JEREMIAH BRIDGES. OSMER. 497 



horse a cripple, by making five cuts or scissures on the 

 outside of the hoof to the quick. In some cases, when 

 the heels only are contracted, two are sufficient, but in 

 many the shoe alone will answer the end. To remedy 

 this disorder in the foot, proceeding from contracted hoofs 

 and heels drawn in, where the complaint is slight, a shoe 

 may be made for the horse to work in, with a feather 

 (flange or clip) on the under side, as occasion may require, 

 which gradually pressing on the inside of the heel, the 

 weight of the horse as he treads forces the hoof outwards. 

 If both heels be drawn or wired in, a feather must be 

 made accordingly on each side.' We have here Carlo 

 Ruini's shoe. This treatise, from the enumeration of the 

 maladies contained in it, plainly shows what an amount of 

 torture must have been suffered by the unfortunate horses 

 of the last century. The fashion of excessive paring of 

 the hoofs, heavy shoes, and faulty nailing, is strongly 

 commented upon by Mr Bridges. The use of the ' but- 

 teris' and 'drawing knives' for removing the hoof and 

 ' making the foot fit to the shoe, instead of the shoe to 

 the foot,' is particularly reprobated. 



In 1723, a set of new shoes cost two shillings.' 

 A century after Blundevil, and nearly contemporary 

 with Lafosse, whom he carefully studies and to some extent 

 copies, comes W. Osmer.^ In several respects his work 

 is much superior to that of Blundevil, and we have 

 abundant evidence in it to prove that scientific shoeing, 

 founded on a study of the anatomy and physiology of 



' Notes and Queries, vol. ii. p. 186. 



" A Treatise on the Diseases and Lameness of Horses. 3rd edition. 



London, 1766. 



32 



