326 DISEASES OF THE FEET. 



an analysis of their writings shows that the work of one is 

 often a mere repetition of that of another. Nearly all have run 

 in the same groove, promulgating false ideas from one genera- 

 tion to another, to the incalculable deterioration of the useful- 

 ness of the horse. Indeed, such is the prejudice, and so deeply 

 rooted are men's opinions, that it is dangerous for any one 

 to teach a more rational doctrine. If such an one is now 

 and then bold enough to point out the errors of the past, he 

 stands a fair chance of being considered a dreamer, or something 

 worse. 



Nearly all writers upon the subject have looked upon the foot 

 as a very wonderful and complex piece of mechanism, and seem- 

 ingly have forgotten, or have not known, that no matter how 

 complex it may be within, it is enclosed in a simple horny 

 box ; that all the efforts of shoeing should be directed to pre- 

 serve that box in a natural condition ; and that its position in 

 relation to the limb should not be altered by the shape or form 

 of the shoe. 



Many have maintained, and some still maintain, that the 

 horny foot is an elastic, expanding, and contracting organ, 

 and that its elasticity should be kept intact by paring the sole, 

 peculiar nailing on of the shoe, and by keeping the foot as moist 

 as possible, by stuffing, spongio-piline, &c. Others, again, sup- 

 p»ose that a mechanical advantage can be given to its tendons 

 and ligaments by the form of the shoe ; in fact, by improving 

 upon nature. 



All these are errors, and have originated with men who 

 have built their conclusions upon mere hypotheses. It is not 

 my intention here to enter minutely into the question of 

 horse-shoeing, but merely to state, in the first place, that it is 

 essential to abolish the drawing-knife ; and in the second, that 

 calkins and toe-pieces should be done away with for aU kinds 

 of horses except those used for heavy draught in towns where 

 the streets are paved and steep. AU horses required to go 

 beyond a walking pace are injured by shoes with turned-up 

 heels and toes. Farm -horses, and those employed upon 

 macadamised roads, are better without than with heel and 

 toe-pieces, although the pace they are required to go is never 

 faster than the walk ; in fact, where possible, aU horses should 

 be shod with a flat shoe. 



