made straight through the shoe, the quarter or side of the hoof, being nearly perpendicularly 
 placed over it : but for this, and other particulars for the general practice of shoeing, see the 
 Stereoplea, where these circumstances arc treated more in detail. 
 
 This shoe when large will bear five nails on a side, and which will be the more necessary, if no 
 clips are used ; as this however extends the nails backwards towards the heels, where there is 
 more danger in their application, I have resorted, to save the use of these as much as may be, 
 to two clips in front, which restraining the foot from being forced over the front of the shoe, the 
 way it usually becomes loose, saves nails with great advantage — see Plate 2. 
 
 In our early practice with this shoe, we rounded the ends in front to afford more extensive 
 motion, but we soon experienced that they received on being cut in two, nearly enough liberty 
 without this precaution ; indeed, in our first essays we made the two halves separately, and 
 afterwards put them together, but found the shoe made entire, and cut afterwards, a much 
 more summary way of proceeding. The shoe formerly had motion both ways, that is inwards as 
 well as outwards ; we have latterly fitted the shoe to the foot, before we divided it, and then let 
 it if possible have only one motion, that is outwards, this prevented its closing, as it naturally had 
 a tendency to do in nailing on ; if however it was found after division to dispose inwards, we 
 hammered the lower part of the notch together, so as to prevent it, or employed a Distender, an 
 instrument we shall hereafter describe, to fix it exactly to the point we wished, whilst it was being 
 put on, removing it afterwards. 
 
 I like a shoe that is rather coarsely holed, that is at some distance from the rim, but if such a 
 shoe was put into the hands of a common smith, he would ten to one lame the horse with it, by 
 fixing it on exactly even to the rim of the hoof; whereas my intention is, that it should project 
 beyond it in a reasonable degree, affording ease and bearing surface to the animal ; the apprehen- 
 sions of cutting, so formidable in common shoes, need hardly be regarded in these expansion shoes. 
 
 The notch or front extremities of the two side pieces, — Plate 2, Fig. I. where they meet over the 
 steel tablet, are bevelled outwards, to prevent dirt lodging in it and choaking the motion ; this we 
 did by the file in the early fabrication of the shoe ; but of late have been satisfied with the 
 simple impression of the chisel in cutting them, for giving this oblique direction, taking care 
 to cut them always on the upper side, and to make the shoe open outwardly more freely, we 
 make the division wider towards the front or toe with the chisel, which with distending the 
 heels over the anvil bick, by a few blows of the hammer will give them motion enough, as from 
 a quarter to three-eighths of an inch. 
 
 The whole upper surface of this shoe is a little bevelling or slopeing inwards, which holds and 
 retains the foot better than a mere flat surface would do, and assists the nails, as does also a little 
 beating up of its exterior edge, after the French manner ; more internally it is deeply concaved or 
 hollowed out, and made much thinner, beginning at the line n, in order to clear the sole 
 well, which is more required in these shoes, and admit of its flattening and depression, and to 
 lighten the shoe, and also extend its bearing surface on the ground, and give the foot more cover, 
 without at all adding to its weight. The common smiths cripple many horses, from not giving 
 the sole room enough, believing if the shoe does not touch it, it is safe, and do not understand the 
 descent of this part, on receiving pressure. 
 
 The upper surface of the heels are also bevelling inwards, to prevent any collision with the 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 bar, or intertortional point of the sole or corn place, as it is called ; though I am led to suspect it 
 would he a wholesome practice to bend down the inner heel a little out of the general plane of 
 the shoe, to prevent these frequent bruises of this tender part. 
 
 The Tablet should not exactly fit its recess, as that would lock the shoe, but be rather smaller ; 
 the side edges being bevelled strongly, removes this difficulty in some degree, by giving way. 
 
 We learnt also from practical experience that the Tablets in the large shoes shoidd not occupy 
 so much as the fifth of the circle that is in those shoes that were beyond five inches diameter, to 
 which we apply the same toe-pieces. But in the small shoes the tablets could be made more 
 than a fifth without extending them too wide. 
 
 The Rivets should be strong, and exactly made, with deep countersink heads, passing nearly 
 through the Tablet, and be placed a very little behind the middle of the tablet, that they might be more 
 out of the reach of wear, and endure longer ; on their correctness in fitting the countersinks, their 
 proper length and good ordering, success will very much depend. These important parts will be 
 enlarged upon hereafter, this being only intended as a cursory view of the new shoe ; and though 
 eminently successful, instead of expressions of triumph after this arduous toil, I am induced to do 
 what appears more to be my duty, that is, to present the reader with a humiliating catalogue of 
 errors and difficulties which attended the first three months public use of this shoe, as the most 
 instructive addition I can possibly make to this part of my labours, and to show how those diffi- 
 culties were overcome in part or wholly, that others may avoid them in their first trials, and by 
 stepping upon the ladder which I have raised, carry to still higher perfection this rising art. 
 
 The first difficulty that occurred in bringing them into use, was their coming off at times, 
 especially the larger and weightier shoes, and this happened one week to such an extent, 
 that I thought I must have declined prosecuting my plan entirely. A chief cause of this error 
 was their being allowed a great deal too much motion, by which the two halves did not 
 afford one another the requisite support, and these shoes were unnecessarily large and clumsy, 
 being made after wooden models, esjjecially at the heels,, and were kept on by four nails of a 
 side only ; another cause was their being made plain and stamped in the French way without 
 fullering : also, some horses were brought me with thin brittle hoofs, rendered still more so by 
 unnecessary rasping and split by the nails of previous shoeings, so that they broke through by the 
 least expansion of the shoe ; the duration of the shoe also induced persons in order to save a 
 trifling expense to use them longer without being fresh nailed or renewed than was proper, and 
 some of them also broke at the shoulders. 
 
 To obviate these difficulties I ordered all the larger shoes to be made lighter, especially at the 
 heels, but still a stout spreading strong shoe. To prevent too much motion of the shoe, I gave 
 only a very limited degree of it, as the quarter of an inch or even less, for not expecting such a 
 result I had before given them unlimited motion, for a very small degree of motion gives sensible 
 relief, and serves to remove that solid, dead resistance, of the common shoe. To fix the shoes 
 more firmly, I placed five, instead of four, nails on each side* and in order to give the nails a 
 better hold, I fullered the shoe deeply, which appeared to have this advantage, that it brought 
 the heads of the nails into a closer approach to the hoof, and, the head of the nail was not so 
 liable to be entangled in the stamp hole, as it would be liable to, if not exactly of the same figure, 
 
 * I have however since, found two clips or stays, one on each side the toe, the best means of obviating the necessity of many 
 nails — see Plate 2. Fig. I. 
 
PLATE III. Fig. I. 
 
 The same Shoe much improved, from three months' actual practice with it : — a, the 
 Steel Toe-piece thinned backwards; b, b, the Quarter Pieces, deeply fullered; e, e, the 
 Extremities or Heels, slightly turned up. The Nail Holes also finished with a Pritchel, 
 having a Shoulder gaged to the Head and Shank of the Nail. f, f, the two clips which 
 render a nail less sufficient towards the heels. 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 by altering its direction, the one being generally made square and the other oblong. It now occurred 
 to me that several advantages belonged to our old English custom of fullering, which I had not 
 before comprehended or understood ; one was, that the nails ranged more in a line, and the 
 holes could be stamped finer or nearer to the exterior of the shoe without being so liable to burst 
 it out, which in very fine feet would be an advantage, and a greater liberty was also given in 
 pitching and driving the nail, without disturbing its final direction ; it also usefully spreads the 
 shoe, and gives it a lighter appearance. The pritchel bumps on the outside of the shoe were also 
 not near so large when the shoe was fullered, nor was there so much trouble in reducing them, 
 which we performed often and we thought advantageously with the pritchel remaining in the 
 hole to prevent it closing. And those horses which were brought to the forge with their hoofs in 
 bad condition and much broken, were rejected entirely, or were laid by till by two or three proper 
 shoeings, without being rasped and shorn of their exterior rind, and with proper nails, they had 
 acquired due solidity and strength : — then the expansion shoe was applied, and with but little 
 motion given to it, for it can be furnished in any degree we wish. The shoe so improved, is seen 
 PL 3, fig. 1. 
 
 The struggle was long and hard with the shoes breaking at the shoulder, and this knot was 
 considered by the workmen quite~an insurmoun table one, — a slight crack or fissure close in with 
 the shoulder, was the indication of the mischief : a flat set was used by us, such as is usual with 
 the smiths, for making the rabat* or recess in the shoe for the tablet, and this occasioned the flaw 
 in a way that did not then appear easy to be understood, but which showed that shoulders so 
 made, especially of any depth, were liable to be defective and unsound on all other occasions, 
 which the workmen till then were in no way apprehensive of, and we may hereafter take an op- 
 portunity of explaining this circumstance more fully, and its cause. The invention of the Crimper 
 Tool, (see plate 3, fig 2,) by drawing the iron out in one direction only, most happily removed this 
 perplexing obstacle. 
 
 Another considerable difficulty also presented itself, and which for a time it did not appear 
 very easy to overcome, which was in making these shoes to suit low and flat feet, for the shoe 
 could not be made hollow enough in the front parts to have a sufficient distance from the sole in 
 feet of this construction, on account of the steel piece, and as also that the sole in these would 
 have more play than in the more upright. To meet this difficulty, I suggested after some 
 consideration, the thinning of the steel piece backwards, or posteriorly, which woidd not materially 
 injure its wearing properties, and we then found it on trial to yield room enough, and adopted it 
 afterwards in all feet : for the tablets, in the first shoes made, were nearly of equal thickness 
 throughout ; nor did this improvement, which now appears so easy and natural, occur for some 
 time. And some who may themselves have been a little dipped in practical mechanics, will have 
 understood but too well the extraordinary inaptitude of common workmen employed upon any 
 new subject, even of what woidd appear of a truly simple nature, and which distresses and em- 
 barrasses not a little the progress of improvement. 
 
 The tablets also, from their very irregular figure, caused us a great number of attempts before 
 any thing like facility in making them was obtained. The tools indicated in plate 1, fig. 9, 10 — 
 13, were used for a considerable time, but were finally abandoned, for the most satisfactory con- 
 
 * From rabattre, French, not from rhabol, as some have imagined. The carpenters have corrupted this word into Rabbit. 
 
( io ) 
 
 trivance of the Tableteer, hereafter described; which not only makes these, but would form 
 almost any other figure in steel equally easy, at least by the same principle. 
 
 Finding the expences enormous of employing master workmen to make these improvements for 
 me, and the delays and mistakes most revolting, I resolved to erect a building on purpose to 
 prosecute my measures ; and at a heavy expense for my small means, erected one first in Clay Street, 
 Gloucester Place ; and being obliged by the covenants of the lease to pull it down again, from the 
 ill-nature of a neighbour, I erected a second in the Edgware Road, not far from the turnpike and 
 the Yorkshire Stingo; this I continued for about five years, at a considerable expense also, and 
 without it had certainly never accomplished my object. 
 
 When the elastic properties of the horse's foot were first perceived and understood upon principle, 
 it became a problem of some difficulty to adapt a shoe to it that should possess such properties, 
 and the apparent necessity of employing some elastic and soft material, seemed to increase the 
 difficulty ; it is, however, only a lateral extension that is really wanted, and this the present shoe 
 affords. If any suppose that the lap joint shoe to be seen in Blundville, and other books, which was 
 used as a substitute or temporary resource for a common shoe, on any sudden emergency or loss of 
 a shoe, and to be removed again as they direct, on getting to a smith's forge ; if they apprehended 
 this was the prototype or suggester of my shoe, they would be greatly mistaken ; for it was the 
 discovery of the elastic principle in the foot, that led to the search for a shoe ; and shoes of easy 
 removal, and without nails, were the first I used : these led to the Paratrite, those to the lap jointed 
 shoe, which led to the Tablet shoe. Blundville's shoe never, in the two centuries that it lay before 
 the public, did suggest, I apprehend, any such principle ; nor could it ever lead to the invention, 
 which must come through quite another course. The feeling of necessity, or of want, must ever 
 precede the search for the thing to relieve it. 
 
 The very first shoe of the Tablet kind that ever was used, was put on at Henley-on-Thames, at 
 my brother-in-law Joseph May's, upon a fine blood mare of my own ; her action was so improved, 
 that I should hardly have known her to be the same ; her step became particularly extensive and 
 free, and with no tripping, which had been her fault ; the success of it for several days gave me 
 an indescribable joy and delight, as it appeared to me certain that a new era would soon arrive 
 upon the horse world ; and that a very large share of their cruel wrongs and abuses would be 
 done away. This mare travelled with me near fifty miles a day for two days, nor were her feet in 
 the least heated by it, or feverish as in common shoes. Afterwards, in the course of my experi- 
 ments with her, she was shod in common shoes again, and she fell twice with me in coming out 
 of Essex, and hurt herself very much. 
 
 And it was necessary also, in respect to the new shoe, that it should not be very expensive, as 
 the public had been long used to cheap shoes, and however necessary others might be, would not 
 bear it ; but fortunately we have brought it to that facility of manufacture, that its expence does 
 not much exceed the common shoe ; and if some measures we are taking to procure them of cast 
 metal should succeed, (the reader will be startled at the proposition, but it is nevertheless a well 
 considered truth) they will not at all exceed in price the common shoes ; though one would sup- 
 pose the reasonable man, where his neck and a valuable horse's knees are in danger, would not 
 too nicely consider a trifling additional expence; for certainly a more complicated object requires 
 more workmanship, and of course, more price. 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 Some have objected to the shoe, and nothing is much easier than to raise objections ; they stated 
 that it did not open exactly in the middle of the shoe, where the centre of motion ought to be ; 
 this is certainly true, but it is of no real consequence, since a little liberty to the quarters of the 
 foot is all that is wanted ; and whether obtained by a motion in the centre, or near it, is of no 
 real moment, so it is obtained, which the use of the shoe fully proves ; great advantages attend 
 the removal of it from this centre point, which are more than a counterpoise to a small irregularity 
 of this description The lap joint answers the same purpose, but is soon worn out, and if the 
 joint be defended by a thick nob, it is unsightly, and liable to cause tripping. It should be recol- 
 lected, that this shoe only moves in concert with the foot, when that, from pressure, is disposed to 
 extend, that there is no spring in it, as some have apprehended, but is quite passive. If any 
 should prefer to use the lap joint shoe, and do not care so much about duration, a flattened globe 
 is the best figure I have yet found for the rivet head, of steel, and hardened. The principle and 
 intention is the same in both. 
 
 As many may be anxious to know if they can be resorted to for horses that have been long shod, 
 I may state here that I find, from more extensive experience, that my first apprehensions in this 
 respect were groundless, as many very old horses have been lately shod with them, with the most 
 beneficial effects : if too much relaxation is feared, it is only to limit the motion, which can be 
 given to any degree. Even in foundered feet, where the coffin bone had sunk, they have been 
 benefited, most unexpectedly to me, by the application of this shoe, perhaps from the freedom and 
 ease they derive from it; whereas the common shoe, from its constraining, contracting effects, is 
 tending to force down the conical coffin bone more strongly upon the sole. 
 
