HORSE-SHOEING. 161 



left intact, and apparently too long ; so the wall niust be still 

 more reduced. This is done, and we now have the whole ground- 

 face of the hoof so wasted and mutilated, that should the horse 

 chance to lose a shoe soon after being shod, the impoverished foot 

 cannot bear the rude contact of the ground for more than a few 

 yards, and the poor creature is lame and useless. 



The tenderness and lameness arising from this mal-treatment 

 are usually ascribed to everything but the right cause, and the 

 most popular is concussion. To avert this and protect the de- 

 fenceless sole, a most absurd shoe is required ; and, still more 

 absurd, the natural covering is attempted to be replaced by a 

 plate of leather, interposed between the ground and the sole, 

 and which is made to retain bundles of tow steeped in tar or 

 some pernicious substance. It is scarcely necessary to say that 

 this artificial covering is but a poor substitute for that which 

 has been so foolishly, and with so much careful labor, cut away; 

 indeed, in several respects the leather sole, even when only 

 placed between the wall and the shoe, and not over the entire 

 surface, is very objectionable. 



Seeing, therefore, the natural provision existing in the sole of 

 the hoof for its diminution in thickness, when necessary, and 

 knowing that the intact sole is the best safeguard against injury 

 and deterioration to this region, it must be laid down as a rule 

 in farriery — and from which there must be no departure — that 

 this part is not to be interfered with on any pretence, so 

 long as the foot is in health ; not even the flakes are to be 

 disturbed. 



By adhering to this rule, the horse can travel safely and with 

 ease in all weathers and over any roads immediately after shoe- 

 ing ; the foot is maintained in a healthy condition ; the sole can 

 sustain its share of the weight, and thus relieve the wall of the 

 K 



