2 HISTORY OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



The object of shoeing is manifold. It serves to prevent 

 excessive wear of the hoof, and in some measure to protect the 

 sensitive structures which the hoof contains ; to hinder slipping 

 on smooth roads, on ice and snow, and on muddy streets ; to 

 improve in certain instances faulty action ; and as an accessory 

 in the treatment of diseased hoofs. 



It can rarely be dispensed with, though horses doing light 

 work in towns or on land are sometimes suthciently protected 

 by ' tips.' In most cases, however, the shoe should protect the 

 entire ground edge of the wall. As growth is then uninter- 

 rupted, the normal relations of the hoof to the ground gradually 

 change, and it becomes necessary, by occasional judicious trim- 

 ming, to restore the hoof to proper shape. This is usually done 

 at each shoeing, but is just as necessary in unshod horses which 

 are resting. 



Shoeing is by no means the simple aflair it appears to the non- 

 professional mind. The form of the shoe and the preparation of 

 the foot demand endless variation, depending upon the shape of 

 the hoof, the condition of the sole, the quality of the horn, the 

 action of the horse, his work and his weight. 



Only when shod, and well shod, can the horse exert his best 

 powers ; and any inattention or neglect is followed by injury to 

 the hoof, if not by loss of the animal's services. 



In addition to a knowledc^e of the structure and functions of 

 the limb and foot, the farrier must possess bodily and mental 

 endowments of an average order, besides experience and 

 common-sense. 



He must determine quickly and accurately the necessities of 

 each case, and leave little to chance. The completed shoe 

 should, in its form, thickness, breadth, length, stamping, and 

 seating, bear a proper relation to the hoof, as well as to the 

 animal's work and weight, and everything must be done with 

 a careful eye to the end in view. 



HISTORY. 



Though much debated, it is still uncertain to whom, or even 

 to what race, we owe the invention of horse-shoeing. Accounts 

 may be found in medical, veterinary, agricultural, military, archaeo- 

 logical, and other publications ; but having no intention to make 

 this their chronicle, we shall give only a short sketch of the subject. 