 In cases of Ring bone also, it might be naturally expected to be of great relief, and especially in 
 preventing their formation, and cases in proof of this will be given among the testimonies. 
 
 For the Frush also it is found to be a sovereign remedy, almost without the aid of medicine, 
 imparting to the frog that liberty and freedom from constraint which takes away its fretted, feverish 
 state, and which the compression of the common shoe always induces, more or less. 
 
 Practice with it has however taught us, that it is necessary not to depend wholly on the shoe, 
 in very weak, contracted feet, for the expansion ; but to use a bar, or stretcher, put between the 
 heels, or quarters of the shoe, to keep them distended, especially whilst resting in the stable ; for 
 such feet will draw the shoe in after them, and then there is little benefit from them. The gentle 
 separation of these compressing parts from the sides of the frog, soon gives it a healthy tone, and 
 disposes the horn to grow upon it in a remarkable manner. Sometimes, and especially where the 
 hoof was long and weak at the heels, the compression of the frog would return in spite of the 
 stretcher, from the last nail against which the force of distension was chiefly exerted, becoming 
 imbedded~in the horn, permitting the collapse ; in this case, the horse would go lame and tender. 
 To overcome this, we added two clips to the extremities or heels of the shoe, to press, not against 
 the bar, but against the solid inflexural column at the end of it, — and these keeping the heels 
 asunder, and away from the frog, made the healing to be very rapid. 
 
 It promises the extinction of that dreadful disease, the contracted hoof, — and one most beautiful 
 effect of this shoe is, that in a few weeks after its application, if the old shoe had been previously 
 much used, you see the bars recede from the sides of the frog, leaving it at its natural liberty, 
 without any cutting, — and the freedom that attends this, is delightfully felt in the going of the 
 horse. And in enumerating the advantages of these shoes, not only is the frog set at liberty and 
 preserved fresh and cool, but the sole is at liberty also ; and having elastic motion, throws off its 
 flakes of superfluous growth, in due time, and disencumbers itself more readily, instead of their 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 remaining adhering to the part, and thickening upon the sole, as in the common shoe, which 
 without doubt, must he a great relief to the foot. 
 
 The saving to the public by such a shoe will be great and almost incalculable for horses in the 
 army more especially, which no sooner become tender from the compression and contraction of 
 the feet, than they are rejected, or cast, and fresh ones bought in, at expence enough. When 
 the feet also are entirely free from pain, the horse makes more use of them, if I may be allowed the 
 expression, and then the legs and joints suffer less, for they, in saving their feet, are using more 
 muscular force in the way of restraint upon the legs and joints, and hence these parts become 
 weak and fail early. Also several affections and injuries of the foot, and of the attaching apparatus 
 of the hoof to the bone, creating diseases which have never received any proper name are removed 
 by it. 
 
 And canker also soon gets well by keeping the bars away from the frog by using the shoe with 
 a stretcher in it as will be hereafter described. That ill-temper and vice are many times generated 
 in the horse by his sufferings in these respects it is perfectly natural to believe ; I have had proof 
 of it in my own experience, and some of my testimonies will show it has not escaped others. 
 
 It is observed by the smiths that the heels grow faster with the exrjansion shoes, and require 
 the knife more in paring down ; that it is so, I do not speak from my own particular observation, 
 but individuals unconnected with each other have often made the same remark, it is probable the 
 whole hoof grows faster and becomes more succulent, by the circulation in it being less embarrassed, 
 and all remark how pleasantly the nails drive through hoofs that have been some time shod with 
 the expansion shoes. 
 
 That this valuable new art, from which I am daily experiencing the most delightful results, 
 may not be in danger by perverseness, neglect, or ignorance, to be again lost, having brought 
 these shoes to great perfection and facility of making, I shall give the detail of their manufactory 
 in the best way I am at present able, at the conclusion of this work, — warning the public however 
 against the easy and too often fatal delusion of pretended improvements, which may instead of im- 
 provements, be only schemes long since rejected among the past experiments of the inventor ; not 
 that I would wish to have it understood to imply that no improvement can ever be made, far from 
 such an idea, but that too easy credulity in this respect should not be entertained. 
 
 The beauty of making these shoes, is not to touch them hardly with the file, but to let the ham- 
 mer, the chissel, and the punch, execute the whole. 
 
 I have now used this shoe, at various times, for more than nine years, the recommended period 
 of probation, " nonum prematur in annum,'" and I may say where they have been duly and pro- 
 perly applied, they have been attended with universally a more extensive action of the horse, 
 with greater ease and security from falling, — and some proud feet we can now show that have 
 been preserved in their natural form by the use of it, and frogs also truly beautiful from this 
 mode of shoeing, and from the omission of the scalping knife, by the rules laid down. 
 
 Some gentlemen also who are fond of horses, and of cultivating a more refined acquaintance 
 and knowledge of them, have permitted me to add their testimonies to the same effect. 
 
A 
 
 DISCLOSURE 
 
 OF THE APPARATUS FOR MAKING 
 
 THE 
 
 NEW TABLET SHOE OF EXPANSION, 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 These Instruments I divide into four classes. — I. For forming the Shoe itself. - 
 
 II. For making the Tablets. — HI. For r wetting the Shoe. — 
 
 IV. For taking the Shoe to pieces when required. 
 
 I. For forming the Shoe. 
 
 The process of making the shoe will he perhaps hest explained to a workman, by presenting 
 to his view the har at every stage of its advance, as it is seen figured in plate 2, by which any 
 workman, in the least expert, may very soon embrace it ; and which single page of figures exhibits 
 the naked result of some hundred experiments made for the purpose of ascertaining the best means 
 of effecting this object, and which are here brought into one connected view. 
 
 Fig. 1, is a square bar of iron, weighing, for a common-sized shoe of five inches diameter, about 
 eighteen ounces, and shorter by a full inch than the intended shoe ; which inch, as it will lengthen 
 in the working, so we shall have but little to cut off at last in waste. A convenient form of the 
 bar we found to be about one inch wide by five-eights thick, for a shoe of five inches width. 
 The first step is to flatten it about the middle, a little more than the half through its width ; the 
 purpose of this proceeding is, that in bending it, it may not become too thick on the inside at the 
 point of flexion, which would inconvenience the subsequent process. 
 
 Fig. 2, is the bar bent and of nearly equal thickness, and somewhat less in circuit than the 
 intended shoe, as it will fly open by the next process. 
 
 Fig. 3, with the branches or limbs hollowed out on the upper side, and flat bepeath. 
 
 Fig. 4, shows a large rounded depression in front, to spread thin and prepare it for the rebat ; 
 being summarily performed by a blow or two of the round hammer* upon the bick of the anvil, 
 depressing both sides of the iron at once. 
 
 Fig. 5, with a well defined triangular deep mark, made by placing upon it the measurer, pi. 1, 
 fig. 3, and striking it hard on both edges in succession, with the heavy forge hammer. This tool 
 is made of a triangular piece of steel, thinner in the middle and thick upon the edges ; being con- 
 
 * Called turning hammer by the smiths. 
 
( 2 ) 
 
 structed exactly two-thirds of the size of the steel tablet : it is lashed by a rivet or two to a thin 
 flexible handle of plate iron. If the handle be made too thick and inelastic, a blow carried a 
 little too far, no unfrequent occurrence, is apt to break it. This impression is most useful in 
 guiding the crimper, and will cause it, however far carried, exactly to fit the tablet; a result one 
 should not have expected, and by which a great obstacle was overcome. 
 
 Fig. 6, exhibits the shoe after the rebat has been extended and drawn out by a curious opera- 
 tion, we have called, for want of a better name, crimping; see the Crimper Instrument, pi. 3, fig. 1. 
 Without this mode of proceeding, the shoes were continually liable to break at the shoulders, the 
 common set condensing the iron against the shoulder, and finally bursting it, which danger this 
 proceeding fully removes. 
 
 This useful instrument we first made with the heads of the hammers strongly fastened in by 
 two rivets, in a square frame, see pi. 3, fig. 1. We now find that welding the head on, is the sim- 
 plest and the best mode, by an oblique welding surface, strongly shouldered. These heads are 
 formed of blister steel. And for making small shoes, we have lately set both the hammers at one 
 end of the bar, upon the same centre pin : in this case it is necessary to bend or incurvate the 
 shafts of the hammer, in order to bring them into the guide notch, see pi. 5, fig. 2. I had almost 
 forgotten to state that the faces of these hammers are oblique or slanting, which drives the metal 
 in the same direction as the slope of their surfaces. Each is worked from the shoulder to the 
 middle of the recess, then beginning again from the shoulder, striking [upon these heads by the 
 turning hammer, with a quick and not too hard stroke, the metal being made pretty hot. 
 
 Fig. 7. The shoe fullered, stamped, and pritched. 
 
 Fig. 8. A deep division in the middle of the shoe, which will break asunder whenever required 
 by a blow closing the shoe upon the anvil, rending the front part ; extending the heels over the 
 bick, ruptures also the back part of the fissure. The axe for the division is seen plate 1, fig. 5, 
 first measuring the exact middle below, then bringing it over to the upper side, and forming the 
 cleft with it : this fissure would be liable to choke with dirt if cut on the other side. A bolster 
 with a longitudinal middle line for cutting it upon, is seen pi. 4, fig. 4 ; and the axe we have 
 latterly used, is not with a guard as in the figure, but simply convex and rounded upon the edge, 
 thereby cutting deepest in the middle. 
 
 Fig. 9, shows the shoe marked for the rivet holes, the tablet having been selected and applied 
 to it, and marked through the holes with a brass wire ; it is perforated and stampt out by a punch- 
 ing tool constructed as seen at pi. 4, fig. 5; and in its improved state, pi. 5, fig. 1. It is a useful 
 precaution before you begin to use the stamp to dress your anvil, and give its face not a sloping 
 inclination, but a direct and true level surface, otherwise your tools will be very likely to sustain 
 damage, as really happened to several of mine before I considered the cause ; for it is evident a 
 direct perpendicular blow on an anvil whose surface is inclined, is as mischievous to the tools as 
 would be an oblique blow on a level or horizontal plane ; therefore this point should be attended 
 to. The shaft also, or stem of the stamping tool, should be firm and straight in the hole of the 
 anvil, otherwise it may incline, while the bolster remains straight to the plane of the anvil, and so 
 the instruments will get damaged ; most probably the effect will be felt on the edges of the hole 
 in the bolster : the smiths did not seem much aware of the necessity of these measures. 
 
 Fig. 10. The shoe in all respects ready for rivetting ; the perfect shoe being represented in the 
 frontispiece and other places, is not unnecessarily repeated here. 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 To perfect it, however, we now add two clips to it near the tablet, to prevent the shoe being 
 driven backwards by the horse, and loosened. These clips should be a little concave or hollow 
 to the inside next the foot, and should stand almost outside the rim of the shoe, so that very little 
 horn should be removed from their fitting place, that the whole strength of the horn may be 
 reserved for them to act against and defend from the impression of the stroke : we often see a 
 grievous inattention to this circumstance by almost a denudation of the quick with their huge 
 rasps and knives. This exterior situation of the clips is especially easily accomplished in the 
 cast shoes. 
 
 We now clean out with a rough file the corners and sides of the rebat, which are left full, espe- 
 cially in cast shoes, on account of the shrinking of the metal in setting, which would impoverish 
 and weaken these places if left scant. The tablet being duly adjusted and the holes properly 
 countersunk, it is applied and rivetted. 
 
 II. On making the Tablets. 
 
 These pieces being of steel and of considerable strength and thickness, and of an irregular figure, 
 gave us a great deal of trouble in accomplishing their formation ; and after the trial of a variety 
 of unsuccessful ways, which we shall not trouble the reader with a recital of, or at least of but one 
 of which there is a plate of explanation, we at last discovered one that was truly easy and of great 
 liberty in the exercise of it, and of much compass and exactness in its use. The first means we 
 used is seen at plate 1, fig. 9, 10, 11, &c. The process was as follows:— a piece of old coach 
 spring steel, for such at length we found to be the best for our purpose (after using for a long time 
 shear steel), was beaten up, thickened and drawn out, and turned round to a circle of rather less 
 than five inches diameter, being thinned on the inside and left thick on the outside ; the instru- 
 ment fig. 9, pi. I, was applied by the fireman's assistant to the outside of this circle, and having 
 two converging chisels fixed into it at the proper angle, the fireman struck with a hammer each 
 successively, which gave the true angle of the tablet and its size. He then used the tool No. 10, 
 and placing it on each side the concave of the central figure in the tool No. 9, he marked it for 
 the holes, and then proceeded immediately to countersink them, instead of doing this after perfo- 
 ration, which would be the natural course of proceeding, and had, during two years, led us into 
 difficulties and embarrassments. This simple change of proceeding rendered the accomplishment 
 comparatively easy, and altered the whole line of proceedings and of tools ; being first countersunk 
 with No. 11 very deep, the perforation was accomplished without much difficulty by the steel 
 stamp fig. 12, over a bolster fig. 7. The holes were then opened with a gaged broach, fig. 13, to 
 the size of the rivets. And the holes of the shoe were then countersunk by the tool fig. 8, to the 
 size of the rivet-head. At plate 3, fig. 2, is seen a piece of old coach-spring, in its process of form- 
 ing a tablet, being almost finished, before it is severed from the bar. 
 
 At plate 4, fig. 8, is seen a most useful instrument invented by me, for making the tablets upon 
 a very simple principle, that one man may without assistance, make many in a day. A square 
 thick plate of iron is made to hold the whole apparatus for marking, countersinking, cutting, and 
 perforating ; the steel being made hot is worked above the tools, and does not in receiving its 
 figure, come at all in contact with the anvil, which always rapidly cools it. The satisfaction and 
 pleasure this instrument has given to several excellent mechanics, has been very great ; as in this 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 way may be readily wrought almost any figure in steel, and that of the tablet is not among the 
 least difficult. The process is as follows : take a piece of old coach-spring steel, heat it in the fire, 
 and thicken it by hammering to the required substance ; then curve it, thinning it to the inside 
 edge. Now place it against the stop a, and strike it two successive blows, one on each point xx; 
 these points determine the distance of the two rivets, adjusting them by the screw b. Another 
 adjusting screw c, regulates the distance from the front edge, the proper space being found by 
 trials. The steel, deeply impressed by the two points, is conveyed to the blunt cone d, and there 
 smartly hammered till a deep hollow is made ; it is then warmed again and carried to the obtuse 
 or truncated cone e, which gives the countersink its true figure. This accomplished, we have next 
 to obtain the true angle of the sides of the tablet, and for this purpose place it on the two thin 
 marking chisels y and z, adjusting the distance, and consequently magnitude of the tablet, by the 
 point /; previously, however, to this, it is necessary to place the steel on the bed-piece g, and with 
 the knife h, mark the middle exactly between the two holes ;* this line obtained, it is then applied 
 to the point i, keeping a view of the other end of the line to k, and resting the steel on the chisels, 
 touch it lightly with the hammer on each, the upper side being downwards, as it can be best seen ; 
 this line carried to the large thick chisel I, it is cut off, and so of the second line, and it then gives 
 the tablet with great truth of figure ; I have often in good hands seen them as much so as the line 
 and compass could give them. In this mode of working the steel there is little loss of heat, and 
 no confinement or difficulty in the use of the tools, but all is free and open ; punching them in 
 moulds the way I first attempted, or through a mask, was grievously inconvenient in this respect, 
 the metal swelling in the moulds and sticking fast, and the obliquity or unevenness of the figure 
 of the tablet, making plain stamping out difficult; and they broke, in Birmingham, some strong 
 engines in attempting it. The countersink being first prepared, though simple, was a grand step ; 
 it saved the metal, and made the after-perforation easy. Forming the tablets in this way leaves 
 a bur in the holes, which is removed by placing the tablet in the guide-tool m, and with a punch 
 having a long handle, it knocks out the bur over the hole n, and finishes it ; this tool is made of 
 one solid piece of steel, o is a square hole in the plate, through which a shaft goes to fasten the 
 apparatus upon the anvil, tied below by a pin. In a former edition another figure is seen of this 
 apparatus, and somewhat different. 
 
