58 



SHOEING. 



THE PRESENT METHOD OP FASTENING 

 THE ENGLISH HORSE SHOE ON TO THE 

 horse's FOOT. 



generally puncture the toe of the foot; but the situations of the nail 

 holes and the (^rection of the nails within such a part must have been 

 originally regarded as a vast improvement upon the prevailing customs. 

 That which was formerly an innovation is, however, now the custom. 

 No other mode of driving the nails is at 

 present in general practice ; though the mod- 

 em veterinary surgeon recognizes all the 

 evils which attend the habit, yet these evils 

 he contentedly classes as diseases, instead of 

 seeing in them the natural consequences of a 

 faulty system. 



In the sandy Desert of Arabia, where a 

 flat and perfectly dry country rendered suc- 

 tion impossible, any degree of tension, how- 

 ever feeble, might serve to keep the horse's 

 shoe in its situation. On such a soil, eight lateral fastenings — each no 

 stronger than a stout wire — might afford all needful security. The size 

 of the holes assures us of ttie bulk of the nail heads, the projection of 

 which, probably, served to give security to the tread, as well as to retain 

 the metal ; being inserted at one end and driven with the hammer to the 

 other extremity of the opening, they might be an ample provision for 

 such a purpose, when the desert permitted no vast amount of wear, and 

 the nature of the animal assured lightness of motion. 



The English reader may feel disposed to sneer at the Asiatic manner 



of fastening the shoe upon the horse's 

 hoof; but he will do well to inquire, 

 " whether the modern method of at- 

 taining the same object is altogether 

 free from objection?" To enable 

 him to do this, it is necessary that 

 the composition of the outer wall of 

 the equine hoof should be explained. 

 The wall of the foot is so much 

 horn as can be seen when the hoof 

 rests upon the ground, and when it is 

 viewed either immediately from the 

 front or directly from the sides. This 

 wall is supplied from two sources. 

 The coronet, or the prominence to 

 be seen immediately above the hoof, 

 secretes the outer layer of horn, which is the darkest, is very much the 

 hardest, and is the most brittle of all the constituents of the hoof The 



DIAGRAM, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE DIFFERENT KIIfDS 

 OF HORN COMPOSINQ THE HORSE'S HOOP. 



a a. The wall. The outer dark portion is called 

 the cruet of the wall, and the light-colored, soft, 

 inner horn is thrown into the laminas, or thin 

 leaves, whereby it gains extent of attachment 

 to its secreting membrane. 



6. The light-colored and yielding horn of the sole. 



C. The tinted but elastic horn of the frog. 



