112 MODERN FARRIER. 



Lafosse. It is true that an excellent mode of shock- 

 ing was recommended about 300 years ago by Ceesar j 

 Fiaschi, an Italian writer on horsemanship ; but his 

 plan never came into general use, and Lafosse ap- • 

 pears to have all the merit of the improvement, as it 

 is more than probable that he had never seen Fias- 

 chi's work. The shoe recommended by Lafosse was j 

 what he called the half-moon shoe^ being nearly se- j 

 micircular, and reaching little further than to the 

 middle of the foot ; the nails being placed round the 

 toe. Lafosse's shoe was never very generally em- 

 ployed in this country, even though the improve- 

 ment w^as rendered familiar by Bracken and Bartlet, 

 who translated Lafosse's treatise into English. It 

 has been considered as useful in some cases of dis- 

 eased feet, and for strong feet which have begun to 

 contract, or appear likely to do so, provided such 

 horses are not employed on very hard, rough roads ; 

 but it is by no means applicable to the majority of 

 our horses. Its principal disadvantages appear to ( 

 be, that the heels wear too fast, and that, in runnings j 

 horses are apt to slip v/ith it, 1 



Mr. William Osmer improved considerably on the 

 shoe of Lafosse. He forbade the frogs and bars to 

 be cut away, except when they were ragged. He, 

 however, remarks, that the feet of all horses should 

 be pared according to their length ; the crust being 

 made perfectly smooth by paring or rasping. His 

 shoe was every where of an equal thickness, rather 

 narrower behind than before, of a flat surface next 

 the ground, and bevilled away from about the mid- 

 dle of its breadth inwards, leaving a flat surface for 

 the crust to rest on. 



Lord Pembroke's remarks on shoeing are exceed- 

 ingly ingenious. He observed that the weight of 

 shoes must, in a great measure, depend on the qua- 

 lity and hardness of the iron. If the iron be very 

 good, it wdll not bend, and in this case the shoes 

 cannot possibly be too light; care, however, must 