 The instruments, many of them though simple in their present appearance, were only arrived 
 at through more complicated processes, and were perfected by several successive changes of great 
 trouble, in which my importunities wearied the patience of not much less than a score of smiths, 
 submitting to their extortions, delays, and most provoking mistakes, though often forging for 
 myself; and at length I erected a building on purpose for it, with its proper furniture, without 
 which the object had certainly never been attained : and with all this, if I had not been blessed 
 with an extraordinary share of health, and vigor of constitution, and the blessings of a kind pro- 
 vidence on my labours, it had never been effected ; for, by most, the undertaking was derided as 
 impossible, and as a visionary scheme that would only end in my own destruction. 
 
 This tablet instrument did the business so extraordinary well, that we were almost tempted to 
 work it in private as a secret, but this being derogatory to all my other proceedings, I laid it open 
 to all who desired information upon it. 
 
 We have sometimes, with good workmen, noti 
 
III. On the Rivets. 
 
 I soon found that making the rivets at random would not do ; they caused the shoes to be unsatis- 
 factory, and rattle before they were worn out, and were in the end a loss. I therefore was obliged 
 to pursue a more correct mode of proceeding, giving to them a precision almost mathematical, for 
 if they fit their holes and countersinks well, they will remain steady to the last point of the wear 
 of the shoe. To effect this I made the drill, pi. 1, fig. 1, of a certain determinate figure, that could 
 always be known, and easily imitated, the head being formed by admeasurement into an exact 
 equilateral triangle, or whose sides and base were exactly three quarters of an inch, and where this 
 drill diminished to three eights of an inch, there began the shank of the rivet, it being always made 
 in the larger and middle shoes, of this diameter. In this way we proceeded with great satisfaction, 
 and did not afterwards suffer the inconveniences which before we had so severely felt. 
 
 This drill, for strength, was bevel-edged on one side only, as is common with the smiths ; but 
 when greater accuracy was demanded, as in making original moulds and patterns, I preferred to 
 use a drill with a head, and edges bevilled on both sides, as in the common bow or stock drill, 
 which being filed exactly to a | inch notch in a plate, could be brought in its figure to very great 
 delicacy, and we used it chiefly for forming our countersinks in the tools. This notch is seen on 
 the side of the diagram plate, at fig. l,pl. 3. It is from both the cutting edges being on the same 
 plane that gives to it a more certain figure. 
 
 In order to make these rivets expeditiously, and more conveniently also, I formed the tool seen 
 at pi. 4. fig. 5. It is fixed in the anvil by the stem of it passing into it's square perforation. The 
 horizontal screw a passing through the stem b, and carrying the vertical steel-piece c, approaches 
 the chisel d, and determines very exactly the length of the piece to be cut off from the rod ; the 
 proper length for the rivet being ascertained by previous trials. The piece cut hanging only by 
 a narrow neck, is thrust into the tool seen at pi. 1, fig. 2, and is there hammered smartly to form 
 the countersink of the head ; if they stick in the tool, which they are sometimes apt to do, we 
 knock them out over the point e, which though not represented here, is provided with a guide 
 frame to give it a right bearing over, or upon, the point of the rivet. The above tool, pi. 1, fig. 2, 
 I need hardly say, is the common rivetting tool of the smiths ; formed by enclosing a thick piece 
 of steel rod within a bar of iron turned round it, and welding it in, and then drawing it out after- 
 wards into a handle. The steel being countersunk, and perforated, and hardened, is ready for 
 use. This tool we prefer to the perforated steel bar mentioned in the first edition of this work. 
 
 These rivets, nicely fitted and inserted in the shoe, are rivetted by the hammer seen in pi. 3, 
 fig. ]4, which was afterwards ordered to be formed shorter as to length, and thicker; and with a 
 pine or peene* in the upper side of it, in order, if we wished it, to spi-ead the shank of the rivet. 
 
 After the shoe is firmly rivetted, it should be knocked about as little as possible, which some 
 smiths are but too fond of doing, and of putting it into the fire again ; all which unsets the rivets 
 and makes them apt to become loose before the shoe is worn out ; it is therefore best not to allow 
 too much of this sort of proceeding. Before the rivets are put into the shoes, it is advisable to 
 immerse them all over in some unctuous substance, as tallow or grease, that they may not rust or 
 grow fixed, as may especially happen if the horse should be detained long in the stable before he 
 is used, as has happened to us in one or two cases ; it is indeed necessary, in order to give these 
 parts at all times a more free motion. 
 
 * This is the English name given to it by our smiths, no doubt from ejiim; French, and espine, old French ; and from the Latin 
 spina, signifying any thing thorny or sharp. 
 
 C 
 
6 
 
 We may remark, that between the tablet and the shoe there is also considerable friction of sur- 
 faces impeding motion, especially if they are rivetted very tight ; to prevent this, the rivetting 
 should not be done too violently : and, indeed, if these surfaces were left a very little convex, or 
 rounding in the middle, it would be most effectually prevented ; and this would be especially ne- 
 cessary in the lap-shoes, or shoes made of one rivet and with a lap joint, therefore these surfaces 
 should also be greased. If they are found after rivetting to be too tight, working them a little by 
 the hands will often relax them ; or by a few blows of the hammer, or by striking upon the head 
 of the rivets a few blows over some hollow opposed to the shank, as a perforated bolster or hole of 
 the anvil, &c. 
 
 There is also a friction against the hoof itself to be overcome, and in the part beyond the rivet in 
 the contrary direction to the expansion of the shoe ; so that the hoof should not be suffered to bear too 
 strongly on these parts, but for the sake of easy motion be a little relieved by the rasp when great 
 ease is desirable. The motion, however, on this part so near to the centre of motion, will be very 
 small. It is also, we may remark, perfectly practicable to make these tablet shoes without any 
 distinct rivets, at least the cast shoes, which may be done by casting the tablets with cylindrical 
 nipples or upright pieces of iron at their backs, which being passed through the holes in the shoe, 
 are rivetted. And in the lap joint shoe, it is obvious that only one of these upright pieces would 
 be required. 
 
 I may suggest here, that it is not impossible to remove entirely this extra-central portion of the 
 shoe. For this purpose we cast the shoe with the cylindrical pin or nipple for rivetting at the 
 very extremity of it, battening out the tablet to the level, or leaving it void ; in this way all fric- 
 tion from this cause would be done away : and in very fine elastic young feet, such a plan may be 
 useful, but in the general way it will not be at all necessary, if the above precautions are observed. 
 
 IV. Of Unrivetting. 
 
 As we sometimes want to take a shoe that has been formed, to pieces again, to alter it or to 
 give it a new tablet when such has been worn out, or to be changed, so to do this without 
 damage to the shoe, if it has been well rivetted, will be found no easy matter. With an old shoe 
 we have often proceeded very summarily by knocking it out per force with a punch and hammer, 
 cold or made hot as may be requisite, but this often bursts the shoe : we therefore where it is of 
 consequence to save the shoe, proceed with more caution, and first use a very sharp prick punch, 
 fig. 2, to drive deep into the centre of the rivet, after which a drill works faster in removing it, 
 the chief resistance being generally at the point of the drill. This prepares it for the drill, No. 7, 
 and is then followed by a broader drill, No. 8, removing the head or shank of the rivet in a press 
 machine, and afterwards the blunt punch, fig. 2, b, on the same handle as the sharp one, knocks out 
 the rivet. PI. 5, fig. 5 is a perforated bolster for knocking out the rivet upon. 
 
 Besides the instruments figured in these four plates, there are others I have since added that 
 have much conduced to the rendering more practicable and easy this new art, and which instru- 
 ments as they do not well arrange under either of the above heads, we propose to give an ac- 
 count of here. 
 
 V. Extra Instruments. 
 
 In plate 3. fig. 1. is seen the representation of a diagram, sketched on iron plate for working 
 by, and which gives the law for forming the shoe, the tablet, and the rivet. The triangular 
 notch or vacuity at the right hand corner, serves to form the head of the drill by cutting the sides 
 
III. On the Rivets. 
 
 I soon found that making the rivets at random would not do ; they caused the shoes to be unsatis- 
 factory, and rattle before they were worn out, and were in the end a loss. I therefore was obliged 
 to pursue a more correct mode of proceeding, giving to them a precision almost mathematical, for 
 if they fit their holes and countersinks well, they will remain steady to the last point of the wear 
 of the shoe. To effect this I made the drill, pi. 1, fig. 1, of a certain determinate figure, that could 
 always be known, and easily imitated, the head being formed by admeasurement into an exact 
 equilateral triangle, or whose sides and base were exactly three quarters of an inch, and where this 
 drill diminished to three eights of an inch, there began the shank of the rivet, it being always made 
 in the larger and middle shoes, of this diameter. In this Avay we proceeded with great satisfaction, 
 and did not afterwards suffer the inconveniences which before we had so severely felt. 
 
 This drill, for strength, was bevel-edged on one side only, as is common with the smiths ; but 
 when greater accuracy was demanded, as in making original moulds and patterns, I preferred to 
 use a drill with a head, and edges bevilled on both sides, as in the common bow or stock drill, 
 which being filed exactly to a f inch notch in a plate, could be brought in its figure to very great 
 delicacy, and we used it chiefly for forming our countersinks in the tools. This notch is seen on 
 the side of the diagram plate, at fig. l,pl. 3. It is from both the cutting edges being on the same 
 plane that gives to it a more certain figure. 
 
 In order to make these rivets expeditiously, and more conveniently also, I formed the tool seen 
 at pi. 4. fig. 5. It is fixed in the anvil by the stem of it passing into it's square perforation. The 
 horizontal screw a passing through the stem b, and carrying the vertical steel-piece c, approaches 
 the chisel d, and determines very exactly the length of the piece to be cut off from the rod ; the 
 proper length for the rivet being ascertained by previous trials. The piece cut hanging only by 
 a narrow neck, is thrust into the tool seen at pi. 1, fig. 2, and is there hammered smartly to form 
 the countersink of the head ; if they stick in the tool, which they are sometimes apt to do, we 
 knock them out over the point e, which though not represented here, is provided with a guide 
 frame to give it a right bearing over, or upon, the point of the rivet. The above tool, pi. 1, fig. 2, 
 I need hardly say, is the common rivetting tool of the smiths ; formed by enclosing a thick piece 
 of steel rod within a bar of iron turned round it, and welding it in, and then drawing it out after- 
 wards into a handle. The steel being countersunk, and perforated, and hardened, is ready for 
 use. This tool we prefer to the perforated steel bar mentioned in the first edition of this work. 
 
 These rivets, nicely fitted and inserted in the shoe, are rivetted by the hammer seen in pi. 3, 
 fig. ] 4, which was afterwards ordered to be formed shorter as to length, and thicker ; and with a 
 pine or peene* in the upper side of it, in order, if we wished it, to spread the shank of the rivet. 
 
 After the shoe is firmly rivetted, it should be knocked about as little as possible, which some 
 smiths are but too fond of doing, and of putting it into the fire again ; all which unsets the rivets 
 and makes them apt to become loose before the shoe is worn out ; it is therefore best not to allow 
 too much of .this sort of proceeding. Before the rivets are put into the shoes, it is advisable to 
 immerse them all over in some unctuous substance, as tallow or grease, that they may not rust or 
 grow fixed, as may especially happen if the horse should be detained long in the stable before he 
 is used, as has happened to us in one or two cases ; it is indeed necessary, in order to give these 
 parts at all times a more free motion. 
 
 * This is the English name given to it by our smiths, no doubt from epine, French, and espine, old French ; and from the Latin 
 spina, signifying any thing thorny or sharp. 
 
6 
 
 We may remark, that between the tablet and the shoe there is also considerable friction of sur- 
 faces impeding motion, especially if they are rivetted very tight ; to prevent this, the rivetting 
 should not be done too violently : and, indeed, if these surfaces were left a very little convex, or 
 rounding in the middle, it woidd be most effectually prevented ; and this would be especially ne- 
 cessary in the lap-shoes, or shoes made of one rivet and with a lap joint, therefore these surfaces 
 should also be greased. If they are found after rivetting to be too tight, working them a little by 
 the hands will often relax them ; or by a few blows of the hammer, or by striking upon the head 
 of the rivets a few blows over some hollow opposed to the shank, as a perforated bolster or hole of 
 the anvil, &c. 
 
 There is also a friction against the hoof itself to be overcome, and in the part beyond the rivet in 
 the contrary direction to the expansion of the shoe ; so that the hoof should not be suffered to bear too 
 strongly on these parts, but for the sake of easy motion be a little relieved by the rasp when great 
 ease is desirable. The motion, however, on this part so near to the centre of motion, will be very 
 small. It is also, we may remark, perfectly practicable to make these tablet shoes without any 
 distinct rivets, at least the cast shoes, which may be done by casting the tablets with cylindrical 
 nipples or upright pieces of iron at their backs, which being passed through the holes in the shoe, 
 are rivetted. And in the lap joint shoe, it is obvious that only one of these upright pieces would 
 be required. 
 
 I may suggest here, that it is not impossible to remove entirely this extra-central portion of the 
 shoe. For this purpose we cast the shoe with the cylindrical pin or nipple for rivetting at the 
 very extremity of it, battening out the tablet to the level, or leaving it void ; in this way all fric- 
 tion from this cause would be done away : and in very fine elastic young feet, such a plan may be 
 useful, but in the general way it will not be at all necessary, if the above precautions are observed. 
 
