22 



SHOEING. 



Fig. 440.— Colt's Foot Three Years Old. 



several horses in New York City that had been shod with tips with 



decided benefit to the health of the feet, and without any apparent 



disproportion or wearing down 

 of the frog and quarters, though 

 the iron was worn down fully 

 a quarter of an inch. The parts 

 became, as it were, hardened 

 and polished, thereby resisting 

 the wear almost as much as the 

 iron. 



As there has been much dis- 

 cussion among writers in rela- 

 tion to the use of tips, or thin- 

 heeled shoes, I requested Dr. 

 Hamill and Dr. McLellan, the 

 two best veterinary authorities 

 on this subject in this country, 

 to give me a statement of the 

 cases for which, in their judg- 

 ment, tips would or would not 

 be adapted. I give herewith the 



reply of each, and invite the attention of the reader to the points 



made, and the reasons given 



""herefor. Prof Hamill says : — 



* * While I am a firm advocate 

 of frog and sole pressure, and have driven 

 my own horses for years over the pave- 

 ments of Nev? York City with nothing 

 on the feet but what is known as the 

 English tip or toe-piece shoe, which gives 

 the foot the entire freedom of all its nat- 

 ural movements, yet I must say it would 

 be absurd to attempt to shoe every horse 

 in this way. There are any number of 

 cases where this system would be in- 

 jurious to the foot, and even to the limb. 

 But as the foot, or rather that part of it 

 inclosed within the hoof, is the object 

 oftenest under consideration, I shall ex- 

 plain briefly how it may suffer from 

 extreme frog-pressure. (One point which 

 we should always keep in view is a due 

 proportion, or equal distribution of the 

 weight in ali parts of the hoof, and by no 

 other system can the foot be healthy.) 



Fig. 441.— Colt's Foot Four Years Old. 

 From a Cast. 



