314 



DISEASES OF THE UORSE. 



I was in the Royal Dragoons, and quartered at Cantcrburj', I 

 was desired by jNIr. Coleman to examine several horses of the 

 Royal Artillery, in that garrison, that were said to be lame from 

 wearing the thin-heeled shoe. I did so, and was of opinion that 

 the report was well-founded : therefore I directed the common 

 shoe to be applied, and to keep the feet moist, and at rest for a 

 short time, or until the lameness was removed. A few years 

 after this, veterinary surgeons were appointed to the artillery 

 corps, and then, I believe, the thin-heeled shoe was found to 

 answer better ; for when I resided at Exeter, the veterinary 

 surgeon of the artillery quartered in that district was transferred 

 to another station, and I was employed by the Board of Ord- 

 nance to attend the horses in that capacity; when I found that 

 Mr. Coleman's shoe, both for the fore and hind feet, had been 

 employed several years, and that no inconvenience had re- 

 sulted from it ; on the contrary, I never saw a corps of horses 

 with better feet. Their work was regular, and very modei*ate, 

 chiefly walking, and in harness. It seems to be a general opi- 

 nion with English veterinary surgeons of the present time, that 

 the thin-heeled shoe is not fit for English horses, and experience 

 has shown that no shoe whatever will materially diminish the 

 lamentable frequency of incurable lameness in this country while 

 such facility is given to rapid travelling by smooth turnpike 

 roads. 



I shall say nothing here of the various contrivances that have 

 been proposed for expanding contracted hoofs, and for prevent- 

 ing contraction, except that they have all been fairly tried, and 

 found either useless or hurtful; but proceed to an examination 

 of Mr. Bracy Clark's shoe, which has of late found so many 

 zealous advocates. If it is found, after a fair trial, that this 

 slioe, Avhich is called the expanding steel tablet shoe, will either 

 so far improve a horse's feet as to relieve him from lameness, or 

 enable a horse to go better than he can in any other kind of 

 slioe, then the only objection that can be made to it is the 

 price, which I understand is half a crown for each shoe ; and 



Fig. 1 . Tlie common English Shoe usually Fig. 2. A hinged Shoe, 



employed for Hunters. 



a, A steel rivet by wlilch the two branches of the hinged shoe are held together. 



b. The rivet detached from the shoe. 