 IV. Of Unrivetting. 
 
 As we sometimes want to take a shoe that has been formed, to pieces again, to alter it or to 
 give it a new tablet when such has been worn out, or to be changed, so to do this without 
 damage to the shoe, if it has been well rivetted, will be found no easy matter. With an old shoe 
 we have often proceeded very summarily by knocking it out per force with a punch and hammer, 
 cold or made hot as may be requisite, but this often bursts the shoe : we therefore where it is of 
 consequence to save the shoe, proceed with more caution, and first use a very sharp prick punch, 
 fig. 2, to drive deep into the centre of the rivet, after which a drill works faster in removing it, 
 the chief resistance being generally at the point of the drill. This prepares it for the drill, No. 7, 
 and is then followed by a broader drill, No. 8, removing the head or shank of the rivet in a press 
 machine, and afterwards the Hunt punch, fig. 2, b, on the same handle as the sharp one, knocks out 
 the rivet. PL 5, fig. 5 is a perforated bolster for knocking out the rivet upon. 
 
 Besides the instruments figured in these four plates, there are others I have since added that 
 have much conduced to the rendering more practicable and easy this new art, and which instru- 
 ments as they do not well arrange under either of the above heads, we propose to give an ac- 
 count of here. 
 
 V. Extra Instruments. 
 
 In plate 3. fig. 1. is seen the representation of a diagram, sketched on iron plate for working 
 by, and which gives the law for forming the shoe, the tablet, and the rivet. The triangular 
 notch or vacuity at the right hand corner, serves to form the head of the drill by cutting the sides 
 
of the tool to correspond exactly to the sides of the notch, and the hase of the drill to the extremity 
 of the opening. It is necessary, however, in order to do this, to thicken the plate at this part by 
 rivetting upon it a piece of iron, and fileing it afterwards exactly to the notch, it will then receive 
 and gage the obliquely directed bevelled surfaces of the edges of the thickest drills, which it would 
 not otherwise do. 
 
 PI. 5. fig. 2. represents a tool for making the clip, by driving it into the red-hot upper surface 
 of the shoe, near the front, and then finishing it by drawing it out upon the shaft, fig. 3, with 
 four projecting points or corners, and which shaft is placed upright in the hole of the anvil ; 
 upon one of these corners the clip is brought out and completed. 
 
 Another instrument which I have found highly convenient and useful in this art, is formed of 
 a thick plate of iron, on which to hold any shoe flat and firm in the vice whilst it is being filed at the 
 rebat or shoulders, or any other part, or whilst we sawed the joint of the shoe and divided it, to 
 give it free motion. The shoe in this case is laid upon the plate and made to rest against the pro- 
 jecting knob of iron, and the screw will then prevent any lateral movement ; the square stem be- 
 neath the plate being griped between the jaws of the vice, holds all firm. See plate 4, fig. 7. 
 
 The same machine is made also to serve another very useful purpose in re-tabletting the shoe, 
 after the tablet has been worn out ; a blind tablet which fits the rebat is placed, and with the 
 two halves of the shoe, screwed down to the plate ; the tablet presenting through the opening 
 is marked with a brass wire through the holes in the shoe, and then perforated with the sharp 
 punch after being put in the fire, and being then reversed, is finished over the pointed and next 
 over the truncated cone of the tableteer. The side holes are for the admission of the clips of 
 the shoe. 
 
 At pi. 5, fig. 1, is seen a most convenient instrument for perforating the shoe, for to receive the 
 rivets, that is the shoes which are formed from the bar-iron, (the cast ones having the holes ready 
 made) and which takes out the piece very neatly, by a blow or two of the heavy hammer, the 
 precise point for the operation of the punch is known by its being marked through the holes of 
 the tablet, previously placed upon it in the desired position, with a pointed brass wire. The 
 bolster is adjusted by lateral screws. This is also an improvement on the one represented in the 
 former edition. 
 
 PI. 4, fig. 3, gives a representation of a new kind of rasp, for preparing the hoof for the shoe. 
 It is made of three pieces of a broad common rasp, which are let into a square piece of wood, and 
 glued together, and laid so as to be perfectly flat and even ; they are then wide enough to rasp all 
 the parts of the hoof at once, and consequently bring it to a perfectly level surface. The back of 
 this instrument has a loop of ferret or broad tape to go over the back of the hand like a curry- 
 comb, and assists much in the using of it ; or if an upright handle of wood was inserted, it might 
 also serve the same purpose : a narrow rasp, even in good hands, was found an uncertain tool for 
 this purpose. It is easy, if required, to bear more on one side than the other, and to leave the 
 inside of the hoof rather fullest, which we apprehend is agreeable to the intentions of nature in 
 the plan and wear of the hoof. 
 
 Fig. 9 is a small steel cup, punched hot with a conical tool, roughly, and then nicely hollowed 
 out and finished with a guaged drill of | inch equilateral cutting edge : into this capsule or cup we 
 ram whilst hot the nipples, for countersinking the tablets, as seen in the plate machine, fig. 8, 
 pi. 4. which saves turning and fileing, and a great deal of trouble. 
 
 Plate 4, fig. 1, is a pair of tongs we found highly useful in holding a shoe while we did anything 
 to the setting it, securing it from swerving or motion, or getting out of place, the two halves of the 
 
8 
 
 shoe, being kept equally in line. We used a small half round wood rasp to form the place for 
 the clip of the shoe to rest against, instead of employing that ruinous tool the clumsy rough 
 scalping rasp of the common smiths. 
 
 Sawing the shoes asunder, which I adopted at one time, sometimes before and sometimes after 
 ri vetting, being found tedious was discontinued. I next used to cut them between two sharp chissels, 
 the one, viz. the lowest, resting on the face of the anvil, supported by a board, through a slit in 
 which it passed ; and this chissel was only raised with its cutting edge just above its surface ; the 
 shoe being laid upon it, was easily divided by another chissel, applied as we have stated, above. 
 The shoe before division should be made quite flat and level, which will not be at all disturbed 
 by the cutting. A figure of this apparatus is seen pi. 5, fig. 6. All the cast shoes I divided in 
 this way. 
 
 In finishing my present account of these instruments I add one more, which I formerly believed 
 important enough for separate publication, in which state it will sometimes be found, it is the 
 distender or spreader, used for putting on the expansion shoes, to prevent their collapse during this 
 proceeding. In publishing which I formerly observed, that the refinements of science, in any 
 art, often admit of more abuse than the grosser methods of vulgar practice. The Expansion shoe, 
 the most easy to the feet of any ever invented, may be rendered, by carelessness or abuse, the most 
 oppressive of any ; for, being naturally made to open and close, it is forced inwards by the nails 
 in shoeing, and may so compress the foot as to occasion more uneasiness than the common shoe ; 
 the nails ever having a greater tendency to the inside and softer parts of the foot. In my early 
 use of this shoe, I entreated the smiths, therefore, to begin with setting it as wide as possible ; 
 but this precaution, though it sometimes succeeded, I found uncertain and insufficient, and that 
 some instrument must be resorted to, to remove this difficulty. I therefore contrived the Distender 
 or Spreader, see letter A, pi. 5, which is only used during the nailing on of the shoes, and after- 
 wards is removed ; it consists of a cross-bar of iron notched at the ends so as to embrace the inner 
 edge of the shoe, and tapped in the middle, to receive a stout steel screw which passes through it, 
 and abuts by one end against the front edge of the shoe ; and is provided also with a turning 
 socket or swivel, having a forked head to embrace the shoe, so that the screw may be freely turned 
 without the socket moving from it's place. By turning the screw to the left, the cross-bar is 
 forced backwards against the narrowing circle of the inside of the shoe, and distends it to your 
 pleasure ; and by the contrary motion of the screw, the bar is sent forwards to the widest parts of 
 the shoe, and admits of it's collapse in any degree required ; or if carried still farther forwards quite 
 to the square shoulder of the screw, the instrument can then be taken out and removed with the 
 fingers. It will therefore permit the nicest adjusture of the holes of the shoe to the middle of the wall 
 of the hoof, and will render unnecessaiy the often vile practice of knocking the shoe about with the 
 hammer after it has been partially nailed on, by which the nails are often brought to press pain- 
 fully upon the quick. The shoe being nailed and finished, the instrument is removed by turning 
 the screw backwards, and forcing the cross-bar to it's top or shoulder, when it can be twisted round 
 and taken away ; and the screw should ever be kept as short as may be, or it's interfering with 
 the sides of the shoe may render it's removal not so easy. The steel screw at the end is simply 
 squared to admit the application of a turning handle, having a brass or iron socket with a square 
 hole in it, see figure B. 
 
 The cross bar, if it be found too short, can generally be lengthened by being put in the fire 
 and drawn out with the hammer ; or if it be too long, it can be reduced at the ends by a file. 
 
of the tool to correspond exactly to the sides of the notch, and the hase of the drill to the extremity 
 of the opening. It is necessary, however, in order to do this, to thicken the plate at this part hy 
 rivetting upon it a piece of iron, and fileing it afterwards exactly to the notch, it will then receive 
 and gage the obliquely directed bevelled surfaces of the edges of the thickest drills, which it would 
 not otherwise do. 
 
 PI. 5. fig. 2. represents a tool for making the clip, by driving it into the red-hot upper surface 
 of the shoe, near the front, and then finishing it by drawing it out upon the shaft, fig. 3, with 
 four projecting points or corners, and which shaft is placed upright in the hole of the anvil ; 
 upon one of these corners the clip is brought out and completed. 
 
 Another instrument which I have found highly convenient and useful in this art, is formed of 
 a thick plate of iron, on which to hold any shoe flat and firm in the vice whilst it is being filed at the 
 rebat or shoulders, or any other part, or whilst we sawed the joint of the shoe and divided it, to 
 give it free motion. The shoe in this case is laid upon the plate and made to rest against the pro- 
 jecting knob of iron, and the screw will then prevent any lateral movement ; the square stem be- 
 neath the plate being griped between the jaws of the vice, holds all firm. See plate 4, fig. 7. 
 
 The same machine is made also to serve another very useful purpose in re-tabletting the shoe, 
 after the tablet has been worn out ; a blind tablet which fits the rebat is placed, and with the 
 two halves of the shoe, screwed down to the plate ; the tablet presenting through the opening 
 is marked with a brass wire through the holes in the shoe, and then perforated with the sharp 
 punch after being put in the fire, and being then reversed, is finished over the pointed and next 
 over the truncated cone of the tableteer. The side holes are for the admission of the clips of 
 the shoe. 
 
 At pi. 5, fig. 1, is seen a most convenient instrument for perforating the shoe, for to receive the 
 rivets, that is the shoes which are formed from the bar-iron, (the cast ones having the holes ready 
 made) and which takes out the piece very neatly, by a blow or two of the heavy hammer, the 
 precise point for the operation of the punch is known by its being marked through the holes of 
 the tablet, previously placed upon it in the desired position, with a pointed brass wire. The 
 bolster is adjusted by lateral screws. This is also an improvement on the one represented in the 
 former edition. 
 
 PI. 4, fig. 3, gives a representation of a new kind of rasp, for preparing the hoof for the shoe. 
 It is made of three pieces of a broad common rasp, which are let into a square piece of wood, and 
 glued together, and laid so as to be perfectly flat and even ; they are then wide enough to rasp all 
 the parts of the hoof at once, and consequently bring it to a perfectly level surface. The back of 
 this instrument has a loop of ferret or broad tape to go over the back of the hand like a curry- 
 comb, and assists much in the using of it ; or if an upright handle of wood was inserted, it might 
 also serve the same purpose : a narrow rasp, even in good hands, was found an uncertain tool for 
 this purpose. It is easy, if required, to bear more on one side than the other, and to leave the 
 inside of the hoof rather fullest, which we apprehend is agreeable to the intentions of nature in 
 the plan and wear of the hoof. 
 
 Fig. 9 is a small steel cup, punched hot with a conical tool, roughly, and then nicely hollowed 
 out and finished with a guaged drill of £ inch equilateral cutting edge : into this capsule or cup we 
 ram whilst hot the nipples, for countersinking the tablets, as seen in the plate machine, fig. 8, 
 pi. 4. which saves turning and fileing, and a great deal of trouble. 
 
 Plate 4, fig. 1, is a pair of tongs we found highly useful in holding a shoe while we did anything 
 to the setting it, securing it from swerving or motion, or getting out of place, the two halves of the 
 
8 
 
 shoe, being kept equally in line. We used a small half round wood rasp to form the place for 
 the clip of the shoe to rest against, instead of employing that ruinous tool the clumsy rough 
 scalping rasp of the common smiths. 
 
 Sawing the shoes asunder, which I adopted at one time, sometimes before and sometimes after 
 rivetting, being found tedious was discontinued. I next used to cut them between two sharp chissels, 
 the one, viz. the lowest, resting on the face of the anvil, supported by a board, through a slit in 
 which it passed ; and this chissel was only raised with its cutting edge just above its surface ; the 
 shoe being laid upon it, was easily divided by another chissel, applied as we have stated, above. 
 The shoe before division should be made quite flat and level, which will not be at all disturbed 
 by the cutting. A figure of this apparatus is seen pi. 5, fig. 6. All the cast shoes I divided in 
 this way. 
 
 In finishing my present account of these instruments I add one more, which I formerly believed 
 important enough for separate publication, in which state it will sometimes be found, it is the 
 distender or spreader, used for putting on the expansion shoes, to prevent their collapse during this 
 proceeding. In publishing which I formerly observed, that the refinements of science, in any 
 art, often admit of more abuse than the grosser methods of vulgar practice. The Expansion shoe, 
 the most easy to the feet of any ever invented, may be rendered, by carelessness or abuse, the most 
 oppressive of any ; for, being naturally made to open and close, it is forced inwards by the nails 
 in shoeing, and may so compress the foot as to occasion more uneasiness than the common shoe ; 
 the nails ever having a greater tendency to the inside and softer parts of the foot. In my early 
 use of this shoe, I entreated the smiths, therefore, to begin with setting it as wide as possible ; 
 but this precaution, though it sometimes succeeded, I found uncertain and insufficient, and that 
 some instrument must be resorted to, to remove this difficulty. I therefore contrived the Distender 
 or Spreader, see letter A, pi. 5, which is only used during the nailing on of the shoes, and after- 
 wards is removed ; it consists of a cross-bar of iron notched at the ends so as to embrace the inner 
 edge of the shoe, and tapped in the middle, to receive a stout steel screw which passes through it, 
 and abuts by one end against the front edge of the shoe ; and is provided also with a turning 
 socket or swivel, having a forked head to embrace the shoe, so that the screw may be freely turned 
 without the socket moving from it's place. By turning the screw to the left, the cross-bar is 
 forced backwards against the narrowing circle of the inside of the shoe, and distends it to your 
 pleasure ; and by the contrary motion of the screw, the bar is sent forwards to the widest parts of 
 the shoe, and admits of it's collapse in any degree required ; or if carried still farther forwards quite 
 to the square shoulder of the screw, the instrument can then be taken out and removed with the 
 fingers. It will therefore permit the nicest adjusture of the holes of the shoe to the middle of the wall 
 of the hoof, and will render unnecessary the often vile practice of knocking the shoe about with the 
 hammer after it has been partially nailed on, by which the nails are often brought to press pain- 
 fully upon the quick. The shoe being nailed and finished, the instrument is removed by turning 
 the screw backwards, and forcing the cross-bar to it's top or shoulder, when it can be twisted round 
 and taken away ; and the screw should ever be kept as short as may be, or it's interfering with 
 the sides of the shoe may render it's removal not so easy. The steel screw at the end is simply 
 squared to admit the application of a turning handle, having a brass or iron socket with a square 
 hole in it, see figure B. 
 
