HANDBOOK OP THE TURF. 329 



the fore leg. It generally, however, is somewhat longer than 

 the canon, flatter and measures greater in circumference. It 

 should be flat and deep from the front backwards, the skin 

 lying close to the bone and tendon. 



Shifting" Gait. A horse that changes from a trot to a 

 pace, and from a pace to a trot, is said to be of " shifting gait." 

 A fast trotter will make a fast pacer, and vice versa. 



Shirt. [Eng.] To put one's shirt on a horse, is to lose 



aU one's money on a horse. 



"Now the word shirt," said the teaclier, "is a common noun, and 

 means an undergarment for men." "And tor horses, sir," put in a 

 sharp youngster. " For liorses ! " roared the teaclier, " wiiat do you 

 mean ?" " Father says lie is goinjj; to put his on Friar's Balsam for 

 the Derby, sir." There Avas trouble in that class.— 13ird o' Freedom. 



Shoe ; Shoeing". A horse shoe ; a protective support 

 to the horse's foot; a plate, or rim of metal, generally iron, 

 nailed to the horse's hoof to protect it from injury; the art, or 

 business of shoeing horses; farriery. There can be little 

 doubt that the first shoes were of leather, attached to the feet 

 with thongs, as were sandals to the human foot, and from the 

 use of leather, or socks made of rushes, the transition to metal 

 was very naturah It is believed that horseshoes were orig- 

 inated by the Romans and came into use in Caesar's time, as 

 Catullus, a Roman who was contemporary with Caesar, speaks 

 of them. In the East there was no necessity for an artificial 

 protection to the hoof, as, from the dryness of the soil and 

 even temperature, the hoofs became firm and tough. During 

 the period of the Crusades, when knight-errantry was at its 

 zenith, the horses were heavy and carried great weights. 

 They wore shoes which were fastened with clamps, so they 

 cotild be easily detached. Some writers have asserted that 

 horseshoeing was not practiced in England until the time of 

 William the Conqueror, in 1066; but, on the other hand, it 

 has been shown from illuminated MSS. that the custom was 

 practiced by the Anglo Saxons as early as A.D. 600, and there 

 is a statement in history that horseshoes were found at 

 Tourney, in the tomb of Childeric, the Frankish king, which 

 refer us to the date of 480 A.D. There is historic evidence 

 that iron shoes were nailed to the hoofs of war horses in the 

 ninth century. In general form and manner of attachment 

 horseshoes have undergone very little change dtiring hundreds 

 of years ; it is in the evolution of shoes for trotting horses, 

 witlin the years 1869-1893, that the greatest change has been 

 noticeable. In 1869 American Girl, 2:19, carried shoes weigh- 

 ing eighteen to twenty otmces in front, and fourteen or fifteen 

 ounces behind. Goldsmith Maid, 2:14, in 1874, carried a sev- 



