THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 3] I 



small in size. They are not cut away by the smith, but they can be 

 scarcely said to have any existence ; the heels are low, so low that the 

 very coronet seems almost to touch the ground ; and the crust, if examined, 

 seems scarcely thick enough to hold the nails. Horses with these feet can 

 never stand much work. They will be subject to corns, to bruises of the 

 sole, to convexity of the sole, to punctures in nailing, to breaking away of 

 the crust, to inflammation of the foot, and to sprain and injury of the pas- 

 tern, and the fetlock, and the flexor tendons. These feet admit of little 

 improvement. Shoeing as seldom as may be, and with a light, yet wide 

 concave web ; little or no paring at the time of shoeing, with as little violent 

 work as possible, and especially on rough roads, may protract for a long 

 period the evi\ day, but he who buys a horse with these feet wiJl sooner or 

 later have cause to repent his bargain. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



ON SHOEING. 



The period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot of the horse is 

 uncertain. William the Norman introduced it into our country. 



We have seen, in the progress of our inquiry, that while it affords to the 

 foot of the horse that defence which seems now to be necessary against the 

 destructive effects of our artificial and flinty roads, it has entailed on the 

 animal some evils. It has limited or destroyed the beautiful expansibility 

 of the lower part of the foot ; it has led to contraction, although that 

 contraction has not always been accompanied by lameness; in the most 

 careful fixing of the best shoe, and in the careless manufacture and setting 

 on of the bad one, much injury has often been done to the horse; yet, as 

 we have already stated, to nothing like the extent which some have fancied 

 or feared. 



THE CONCAVE- SEATED SHOE. 



The proper form and construction of the shoe is a subject deserving of 

 very serious inquiry, for it is most important to ascertain the kind of shoe 

 that will do the least mischief to the feet. We subjoin a cut of that which 

 we strongly recommend for general purposes. It is in use in many of our 

 best forges, and is gradually superseding the flat and the simple concave 

 shoe. The following cut exhibits the near fore shoe. 



It presents a perfectly flat surface to the ground, to give as many points 

 of bearing as possible, except that, round the outer edge, there is a groove 

 or fuller, in which the nail-holes are punched, so that, sinking into the 

 fuller, their heads project but a little way, and are soon worn down level 

 with the shoe. The ground surface of the common shoe used in the country 

 is somewhat convex, and the inward rim of the shoe comes first on the 

 ground; the consequence of this is, that the weight, instead of being borne 

 fairly on the crust, is supported by the nails and the clenches, which must 

 be injurious to the crust, and often chip and tear it. 



The web of the shoe is of the same thickness throughout, from the toe to 

 the heel ; and it is sufficiently wide to guard t le sole from bruises, and 