 The cross bar, if it be found too short, can generally be lengthened by being put in the fire 
 and drawn out with the hammer ; or if it be too long, it can be reduced at the ends by a file. 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 I have also at times, in order to lengthen or shorten the cross-bar, made a screw at each end of 
 it, on which a socket or swivel also screwed, worked, and shortened or lengthened it, at pleasure, 
 the socket having a forked extremity to embrace the inner edge or margin of the shoe ; but this 
 method, though convenient, is not so strong or so simple as the former, and the apparatus must 
 ever bear the weight of the horse if he should chance to tread upon it, or it is useless. 
 
 A difficulty often occurred with the cross-bar, if perfectly straight, by its interfering with the 
 frog, if it was at all large or projected ; to overcome this, I formed the bar into an arched or 
 curved form, just sufficient to allow of its passing over it, as may be seen in the figure. This 
 instrument I have generally applied to the shoe after the two first nails have been driven ; at 
 other times before its application to the foot, leaving it loose and easy; for if put on extended to 
 tightness, there can be no farther extension of the shoe when on : any very considerable disten- 
 sion after nailing is wrong, as it forces the nails on the interior of the hoof, since in distending 
 them below, you close them above. 
 
 The size of this screw is a little more than a quarter, but less than three eights of an inch 
 diameter, with a coarse strong thread that a few turns may make it travel a good distance. 
 
 On the Brampton Metal Shoes. 
 
 Having concluded our account of the making the Expansion Shoe from the bar, I shall add a 
 few words on the nealed cast iron, or Brampton Metal Shoes, as they may perhaps hereafter, in 
 many cases, supersede the others with great advantage. 
 
 This metal was first brought into use for horse shoes by Joseph Godwin and Thomas Dudley 
 using it for common and general shoeing ; it was however given up and abandoned after a few 
 years, the latter becoming a bankrupt. I have no doubt however, from what I have seen and 
 experienced in the use of this metal, of the perfect practicability of the proposition, and of it's pos- 
 sessing, especially in some situations and circumstances, many great advantages. Any figure 
 however complex, which the shoe may require, is as easily formed as the most simple where cast 
 metal is used ; and also the workmanship, time and tools, and wayward conduct of men is saved. 
 The figure also is more perfect than the most skilful hand can give ; and we have found them, 
 we have thought, more easy to the horse in using, than those made by hand, which may, perhaps, 
 be attributed to the superior harmony of design throughout in their whole execution. 
 
 The expence will be certainly less than by any other mode. The only drawback in their use, 
 for we shall conceal nothing, is, that the metal is subject to some degree of uncertainty, breaking 
 sometimes before they are worn out ; it therefore becomes a proper inquiry as to the frequency of 
 this, on which will depend their adoption or otherwise. Now this can only be known by much 
 use of the shoes, which alone will enable us to form a just estimate of their value. We have now 
 seen the use of some hundreds, not to say thousands ; and such is the perfection to which they 
 have brought this metal, that we have not known them to break so frequently as to make it an 
 occurrence that we think should forbid their use, for the other shoes will also at times break. 
 
 I have also found a means of trying their goodness before they are applied, by which our secu- 
 rity is increased : which consists in essaying them upon a block of cast iron. This I have made 
 of an oblong square or cubic form, the sides all arched in different degrees of concavity, into, or 
 over, these inverted arches ; — the shoe is put, the shallowest arch, for instance, first, and with a 
 hammer I bend the shoe till it fits that arch; I then go to a deeper, and so on till I'have as- 
 
 D 
 
( io ) 
 
 certained exactly what the metal will bear ; after this there is pretty good security in their wear- 
 ing well, and a whole batch of shoes may be tried, or a single shoe. 
 
 We may also judge prettly well of this metal by breaking a shoe ; if the conversion of the metal 
 has been perfect, the metal generally looks bright and sparkling like wrought metal, at least in 
 degree ; but if the quality of cast metal prevails, a black hue or grain is seen with hardly any 
 metallic splendor. 
 
 The manner of effecting this change in cast metal has not been commonly divulged, but has been 
 practised with considerable secrecy by those who manufacture it. I have been curious to learn 
 what I coidd respecting this process, and what I have been able to obtain I shall keep no secret. 
 
 I first sought the patent office in order to observe what the original patentee had disclosed, and 
 found he had been pretty free and communicative. His patent is dated June 26th, 1804, and after 
 the usual preamble states, that he uses for this purpose what he calls The Steel converting Furnace; 
 and that the cast metal placed in this furnace is to be exposed to the action of iron stone or iron 
 ore, or some metallic oxyd, lime, or any combination of these, reduced to small pieces, or to pow- 
 der, that they might combine with, or consume, the carbon of the cast iron. That the heat should 
 be applied for a long period, and so intensely as to combine the carbon with the above substances, 
 or effect the decomposition of the carbon. 
 
 If the iron is to be rendered perfectly malleable, from one-half to two-thirds of it's weight of 
 iron-stone is to be employed ; if only partially so, a less quantity will suffice. Five or six days 
 will, in general, be found sufficient to continue the heat, which towards the close of the process 
 cannot be too great short of fusing the iron. The cast iron should not be too thick, as it will 
 much lengthen the process. The length of time for the conversion, will also much depend on 
 the nature of the iron used. The iron to be converted should be placed in alternate layers with 
 the composition ; and to prevent the iron ore from adhering to the cast metal, a thin layer of sand 
 should be interposed. 
 
 Such is the patentee's setting forth of his process, in which there appears much candour, and 
 of unreserved open communication. 
 
 The horse shoe being very solid, compared with the articles they were generally used to con- 
 vert, it will no doubt require a much longer time of exposure to the fire. The conversion is, how- 
 ever, as perfectly practicable with thick as well as with thin metal; since we have received formerly 
 from Wolverhanrpton some tablet shoes for cart horses, which wore remarkably well and appeared 
 to be converted quite through their substance. 
 
 I have also learnt from conversations with the manufacturers, that it is not all cast iron that 
 will admit of conversion ; but that the iron which is found in Cumberland, and is obtained from 
 Lancashire under the name of Ulverstone pig, is by far the best. The Shropshire iron runs when 
 melted, and I think he observed, very fluid and thin, and to convert it required an intense degree 
 of heat ; but what is called Old Park pig will do better than any other. I have also been told 
 that most of the Swedish pig iron is particularly well suited for this purpose. 
 
 A Mr. Shuter of Wolverhampton, a manufacturer of this article, was explicit enough on this art 
 to inform me that iron pots were used in the conversion, standing one over another in tiers ; these 
 were closely cemented up with wet sand, so as to be hermetically closed ; for the least aperture 
 would cause the flame to rush in, and burn away or scale the metal. The dimensions of one of 
 these ovens was about a cube of seven or eight feet, with intervals between the rows of pots for the 
 passage of the fire. These pots were of a cylindrical form, with lids to them of about a hundred 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 weight and a half, and were, after being charged with the metal, let down into the furnace by a 
 crane, or by pullies. The iron ore, he observed, was reduced very much by the process, and was 
 almost converted into a metallic state. 
 
 In a large factory near him, they used for their oven a truck or frame of iron placed on wheels, 
 and which being loaded with the pots was drawn in by a horse within the walls of the furnace, 
 and the wheels were then covered over to defend them from the action of the fire ; and when the 
 process was finished, it was drawn out backwards, and the contents removed. 
 
 He observed also, that if the fire was neglected and suffered to go low and the metal to chill, 
 instead of being briskly kept up in rather an increasing heat, the process did not succeed so well, 
 and the metal was not converted; he therefore never ceased to watch it night and day, having a 
 couch near the furnace. 
 
 The material for cementation was a red iron stone, got, I believe, in Somersetshire, which was 
 pulverised ; but this was found, alone, to stick too much to the metal and to scale it, and it was 
 lowered by the admixture of iron ore that had already been burned and used in the process ; as to 
 manganese they never used it. He observed, also, that about the third day of the process, if the 
 heat was a little vigorous, a blue flame was seen to issue from all the sides of the pots, and from 
 any fissure in the sand, and this he considered a good omen ; after this had continued two or three 
 days, there was no more issue of this sort.* 
 
 I have not hesitated to describe all I knew of this process, as it is impossible where so many 
 men are employed, long to make a secret of it to any one determined to bribe or be curious in 
 getting at it ; and I apprehend a very extensive use of it will hereafter be made, especially in 
 complex things or of difficult forging : some of the metal so treated will harden like steel, and 
 knives and razors have often been made with it. 
 
 I have also farther improved these cast shoes by sinking a deep groove in them for the fullering, 
 through the bottom of which, as the metal was thin, there was no difficulty in pritching the holes 
 even when the metal was cold, indeed, best so, as the metal is not then exposed to the risk of 
 injury from overheating in the fire, and as it works kindly cold. One further improvement, 
 which it appears to me may be made in these cast shoes is, to bevil the very inside inner edge, 
 or margin of the shoe, in order, when it meets the ground or a stone, that pressure against this 
 oblique surface may have a tendency to expand the shoe, as is in some degree the case with 
 the natural hoof, especially with the internal surface of the bars or inflections. 
 
 It is well, also, in pritching these cast iron shoes to pritch the two front holes with a pritchel 
 longer and slenderer than is usual at the point, in order to give these two holes a good slope, 
 otherwise the mouth of the hole must be enlarged on the outside, to incline the direction of it 
 enough for conveniently driving these two first nails. 
 
 As these cast shoes of Brampton Metal are formed with more truth of figure and harmony of 
 mtention from carefully-wrought moulds, so in a general way, we have thought them more easy 
 to the feet of the horses. That it is scarcely doubtful with me whether they will not ultimately 
 supersede the wrought metal, and on other accounts than the above, relating to the habits 
 and conduct of the working smiths in this art. However, whether my apprehensions in this 
 respect be verified or not, I have secured the invention by ample directions for making them from 
 the bar. 
 
 * There is little doubt this proceeded from the combustion of the carbon, and was carburetted hydrogen with the phosphates and 
 other admixtures ; this the inventor, Lucas, called the foul part of the cast iron. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 A few objects represented on the fifth plate still remain to be exposed, which have been found 
 necessary in prosecuting these researches. Fig. 5 is a convenient instrument for forcing open 
 the shoe at any time after it has been put on the foot ; the two extremities a a being placed 
 between the two heels of the shoe ; by turning the screw b, we force them asunder, and conse- 
 quently distend the shoe, in order to give it play or to introduce a stretcher between the limbs to 
 keep the heels open. The two extremities a a on the outside, are roughed like a rasp to make it 
 hold the iron of the shoe more firmly, and are also a little concaved. 
 
 Fig. 7 is a sort of wrench made of a shaft of iron with two lateral pieces, which being placed 
 between the limbs of the shoe, force it open, for the same purposes as the former ; it must, 
 however, be used with more caution, or it may do harm from over distension. Other stops may 
 be placed along the shaft at different distances to accommodate different shoes, and such may be 
 either rivetted in, or screwed, in which case holes screwed may be formed so as to suit almost any 
 sized shoe. 
 
 Fig. 8 is a tablet shoe without rivets, two nipples at the back of the tablet serve to hold the two 
 halves of the shoe : the fullering or channel for the nails is also cast in it, and afterwards 
 pritched through or perforated : also the two notches a a are cast in this shoe for receiving the 
 bar or stretcher, see fig. 9. which bar is applied after the shoe has been nailed on the foot. In 
 the wrought shoes we cut this piece out at one stroke by a tool having a bolster and a stamp fixed 
 on a center, fig. 13. These bars may always be used in the stable, and we have often used them 
 out, but they are not so well calculated for this service. The very margin or inner edge of this 
 shoe is bevelled outwards to give it a tendency when it meets the ground or the side of a stone 
 to determine it outwards, to extend the foot in this direction. A shoe with the stretcher applied, 
 is seen fig. 10, which is let in whilst the shoe is distended by the instruments, fig. 5 or 7: it is 
 almost unnecessary to add that no violence should be used with these instruments, but the 
 gentlest measures. 
 
 Fig. 1 1 is a view of the shoe mentioned at page 6, where the rivets or centers of motion are 
 at the very extremity of the two limbs, that the friction of the extra-central piece should be 
 entirely removed, and that the least lateral force may distend them, and this more especially if 
 the tablet be battened out so as to receive the bearing of the immediate front parts of the hoof, 
 and remove any, or at least any very considerable pressure, from these, upon the points of motion. 
 In this shoe the cylindrical nipples are passed through the tablet, and rivetted in front. The 
 stretching bar also is here differently applied, being passed through the web of the shoe, which 
 i^ extended and hollowed out above to receive it, — the shoe closing upon the notch, prevents its 
 escape. A blunt stamp tool is used for making this hollow in the web, and the metal, by being 
 thus rendered very thin, is easily perforated through into a square hole. 
 
 The heels of these shoes have been left more square than the diagram describes, pi. 1, fig. 1, in 
 order to receive the intertortional column, which will take place if the shoe be shorter than would 
 be required when this part is cut away to a more acute angle ; care must however be taken that 
 it does not at all interfere with the bar itself, as the least pressure there would infallibly occasion 
 
 Fig. 20 is the distender with its cross bar A, and turning handle B, described already. 
 
TOOLS FOR MAKING THE SHOE. 
 
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 TOOLS FOR FORMING THE TABLET. 
 
 
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Pl. VI. 
 
 Or Supplementary Plate. 
 
 FIG. 1. Common Unilateral Shoe. — This Shoe is faulty in being liable to come off. Also in 
 
 having the heels progressively thickening hi their extremities, musing a violent pressure upwards against the foot, 
 producing pain, and often eechymosis or Corns, and so little do horses often bring the heels to the ground frompain, 
 that the shoe when taken off, and worn out at the toe, is frequently seen not to be sensibly worn in these parts. 
 This thickening of the iron ever creates an unnecessary weight for the horse to carry, as also a waste of iron 
 to the smith. 
 
 FIG. 2. The Unilateral Shoe improved by B. C.—Two clips are made to embrace the sides 
 
 of the pince rendering the sh e vastly more firm. The quarters on, I heels ore mode thinner posteriorly, which 
 without weakening the shoe m its wearing parts renders it lighter behind where it is wanted. The reduced iron also 
 in this shoe is turned down to form calkins, giving the horse great advantages by determining his tread and rest 
 to the stronger parts of the foot. It prevents also any unnecessary battering upon the ground of the 
 ftirch, and inflexions. The inside calkin, a, is cut obliquely off, that it may be less liable to injure the opposite 
 coronet. By these improvements the simple nailed shoe is perhaps carried nearly as far as it ever will be carried 
 in its approaches to the natural laws of the foot. See Podoph. p. 59. 
 
