SHOEING. 



653 



feet trimmed and shoes reset to enter on rehearsal the next day af- 

 ter landing, but they were very stiff and sore, apparently foundered. 

 As no other horses could be put to this special act, Cook despaired 

 of making a creditable, first-class performance. As there was no 

 time for the usual treatment of such cases, he consulted the boss 

 hostler, and together they acquainted Dr. Hamill of the difficulty. 

 Hamill promised, if they would allow him his own way, to relieve 

 the horses immediately, which 

 he did by cutting away almost 

 the entire sole of the front feet, 

 relieving the quarter, in fact, 

 cutting the foot until it was 

 elastic or yielding in all its in- 

 ferior and posterior parts. This 

 was death to the foot, as he 

 told Cook. The soles were 

 protected by leather and tar- 

 dressing until recovery took 

 place. Although this was an 

 extreme mode of treatment, 

 Mr. Cook was well pleased at 

 the result. I asked him if he 

 could not counteract this effect 

 of paring by keeping the feet 

 wet. He said: "Yes, to a certain extent; that was what he did 

 where it was possible." 



In 1869 the Humane Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, offered 

 a series of prizes for the best essays on " Shoeing," having in con- 

 sideration the comfort and soundness of the horse. About forty 

 essays were sent in for competition. The Vice-President, Mr. H. 

 S. A. L. Hay, says: "It is gratifying to find so general a concur- 

 rence among the writers in their utter condemnation of the com- 

 mon but unscientific and irrational practice of paring away the 

 sole and frog as a necessary preparation for shoeing " 



For the special benefit of shoers, I think it advisable to include 

 here Prof. Gamgee's instructions on paring: * 



* " Horse-Shoeing and Lameness," London, 1874, by Joseph Gamgee, Vet. Sur., 

 Lecturer on the Principles and Practice of Farriery in the new Veterinary College 

 of Edinburgh. 



FIG. 470. Model of shoe for express 

 horses, from Prof. Hamill' s collec- 

 tion in New York. 



