THE HORSE. 45 



Fiaschi, an Italian, who wrote about three centuries 

 since, had obviously very correct ideas of the general 

 principles of horse-shoeing ; rationally endeavouring 

 to construct a system which might interfere as little 

 as possible with the intentions of nature. He recom- 

 mended, possibly invented, the welted shoe of hard 

 and well tempered iron, to be so placed upon the foot 

 that the horse may have a perfectly even tread ; and 

 to prevent slipping, the welts to be indented like a 

 saw, or short and sharp button-headed nails to be 

 used ; to the same end, he directed the external sur- 

 face of the shoe to be hammered somewhat concave. 

 He was likewise the inventor of the calkin, rampone 

 alia regonesa, directing it not to be made high and 

 sharp, but rather flat, and handsomely turned up- 

 ward; at the same time, decrying strenuously all other 

 kinds of calkins and turning up of the shoes, even in 

 case of frost, as of infinitely greater danger than use. 

 In fine, a horse's shoe and the nails should be forced 

 of good solid iron, tough and unbending, of a thick- 

 ness conformably to sustain the weight of the animal, 

 but not beyond, so as to render it a source of impedi- 

 ment and blunder, in place of a protection and com- 

 fort. The length of the shoe should be nearly de- 

 termined by the length of the foot, and the width of 

 the web should not exceed that proportion which may 

 afford due protection to the sole, and also to the heel 

 when needed. The terrible buttress should never 

 come near a weak foot, for which the paring knife is 

 the proper instrument. The toe may generally be 

 made most free with, and should never be suffered to 

 exceed in length, which will sometimes happen in the 