 FIG. 3. Is another mode of terminating the heels of this shoe by a convolution of the iron, which 
 gives the elevation requisite, and removes the apprehended danger from the calkins, but which, if the foot has 
 liberty, and is not benumbed by being embraced on both sides by the nails, and if the reins are at all judiciously used, 
 is not so great a danger as is generally imagined. — The sharp' edge of the convolution may be filed off next the other- 
 foot, or it may receii'e a semi-globular figure by impression while hot, in a mould. 
 
TESTIMONIES 
 
 COMMUNICATED 
 
 BY VARIOUS PERSONS IN FAVOR 
 
 of the EXPANSION SHOE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, 
 BY C.RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, CHARING CROSS, 
 
 AND SOLD BY T. & G. UNDERWOOD, FLEET STREET. 
 1828. 
 
 [Entered at Stationers' Hall.'] 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 These Testimonies are brought forward in order to convince the public of the 
 practicability and pre-eminent advantages of the new system of Expansion Shoeing. 
 One would suppose that so obvious an improvement in the shoeing of horses, would 
 have hardly needed any testimony in its support, being so very natural when shown 
 and explained; it has met however such unreasonable resistance from persons 
 interested in suppressing it, and others whose opposition is almost unaccountable, 
 that the Author has thought proper to adopt this course, in order to remove all doubt 
 from the minds of those who are looking on with unprejudiced eyes and wishing to 
 be satisfied of its value and utility. 
 
 There is one circumstance to be remarked in making these testimonies public, 
 that we are obliged to give them as we find them, with all the ideas their separate 
 writers entertained ; some of which as they certainly militate against the author's 
 own reasonings, he does not consider himself at all answerable for, every individual 
 viewing the subject in a somewhat different light, of course is alone responsible 
 for his own peculiar views. The parties who supplied them are above all suspicion 
 of collusion, men of sense, education, and stability, that would not easily be deceived, 
 and whose suffrages could not be purchased. 
 
 The Inventor of the Shoe has no patent rights to serve in pressing it upon the 
 public, or hopes of obtaining any pecuniary benefit, the discovery has only been to 
 him from its commencement a source of heavy expence without profit, but this has 
 never been his object, and in refusing, contrary to the solicitations of his friends to 
 take out a patent, he was actuated solely by a wish that the public and the horses 
 should derive the fullest advantage from so important a discovery. But it has been 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 the fate of almost every valuable improvement in the useful arts to be for some time 
 neglected, unheeded, and opposed, and the owners of horses have hitherto suffered them- 
 selves to be deterred by the opposition of their grooms, the ignorance of blacksmiths, 
 and the various difficulties with which the subject was at first encumbered, from 
 adopting a plan which is calculated to prolong the services of these useful and costly 
 animals to perhaps a double period, and with comfort to themselves. It has unfortu- 
 nately happened that many persons with full faith in the system, have made trials of the 
 shoe in its imperfect state, and meeting with difficulties have renounced the principle 
 altogether. A persuasion has also gone abroad that the Expansion Shoe is solely 
 intended to cure contraction and the evils of the common method, whereas it must 
 be obvious that were it generally adopted, these diseases would never exist, or in 
 other words be prevented, and the feet of the horses would be preserved in their 
 original state, which next to protection, should be the paramount consideration of a 
 shoe.* But these misapprehensions and the formidable difficulties which have hitherto 
 retarded the adoption of this valuable discovery, are now passing away together, 
 and it is confidently hoped that these testimonies, from men whose veracity and 
 experience no one can reasonably doubt, will have a considerable effect in facilitating 
 so desirable a result. 
 
 * In consequence, the New Shoe has been hitherto chiefly applied to the contracted feet of horses 
 which could no longer go in common shoes, under such circumstances it was unfair to condemn its want of 
 success in every instance, though it will be seen it has afforded opportunities of accomplishing many remark- 
 able cures, and has in a general way succeeded. 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 TESTIMONIES, &c. 
 
 Pangboum, December 25, 1819. 
 My Dear Friend, 
 
 I have very great pleasure in stating to you the result of my experience of your invaluable 
 Expansion Horse Shoes ; my little horse, which is but three years and a half old, has been 
 shod with them ever since I have had him, and before then he was unshod. His feet are in ex- 
 cellent condition, no signs of contraction evident ; but on! the contrary they continue to expand 
 and grow with the other parts of his body. His style of trotting is remarked by all my neighbours 
 as being admirable, which I attribute entirely to the Expansion Shoes. 
 
 I shall at all times feel a pleasure in shewing his feet to any persons you may refer to me, 
 and you are at full liberty to make any use of this that can tend to the establishment of so desirable 
 a mode of shoeing. 
 
 I remain, 
 Very truly, your Friend, 
 
 W. H. BAZING. 
 
 (My worthy friend W. H. Bazing, continued to use this Horse for four or five years after this, always with expansion shoes, 
 except on one or two occasions where he could not get them. Afterwards having need of a stouter horse he sold him to a Gentleman 
 of his acquaintance, who shod him with common shoes and with one bad measure upon the back of another he did not survive it 
 more than about twelve months. — Editor.) 
 
 Extract of a Letter from John Hall, Esq. 
 
 Pinney House, Devonshire, 
 
 January 10, 1820. 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 The horse I shod four years ago with the Jointed Shoe, has been continued in the same 
 
 method to the present day, and his foot presents a beautiful specimen of the intentions of nature 
 
 in the construction of the foot of that noble animal. He is in the possession of my friend, Thomas 
 
 Heme, Esq. of Long Street House, Enford, Wilts ; to whom I parted with him, on account of the 
 
 superior goodness of his feet, and firm method of treading on them. It is proper to remark that 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 this horse had been shod upwards of eighteen months in the common way, and that contraction 
 had evidently begun. Since I have resided here I have invariably used, and with success, the 
 Jointed Shoe ! — one instance is within the reach of your knowledge, my friend ; — it is of a young 
 mare I purchased, that had never been shod, and which I broke in myself for my worthy friend 
 Joseph Wassell, No. 9, Pickett Street, Temple Bar, where she may be seen ;— she has never been 
 shod in any other method than jointed shoes. 
 
 And believe me always, your sincere Friend, 
 
 JOHN HALL. 
 
 Bristol, December 26, 1819. 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 Having made a trial of the Expansion Shoe, recommended in your Stereoplea, upon a 
 mare that became an early cripple, I shall have much pleasnre in communicating to you the re- 
 sult of its operation, and I believe the best will be to inform you under what circumstances it was 
 applied. The animal was pretty well bred and shod the day on which she completed her fourth 
 year, with the first expansion shoes, and having been shod at the same forge, before the third 
 year of her being in use, she began to go near the ground and tender, so much so, that riding 
 her became unsafe. She was broke into harness, which rendered her rather more useful for a 
 short time, but she soon became lame, and was obliged to be turned out ; and in her coming into 
 use again, her paces were crippling and bad. About this time I obtained from you some shoes 
 with the rivet head, and applied them — the effect was instantaneous ; instead of walking in a gig 
 down many of our steep hills at the rate of two miles an hour, as she had been accustomed to do, 
 her pace was increased to the rate of five miles, and with the greatest safety, and there is great 
 reason to believe she will be a very useful animal for some years, in consequence of this great 
 discovery. 
 
 1 am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your obliged Friend, 
 
 EDWARD SHEPPARD. 
 
 No. 19, SwithirCs Lane, 
 
 November 18, 1819. 
 To Mr. BRACY CLARK. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I have used your Joint Shoe upon the fore feet of my last two horses, and am certain 
 they have proved of the greatest service in preventing contraction. 
 
 You are at perfect liberty to make use of this communication in any way you 
 think proper. 
 
 I remain, Dear Sir, 
 
 Respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 JOSEPH TRAVERS. 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 TO MR. CHAELES CLARK, VETERINARY SURGEON. 
 
 33, Montague Square. 
 Sir, 
 
 I AM sony to have delayed answering your note, having been much engaged in my pro- 
 fessional occupations. I am happy, however, in the opportunity of bearing testimony to the ad- 
 vantages of the system of shoeing recommended by Mr. Bracy Clark. In examining the 
 merits of any new system, it is often right to advert to the character of the individual who re- 
 commends it, and it is highly satisfactory, in this instance, to know that Mr. Clark possesses deep 
 and most accurate knowledge of his art, both as to the anatomy and physiology of the horse, 
 (more especially as regards the foot of the animal, the anatomy of which he has most happily eluci- 
 dated) ; and also that he has an enlarged and cultivated mind, not liable to be swayed by preju- 
 dice, or to be blinded by theory. Although the evidence of an obscure individual can be of little 
 weight in a subject of such imp'ortant and extensive application, yet it may be satisfactory to those 
 who are interested in the improved mode of shoeing, to know the extent of my experience in it. 
 
 I have at this moment a horse, which has been shod 7 years with the Expansion Shoe. I 
 was driven to its employment by necessity ; I have continued it from the strong conviction of its 
 benefits. It is more than seven years ago that I purchased the horse to which I allude, — he was 
 then four years old, had done no work, and had a colt's foot, as round and in as fine order as ever 
 was seen. The work of the horse of a medical man in the country in good practice, is no trifle, 
 and this animal had his full share of it. The smith I employed was one of those native talents 
 whom we sometimes meet with — a good workman, who can apply a common shoe better than any 
 man I have ever met with. My horse had not been worked more than six months, before he be- 
 gan to stumble and blunder — went tender on his fore feet, and at last was very near falling with 
 me. I was convinced that the defect was not in the animal, but in the shoeing ; and I consulted a 
 Veterinary Surgeon, a pupil of the Veterinaiy College, and of considerable practice in Bristol. 
 He assured me that the cause of the evil was corns ; and he stated to me that corns were 
 produced by improper pressure, and contraction of the foot. The treatment recommended was 
 singular. He said that the best plan was to expand the heel, by putting on a bar shoe, which, 
 by taking the bearing of the frog, would thus cause the frog to expand the heel of the foot. It 
 is difficult to imagine how the foot of a horse can, by any possibility, be made to expand by 
 nailing a ring of iron to it, — one would imagine that such treatment was the most certain possible 
 way to prevent such an effect, and that it was most calculated to keep the walls of the hoof in one 
 situation, without any possibility of their expansion, — yet the contrary is the idea which has ob- 
 tained among the veterinary surgeons of the present day, and they have founded their practice 
 upon it. Thus, Mr. Coleman's patent shoe is intended to take the pressure of the frog, and so 
 to expand the foot, the frog being supposed to act as a wedge. The foundation of bad practice is 
 defective physiology ; and this idea of the use of the frog, has led to the worst results. 
 
 Although my horse was somewhat relieved, yet I was convinced, on reflection, that this 
 treatment was by no means calculated to effect a radical cure, or to obviate the recurrence of 
 similar evils. It was then that my attention was directed to the Expansion Shoe, recommended 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 by Mr. Bracy Clark. The smith I employed was induced to take pains with it, and he made 
 a very tolerable set of shoes, and has continued to make them for me ever since, till the last 
 twelvemonths that I have been in London, or its neighbourhood. The advantages of this plan 
 have been the following:— 1st. The preventing the evil of corns; 2dly, the horse, although he 
 has been worked night and day for seven years, has a foot as round as a colt, and as expansible 
 at the heel as if a shoe had never been worn ; 3dly, instead of being puffy and strained in the 
 joints, he is as clean in the legs as a two year old. There has been no inflammation of the feet, 
 the consequence of contraction, or of inflammation extending up the leg ; but he is free from 
 all the evils consequent upon long shoeing in the common way. 4thly, he steps flat and full on 
 the ground, so that the sound of his foot is recognised by persons accustomed to him. 5thly, he 
 does not know how to stumble. 
 
 I will conclude with two observations, the result of pretty extensive experience. 1st, 
 That the frog of the horse is not destined to receive primary pressure, but only secondary 
 pressure. When the foot expands, the frog comes to the ground ; but if it receives the first im- 
 pulse of the weight of the animal, inflammation and lameness is the consequence. 2dly, I believe 
 corns are constantly produced by pressure on the bars, and that is caused by the shoes not being 
 bevelled off at the heel, which they ought to be to the inside. 
 
 It is fair to add, that the mode in which my horse has been shod by your workmen at the 
 forge in Gray's-inn-lane, has been perfectly satisfactory; and excepting once, when the shoe 
 pr essed on the bar of the foot, the horse has always gone with perfect ease and comfort. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 J. C. COX, Surgeon, Montague Square. 
 
 Staines, 9th mo. 24th, 1827. 
 My esteemed Friend, 
 
 I fear that I have no sufficient apology to offer for my negligence in not sending some 
 testimonial of my approbation of the Expansion Shoe, but I sent a message some weeks ago 
 by our common friend Charles Trimmer, to say that I had been prevented from fulfilling the ex- 
 pectations that I gave thee, partly by numerous engagements, and partly by a dislike to enter into 
 any controversy ; and I feared that I should inevitably fall into the latter, through the warm in- 
 terest which the Lancet takes in your invention, if I 6ent any account, however small, to the 
 Editor of that very useful, though somewhat acrimonious work, of which I am a constant reader. 
 
 I certainly can have no objection to state that I have used the Expansion Shoes uninterruptedly 
 for more than eight years ; that I am fully convinced of their utility ; that they have been the means 
 of my continuing the use of two horses for several years, whose services would otherwise have been 
 lost ; and that I am persuaded, if prejudices could be got rid of, it would be regarded as the 
 greatest improvement in shoeing the horse which has ever been proposed. But there are a few 
 difficulties to surmount before it can be properly appreciated, and as these unfortunately occur, 
 chiefly, on its first adoption, it demands a patient and unprejudiced mind to encounter them. 
 
 In the first place it requires considerable skill in the application of the shoe, to fix it firmly on 
 the foot, without nailing it too deeply. If the former is not done the wall or crust will be apt to 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 split : — if the latter is done the horse will probably be lame from wound or improper pressure on 
 the sensible part of the foot. But a good smith soon acquires the art of doing it properly and 
 effectually, and I have now no more trouble than with common shoes. In the next place, if the 
 rivet or rivets in the front of the shoe are not well made, and of tough iron, they are liable to 
 break ; and the shoe becoming loose on one or both sides, may hurt the opposite leg before it is 
 discovered. But this never happens to my horses,* because the smith is aware of it, and takes care 
 to prevent it, which is easily done, and wants nothing but attention. Again, as the front of the 
 shoe, or tablet, is made of good steel, it wears so slowly that the shoes want to be removed, at 
 least once, before they are worn out ; and, not attending to this, the foot is apt to grow too long in 
 front ; and the sole sometimes becomes too thick, and occasions uneasiness to the horse, before it 
 is thought of. This, however, it is clear that a little care will prevent. How it happens, in this 
 enlightened age, that the advantages of the expansion shoe are not understood, or not profited by, 
 has often surprized me. When the structure of the horse's foot is considered, — that it is altogether 
 formed on a principle of elasticity ; and that a free play of the parts is essential to preserve it in 
 good health, — that the expanding property of the shoe allows of this play, — and that without this, 
 or some similar contrivance, the foot of a shod horse must be immoveably fixed, and all such play 
 prevented ; it seems more befitting an age of ignorance than of knowledge to oppose the improve- 
 ment because it does not emanate from the college. I have no doubt at all of the eventual success 
 of the invention. If the English will not adopt it, foreigners will ; and to them, and especially to 
 the Americans, we must look for the unfettered employment of the improvements of others, and a 
 large increase of inventions of their own ; — the natural consequences of the emancipation of the 
 mind from the influence of power, and prejudice, and narrow and exclusive interests. 
 
