IMPORTANCE OF THE ART. H 



as nothing more than a simple defender of the hoof from 

 the damaging effects of attrition, and occasionally as an 

 aid in securing the animal's foothold during progression 

 on slippery ground. 



As time advanced, however, and the services of the 

 horse became increased a hundredfold by the application 

 of this ingenious and simple expedient, the sciences of an- 

 atomy and physiology began to embrace the horse in 

 their domain ; and, crude as they were at first, it is to be 

 feared that, when they were extended to the investigation 

 of the structure and functions of the foot, the useful and 

 comparatively harmless protection of early days'was made 

 subservient to the most varied and fantastic theories, and 

 it must be admitted that for many years horseshoeing, so 

 far from proving a boon to horse-owners, and a preserver 

 of horses' feet, has been far from yielding the benefits its 

 scientific and reasonable application should afford ; indeed, 

 it would be no exaggeration to assert that the predomi- 

 nating principles and practice of this art have been emi- 

 nently destructive to horses, and a source of great loss to 

 their owners. 



These principles were founded on a misconception of 

 the functions of the foot, and of the part assumed by the 

 hoof in locomotion ; and their speedy popularization was 

 due to the fact that they were congenial to the whims of 

 fashion, and were deemed essential to the improvement 

 of Nature: commending themselves to unreasoning and 

 unreasonable minds like the fashions of cropping horses' 

 and dogs' ears, cutting, nicking and docking tails, and 

 other cruel fancies of depraved tastes. 



The amount of injury inflicted by an unscientific 

 method of shoeing may be very much greater than a cur- 

 sory inquiry would lead one to believe. To those experi- 

 enced among horses, and who have directed their atten- 

 tion closely to the subject, the proportion of animals 