 Wishing thee success in thy undertaking to the full extent of thy wishes, I am, with kind 
 regards to thy uncle Bracy Clark, 
 
 Thy sincere friend, 
 
 W. TOTHILL. 
 
 P.S. If this letter, or any part of it, will be of service in forwarding thy views, thou art at liberty 
 to make use of it ; only don't draw me into contention, which I detest. 
 
 bourne, May 26th, 1822. 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 I was in great hopes I shoidd have had the pleasure of a letter from you when at 
 Birmingham, or on your return : but suppose that constant attention in promoting the advance- 
 ment of your invaluable system has prevented it. I should have written to you before now if I knew 
 you were at home, but as you said you intended going to France on your return from the country, 
 I was in doubt whether to write or not ; but I have now something to communicate that I am 
 sure will give my friend great pleasure, and therefore must immediately set about it; it is this 
 following triumphant fact ! A gentleman of the name of Jones, who travels for the house of 
 Francis and Child, of Ludgate Hill, was staying a few days at Pangbourne. His mare, natu- 
 
 * Nor did it ever to my knowledge with aDy horse whatever, the shoulder preventing it. Editor. 
 
( io ) 
 
 rally a very good one, was very lame from " shoeing upon unnatural principles," and hearing that 
 my little horse was shod in a manner different from the common mode, he obtained an interview 
 with me through his lady, and upon my explaining to him the nature and elastic principle of the 
 hoof, by means of your beautiful model, he was so convinced of the truth of the doctrine, and the 
 advantages of the expansion shoes, that he was anxious to shoe his mare with them ; fortunately 
 I had by me the pair of shoes made by you for Shackel's horse, which had not been put on as he 
 had bad corns, and I did not like to risk their credit with him ; they exactly fitted the mare, and 
 were applied on Monday the 13th. The next afternoon he took her out in the chaise for the first 
 time, and on his return he came to our house a good deal alarmed, as he said the mare was so 
 lame he had the greatest difficulty in keeping her on her legs, and wished to have the shoes off ; 
 but I dissuaded him, and assured him it was merely from the new situation the feet were in, and 
 that they would adapt themselves to the shoes ; he requested me to take a ride with him the next 
 day, as he was going to Oxford on his journey, — to which I agreed. We set of about twelve from 
 here, dined at WaUingford, proceeded on to Oxford, baited, went on to Islip, where he did busi- 
 ness, then on to Bleckington, where he had business, and then to Woodstock, where we arrived 
 about ten at night, a distance of forty miles, and which the mare performed with apparent ease. 
 I drove her myself the whole way, and although so lame the day before, she hardly even limped 
 or tripped once. Mr. Jones, I need not add, was most agreeably surprized. Next morning I drove 
 to Oxford in less than fifty minutes, and returned by the Dart, Reading and Oxford coach, leaving 
 him to perform his journey in excellent spirits towards London. You may very well imagine I 
 was much delighted at witnessing the improvement in his mare, but that was much increased upon 
 receiving from him, yesterday the following note. 
 
 " Mr. W. H. Basing. 
 
 " London, May 28, 1822. 
 " Respected Sir, 
 
 " You will undoubtedly pardon my freedom in writing for your satisfaction, as well as my 
 own, — through taking your kind as well as friendly advice, which I shall ever feel in gratitude 
 particularly obliged for. The mare being shod by Mr. B. Clark's Expansion Shoe, improved 
 daily, and felt much less of the lameness, insomuch that I extended my journey further than T 
 intended, and was home in London on Sunday morning last ; instead of that I did not anticipate 
 reaching town till Tuesday evening or Wednesday. When I left you at Oxford on Thursday last, 
 we plainly perceived the mare went much better the short time we were together ; but that was 
 nothing to compare to what she performed the latter part of the journey, the distance being very 
 far and the heat of weather all against her ; but that seemed to make no sort of difference, as she 
 went as light in hand as ever I have known her to do. I am just now going into Kent and Sussex 
 with her, and have no doubt shall bring her home better than when I started, which result I will 
 avail myself the opportunity of letting you know when I return, which will be, if all's well, in or 
 about a fortnight's time. Please to accept my sincere thanks of gratitude, which I shall ever 
 consider myself indebted to you for your polite attention towards me. 
 
 " I am, Sir, your's mast respectfully, 
 
 " CALEB JONES." 
 
 Now this, my dear friend, is what I consider a triumph indeed ; lameness almost immediately 
 relieved ! ! and an extended journey performed in less time by two or three days, than the original 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 journey was set at ! If this will not convince even prejudiced minds, nothing will. I have now to 
 request you to make two pair of shoes for a gentleman of the name of Dell, who lives at Reading, 
 and has got a well-bred mare. From my explanation he is anxious to have her shod with Ex- 
 pansion Shoes, and I think her a fit subject for them, as she is but six years old, and shews no 
 other symptom of pain from fetters, than going very much upon her toes. Please to send the 
 shoes directed to me at the Broad Face, Reading, as soon as you can. I very much wish to see 
 you. Can't you come for a day or two this summer ; it will afford us both, I trust, much grati- 
 fication. I remain your sincere friend, 
 
 W. H. BAZING. 
 P. S. — Five inches is the size of the mare's foot. 
 
 Hertford, July 30th, 1824. 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 I am sorry that I have delayed so long writing to thee, on the subject of the jointed shoe, 
 but several circumstances have occurred to prevent my sooner addressing thee. As I have used 
 these shoes more than three years on one horse, thou wished me to give thee my opinion on this 
 subject. In consequence of my conversing sometimes about shoeing, I have had oppor- 
 tunities of seeing several kinds, all of which I have been informed will prevent contrac- 
 tion, but these are evidently illusive ideas, as the shoes are formed of a solid ring, which, 
 when fastened on a body capable of expanding and contracting must prevent its natural 
 action. It is my decided opinion that contraction from shoeing cannot take place 
 under the use of thy jointed shoe. My mare was five years old when I bought her, and of course 
 had been shod some time, and, judging from the shape of the hoofs, contraction had already begun, 
 — a pattern of the hoof was taken, and on comparing it with the hoof at the present time, no 
 further contraction has occurred. I have generally used thy shoes, but when I have used the 
 common kind, I find she does not step out so freely as when shod with the jointed. In the 
 country I find some difficulty in having them put on properly, and unless the owner of the horse is 
 present, a farrier will often use nails with too large a body, and thus endanger splitting the wall 
 or perhaps cut the sole and frog, or with the view of increasing the beauty of nature, rasp away 
 the external covering of the wall, which no doubt is as useful to the horse's foot as the cuticle is 
 to the cutis in the human subject. Thy shoes wear much longer than the common shoe, and I 
 particularly noticed how long the first pair lasted, which I think was three months, and then a 
 fresh piece of steel was added to the toe, and they were worn one month longer. My mare treads 
 remarkably even, which may in some measure account for the length of time.* 
 
 I am thy obliged friend, 
 
 RICHARD SHILLITOE. 
 
 It has been this valuable property that has occasioned these shoes to be much abused. Editor. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 It is with pleasure that I hear testimony to the great advantages of the Expansion 
 Tablet Shoe, having used it for ahout two years, till I lost the horse by an accident from the 
 kick of another horse, and by which shoeing his feet and manner of going were improved in a 
 remarkable degree. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINGHAM. 
 Edmonton, June 18, 1823. 
 
 THE TESTIMONY OF WM. SMITH, ESQ. REGENT'S PARK. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I think it but justice to you to say, that my horse, a light cart horse, was dreadfully lame 
 from ring bones, so much so, that I was inclined to sell him for any thing he would fetch. Since 
 he has been shod with the Expansion Shoes, he has done his work remarkably well, without 
 once being lame since he had them, and is to me a very useful horse, and is well worth £40. 
 I have also shod a gig horse and a saddle horse with Expansion Shoes, with evident advantage 
 to their going. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, with great respect, 
 
 Your's most truly, 
 
 W. SMITH. 
 
 TO CHARLES CLARK, SIDMOUTH MEWS, GRAY'S-INN LANE. 
 
 Coggeshall, 12th mo. 6th, 1827. 
 Dear Friend, 
 
 For the last three years we have shod twenty horses, used in all capacities, somewhat 
 upon the expansion system, so much and justly recommended by thy uncle Bracy Clark. 
 The shoe we use is but the common shoe in shape, nailed across the toe and on one side only, 
 which not only admits of the natural expansion of the foot, but costs no more than the common 
 shoe. By this system we have been enabled to use many horses, which by the usual mode 
 of shoeing, had become so contracted in the feet as to be useless on the road. In consequence of 
 our horses' feet doing so well under this system, many of our more enlightened neighbours have 
 been induced to adopt it, and also very much approve the system ; and at no distant period we 
 do expect this mode of shoeing upon the principle of expansion must and will supersede all others. 
 Any use thee or thy uncle may feel inclined to make of the above, will meet with my sanction* 
 
 J. V. BRIGHTWEN. 
 
 * Having a professional call to Coggeshall on other business a few months ago, I visited this stable of horses, which are draft 
 horses chiefly, used for carrying out the beer, and the round and beautiful form of their feet, the soundness of the frogs, 
 not one being suffered ever to be cut, and their firm and wholesome appearance surpassed any thing I had ever before seen, and I be- 
 lieve may challenge the United Kingdom to show so uniformly at least, in all these respects, the like in a stable so numerous. Edit. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 MR. BLOXAM ON MR. BRACY CLARK'S PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY 
 SHOEING. 
 
 To the Editor of The Lancet. 
 Sir, 
 
 From a fifteen years' intimate acquaintance with the doctrines and principles of Mr. 
 Bracy Clark, I feel perfectly justified in stating, that the views he has of the structure of the 
 horse's foot, and of shoes suited to that structure, are perfectly correct, true, and necessary ; and 
 that time only, and more extended practice, (for reasoning there is none to oppose them,) are 
 wanting, to make these principles generally admitted by the world. As far as army or regimental 
 rules would permit, I have constantly adhered to this gentleman's directions in my practice, and 
 can proudly say, in support of them, that in no regiment were the horses' feet in better condition 
 than in the 1st Life Guards. 
 
 In order to prevent, in some degree, the mischievous consequences which inevitably result 
 from the use of the common prison shoe, I have for many years caused the young horses under my 
 care to be shod with small tips only, until four years old. 
 
 The Expansion Shoe, being a discovery of more recent date, is not yet introduced into the 
 British Army ; so that I can only bear this general testimony to the truth of those principles, 
 which make such a mode of defence imperative to the perfect well-being of that beautiful and 
 elastic organ, the horse's foot. 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 SAMUEL BLOXAM, 
 Tliirty years Vet. Surgeon, 1st Life Guards. 
 
 TO BRACY CLARK, 7, TAUNTON PLACE, REGENT'S PARK. 
 
 Berkhampstead, 1st mo. 8th, 1824. 
 I suppose my friend Bracy Clark will be almost ready to think I have been unmindful 
 of his kindness respecting my horse, but I can assure him that is not the case ; I was desirous of 
 ascertaining fully the utility of the expansion shoe, before I said much about it, and I think I may 
 now state that with respect to my horse I have effectually proved their value, for before I used 
 them I had almost made up my mind to destroy the horse, not liking to part with him, as being a 
 valuable old servant, for I knew that if he was not fit for my service, which is a comparatively 
 easy place for a horse, he would not be very suitable for any other ; in this state I applied to thee 
 as a last resource, and I am glad to find it has succeeded beyond my expectation ; he now sets his 
 feet firmly on the ground, and since the first day that he had the expansion shoe put on, I do not 
 recollect that he has gone lame, but has continued to improve in going, and appears to go in 
 every respect more pleasantly to himself and much more so to the driver. I have attended particu- 
 larly to thy instructions respecting his hoofs, and have not had them pared since, and I doubt not 
 they are much better for it 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 I did not like to trouble thee with the shoe that broke, as my blacksmith's son (who is an in- 
 genious young man) seemed to wish to repair it, and thought he could do it very well. I suffered 
 him to undertake it, and I find he has done it very well ; he has also made one on the expansion 
 principle, which likewise answers the purpose very well, and he seems desirous of giving satis- 
 faction therein. 
 
 I had intended to have been in town before this time, but my engagements have prevented 
 me ; when I come I intend giving thee a call, in the mean time, I remain 
 
 Thy sincere friend, 
 
 THOMAS SQUIRE. 
 
 Two years after I received the following note from the same gentleman : 
 
 Berkhampstead, 8th mo. 16th, 1826. 
 Thomas Squire will be obliged by his friend Bracy Clark furnishing him with two 
 pair of shoes like the one sent, as he finds no other shoe will prevent his horse remaining lame. 
 
 36, Stamford St. Blackfriars, December 31, 1827. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I feel happy in bearing testimony to the very great advantage of your expansion shoe, 
 over that of the common one, which has been proved in the following instance. My thorough- 
 bred horse, Napoleon, became very much contracted in the feet, in consequence of having been 
 kept shod for two years and a half, (mostly in the stable) without being used, during the time that 
 I was confined in Ilchester gaol ; at this time he was rising six years old, and having done but 
 very little work, in all other respects he was quite in his prime. Finding that from the numbness 
 of his feet he became unsafe to ride, and unpleasant to drive, in consequence of very severe cutting, 
 I was induced to send him always to the veterinary college to have him shod, still he got worse 
 and worse, his fetlock joints became much enlarged and callous, from the constant battering of his 
 feet against his legs, and in spite of the wadded boots which he constantly wore, he seldom 
 returned from his work without his legs being in a gore of blood, and at length, by the speedy 
 cut, he became so lame, as to be totally unfit for use ; being a favorite, I sent him repeatedly to 
 the veterinary college, where he remained for a month or six weeks at a time, without obtaining 
 the desired relief, and Mr. Sewell recommended me to dispose of him as useless. Accident threw me 
 in your way, and you recommended the expansion shoe, which was immediately tried with success ; 
 before he had worn the first set of shoes half out, he was so much relieved as entirely to get rid of 
 the cutting. He has been now shod with your expansion shoe twelve months, during which time 
 he has been in constant work in my vans over the stones in London, has never cut since, and is 
 now as sound and with as good feet as he had when he was three years old, and instead of being 
 totally useless, he is now, (solely owing to your shoeing) the most usefrd and valuable horse I have. 
 
 I am, dear Sir, yours very sincerely, 
 
 HENRY HUNT. 
 P. S. When I related this case to Mr. Sewell, he admitted that the expansion shoe was the 
 perfection of shoeing, if it could be made to keep on as well as the common shoe. In this you have 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 now completely succeeded : since you have shod my horse I find the shoes remain on firm till they 
 are worn out, although my horse goes over the stones of London, with a heavy load, four days in 
 a week on a average, from twenty to thirty miles a day. The shoes he has on now, have heen in 
 wear upwards of five weeks. 
 
 To Mr. C. Clark, Sidmouth Mews, Grm/s-inn-lane. 
 
 Besides the miserable consequences of the common shoe upon the foot, pointed 
 out in my works, I am satisfied also that a very large share of the untowardness 
 and vicious dispositions in horses, may be attributed to the miserable pains and con- 
 dition of their feet, and what can be more natural than that continual suffering should 
 produce such effects. The following extract of a letter not intended by the writer 
 for publication, will confirm and illustrate this fact; it was written from Pangbourne, 
 Sep. 6, 1821. 
 
 " When I last had the pleasure of your company, I mentioned to you that I was obliged 
 to put a pair of fetters (that is common shoes) on my horse, from being out of the expansion shoes, 
 and the following is the result of four or five days' wear, after which I went to London : great 
 sluggishness and disinclination to travel, which was noticed both by my uncle and myself ; and 
 if forced by the whip to mend his pace, I observed the scapulae to rise alternately above the 
 withers, as if he intended to shift the weight of his body from his feet to his shoulder, but the 
 mended pace almost immediately degenerated into a shuffling trot ; he also went very much off 
 his appetite, almost refusing both hay and corn ; but which returned, without any administration 
 of medicine, upon replacing the expansion shoes ; whether the latter circumstance arose from 
 pain in his feet, I am not able to determine, but my uncle witnessed it with myself* Mrs. B. and 
 my uncle present their best respects, and very sincerely, I remain 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 W. H. BAZING. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having a Gig-Horse much given to tripping, I was lately induced to make a trial of your 
 Expansion Shoes, and I beg now (as an act of common justice) to offer my testimony of their 
 superiority over those in common use. Though an aged horse, (and therefore not the best qualified 
 to do justice to the invention,) he can now trot down hill with considerable ease and safety, — 
 whereas before the above trial, it was scarcely prudent to trust him beyond a walk down even the 
 smallest declivity. On level ground too he goes with much more freedom ; and, what I think of 
 some importance, his feet, after a moderate journey, are now cool and comfortable, instead of being 
 hot and inflamed, as they used to be, under similar circumstances. 
 
 You are welcome to make what use you please of this communication from, 
 
 Sir, &c. &c. 
 
 H. J. HILL, Great Portland Street. 
 
 * My own marc I sold to a gentleman in 1820, in common shoes ; she so tripped and tumbled with him, that he sent her back to 
 me as too dangerous to ride. I had her shoes taken off, and Expansion Shoes put on; her manner of going was so improved, that it 
 became delightful to ride her, and from a fretful, sour, unpleasant disposition, she became gay and cheerful. Editor. 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 Several of these cases, if they had been taken to our present Veterinary College, 
 would have been pronounced foundered, though only with simple contraction in a 
 distressing degree, and then the abominable operation of nerving would have next been 
 proposed for them, of which we shall have to give some day a more extended account. 
 — It would not have been difficult to have produced more than double the number of 
 these testimonies, if such proof was deemed necessary, but we believe they would 
 rather encumber and tire, than assist in proving the utility of this discovery. If these 
 proofs will not be received, neither will thousands ; — thus we abstain, for the present 
 at least, from further addition in this respect. 
 
 In order to bring these shoes, upon the new principle, within a moderate expence, (without 
 which one could hardly hope for their being generally adopted,) a more than usual share of pains, 
 labor, and expence, was used in finding out the readiest way of forming them from the bar iron, and 
 of which process we propose to give an insidated account in the following subjoined essay, reserv- 
 ing nothing, — so that to the practical mechanic, who does not care much about elements or prin- 
 ciples, this part of our essay will have the greatest interest, — and by which this desirable object 
 has been so far obtained that many smiths could make them in a very little more time than in 
 making the common circle shoe. Notwithstanding this however, I propose to conclude this 
 account with observations on making them with the new nealedcast iron. At first we are aware 
 a decided prejudice will obtain against this proposition, as was for some time our own feeling ; but 
 every well arranged experiment has served more and more to convince us of its practicability, and 
 we entertain no doubt now on the subject. — (For I have understood he lost his patent rights through 
 the interference of some Birmingham people.) — This new metal, or singular preparation of iron, I have 
 been induced from justice to its patentee, the late Samuel Lucas, of Brampton, near Leeds, (who, if 
 he was not the inventor, was probably the first who really understood its value sufficiently to induce 
 him to take out a patent for it,) to call it the Brampton metal, to avoid circumlocution. It appears 
 that this extraordinary product of cast iron, of which we shall give a more circumstantial account, 
 is formed by exposing the metal to a high temperature, for a veiy long time, sometimes weeks, 
 the air being cautiously excluded, — by which it is ridded of a numerous host of casual matters, 
 with which it is combined ; — as the phosphurets, mlphurets, and silex, and other admixtures ; and 
 is thereby brought into a very malleable and flexile state for things requiring simple wear; and, 
 contrary to our belief, we have used it with general satisfaction, often finding that the shoes 
 wear to the very last degree of thinness, without breaking, and which metal will ultimately 
 bring them within the price of the common shoe ; be this as it may, a paltry consideration in the 
 price, for truly paltry it wdl be, will not, one should imagine, be a momentary consideration with 
 a magnanimous nation, where so noble an object is at stake. 
 
 Any communication tending to confirm and encourage this new shoeing, or orders for shoes from persons 
 desirous to take advantage of the present improved state of the art, may be addresssd (post free) to my nephew, 
 Charles Clark, Sidmouth-mews, Gray's-inn-lane, nearly opposite Cubitt's extensive building premises, where 
 they will be duly attended to. Edit. 
 
7, Taunton Place, Regent's Park. 
 3rd Month, 19th, 1836. 
 
 My dear Friend, Jos. Docwra, 
 
 I feel rather unexpectedly a desire to write to thee about a matter I 
 thought hitherto but little of, but which through the malice of Coleman and his deluded 
 pupils of the College, who know nothing but what he tells them, making things of 
 little consequence appear of first-rate importance, and overlooking things qf first-rate 
 importance, and treating them as of little or none, so are they industriously cir- 
 culating a report that the unilaterally nailed shoe was the proposition (or invention, 
 if you tv ill) of one Turner, and ivho pretends to it, though the principle of it in the 
 elasticity qf the foot, this very gentleman had from me personally by the loan of my 
 book, years before he pretended to it. 
 
 In my book on the foot (" Podophthora," p. 56), / have made honourable mention 
 of thy just claim to having first used such a shoe, but I did not, as I then could not, 
 inform the world of the precise period or date of thy first employing it. 
 
 Now this is the matter I want to be informed exactly of, and probably the file 
 qf thy receipts and bills for farriery may enable thee by search to ascertain the date 
 qf the very identical first shoe of this kind put on, and if such should be wanting, then 
 the farrier s own day-book may give thee this information, for I believe the time to 
 have been full eight or ten years before this man could even pretend to have known or 
 used it, and the manner also he pretends to have come by it, viz. " in an attempt at 
 curing cutting" which never did, nor ever coidd, lead any one into such a notion, for 
 it is the knowledge of the elasticity of the foot, and necessity of its liberty, for the 
 exertion of this principle, that could alone suggest the proposition for this kind qf 
 shoe, which he, as a principle, knew nothing about. If thou wilt, therefore, oblige 
 me with the above particulars, I will take care in some future publication to make 
 them more publicly known. 
 
 With respect I remain thy Friend, 
 
 BRACY CLARK. 
 
 To Joseph Docwra, 
 
 Kelvedon. 
 
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 RECOMMENDATION TO FARRIERS & SHOEING SIVIITHS 
 
 Throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain, 
 
 IN RESPECT TO THE 
 
 INJURIOUS PRACTICE OF SLICING AND CUTTING AWAY THE HORN FROM THE FROGS OF 
 
 THIS baneful practice is still carried on to a shameful 
 extent, and even increasingly so, we have thought, as it were 
 perversely in opposition to the recommendations and efforts 
 made to suppress it. and sometimes ignorantly, by which the feet 
 of Horses are brought into a state of painful tenderness and unfit- 
 ness for service, and are thereby prematurely ruined; we are 
 induced therefore, from seeing fully the mischiefs of such pro- 
 ceedings, to draw up this short remonstrance, shewing from the 
 plainest reasoning the fallacy of the grounds usually advanced 
 by the Shoers of Horses for this practice, that they may not. 
 through absolute ignorance, be offending in this respect ; and 
 which, it is hoped, will have weight with the candid and well- 
 disposed, and that Masters by informing their Men, especially 
 new comers into the trade and young men of it, these ruinous 
 measures may be avoided. 
 
 The following is a clear statement of what those who are 
 the advocates for the practice advance in its defence, and the 
 answers thereto. 
 
 The first and most usual plea for cutting the Horn of this part 
 is, " that it grows as lite other parts if the Foul, and would grow all 
 over the Foot if let alone, and heroine too big for the Fool." 
 
 Answer. A more scrupulous examination of the growth of 
 the Horn of this part would teach them that the Horn of the 
 Frog grows only to a certain thickness, the bounds of which, an 
 allwise Providence has beautifully ordained, and beyond which it 
 can never pass, for when it has reached this natural extent of 
 thickness of its Horn, it then loses its power of coherence, and 
 falls into scurfs or scales and moulders away, leaving the figure 
 of the Frog ever entire, otherwise it is obvious every Horse in a 
 state of nature would constantly .from overgrowth become a 
 cripple : so that tin-, apprehension of its overgrowing the Foot 
 is without the smallest foundation; in fact, the removing it, 
 therefore, in whole slices on tins account is obviously unnecessary, 
 and most mischievous, since it renders the remaining Horn thin, 
 and by drying, liable to crack and let in wet. The sole also in 
 the same way we may observe, naturally exfoliates in Hakes, 
 in the same manner as the Frog, on arriving at the assigned 
 limits of its thickness, that we need not be at all surprized that 
 the Frog is concurring in this same law; it is therefore most 
 clear, that by removing this natural and very necessary covering 
 of the part, is in fact to deprive the animal of so much useful 
 defence, for no purpose whatever, and the horn thus thinned, is 
 only rendering the part more sensible and tender, which, as it is 
 
 often brought strongly upon the gr d, is then too weak for 
 
 sustaining the impression of the weight, especially when opposed 
 to rough bodies of the road, and he falls; or being bruised, it 
 causes heat and inllammation. and its health and natural tough- 
 ness being lost, it dries, hardens, contracts, and splits; and thus 
 fissures are formed, winch give lodgment to wet ancl dirt, and 
 the part becoming undermined, is cankered and destroyed with 
 grievous sullering. 
 
 The second plea used for defending this practice is, • To remove 
 the Rags." Now this appears a more plausible pretext for 
 cutting it than the loriner, but let us examine and see what these 
 Rags are, anil how they are made, which will clear up this 
 point. For it is most obvious on inspection, that the healthy- 
 natural Frog at the commencement of Shoeing has a smooth 
 exterior surface, free from all rifts; but when this natural 
 exterior coat, which is ,,| a harder nature than the horn within, 
 is once removed, the interior horn being of a more moist and 
 succulent nature, dries, especially if in dry weather, and by 
 drying, cracks: the edges of these cracks or fissures turn back, 
 or are reflected, and become what are then called Haas, (though 
 it is also true that certain roughnesses or Rags may arise at 
 
 times from natural causes, but by far the most frequent and 
 general way is from this previous cutting), now to remove these 
 pretended Rags, they make a deeper incision than the Rag, 
 and so expose still more interiorly the Horn of the part and 
 so increase the evil by producing more and deeper Rags, and 
 going nearer and nearer to the quick at each successive cutting, 
 the Frog is at last fairly flayed, and robbed of nearly all its 
 Horn, and drying and shrinking, becomes hard, brittle, and 
 painful to the animal, and so thin and tender for contact of hard 
 bodies, as stones, &c. of the road, that breaking up, wet and dirt, 
 as we have before stated, get in and canker and destroy the 
 internal parts, and so is produced a source of misery and danger, 
 in the use of him, of the most grievous kind: as well might 
 people propose to cut away the balls of a dog's loot previous to 
 going to the field to hunt, as thus to denude the Frog of its 
 natural covering before his going to work, or upon a journey. 
 
 Some of the Smiths seem to think this organ cannot be cut 
 too much ; others that it may lie cut in moderation ; but after 
 deep research and investigation of tins matter, the writer of this 
 is led into the most thorough conviction, that this singular organ 
 wants no cutting at all, ami indeed there are now in consequence 
 of his suggestions, several aged horses, whose Frogs were never 
 cut, and they are the handsomest, healthiest, and strongest 
 Furches or Frogs that he has ever seen, and in this case the 
 Frog Stag assumes a fine lozenge form with great beauty and 
 strength of its external margin. 
 
 The comparison or analogy of the Frog with the balls beneath 
 the dog's foot, or to the pads of the elephant or sponges of the 
 camel, is perfectly just and correct, and the one requires just as 
 much cutting as the other: and further, it is a singular fact, which 
 he has lately observed with a degree of surprise, that if a 
 very deep slice of the horn be taken away from the frog, it never 
 alter is perfectly renewed again, so that the mischief is 
 incalculable and most frightful, and desti notion indescribable, that 
 has been, and is now continually doing by thus cutting away 
 the Frog of the Horse's foot through sheer ignorance. 
 
 Another inducement we have thought lor cutting the part is, 
 the soft consistence of the part, which being like elastic leather or 
 cheese, is inviting' to the knife. There is also a delusive 
 expression much used, which lias the same mischievous ten- 
 dency, viz., the unmeaning phrase of Coachmen and others, 
 who certainly are not acquainted with the .economy of the part, 
 and who direct the Smiths, " to well pare out the foot .■" now the 
 word well so delusively employed in tins case, is quite as easily 
 used with mischievous as with good measures, and as it is in this 
 case a most gross and unwarrantable assumption, and leads to 
 incalculable evil, so against it all honest practitioners' and those 
 having the welfare of their art or of their Horses in view, 
 should be upon their guard; and these Coachmen should leave the 
 things not belonging to then department to those whose business 
 it is to know and understand them better. Notching the 
 inflexuresis also quite as, if not even more lniurioiis, by weakening 
 or destroying the very frame of the hoof. 
 
 The excuse of late has been, that the masters of the horses 
 will have it done : yes, truly, if they have been previously 
 persuaded by their own servants, taught by the smiths. Also the 
 young novice in shoeing, with his newly acquired sharp weapon, 
 the fatal drawing knife, will easily commit more havoc in one 
 
 minute than years can repair. 1 1 vvner perhaps looking on, and 
 
 applauding the act that ruins his horse. 
 
 The rasping oil the Cuticle or rind of the Hoof, is also quite 
 as unnecessary and a most pernicious proceeding, leaving the 
 hoof to a merciless drying and hardening by the air. 
 
 them in the Forges tlieg 
 
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 Distributed Gratis to be hung up in Forges, or Sold to such Gentlemen a s w 
 
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