CHAPTER XI. 

 Leather and Rubber Pads. 



In the days when farriers were driven by theoretical 

 teachers to pare out the soles and otherwise rob the 

 foot of its natural covering of horn, artificial protection 

 had frequently to be given to the foot. A horse with a 

 thin sole could not travel over rough roads, on which 

 sharp, loose stones were plentiful, without great risk of 

 injury; consequently, in those times, plates of leather 

 were often used to protect the foot. When a horse went 

 "a little sliort," his owner not unnaturally concluded 

 that he had bruised his loot and that the protection of a 

 leather sole would be beneficial. In many cases, the 

 defective action was due to other cause than bruising, 

 but still the leather was adopted, and it soon became an 

 accepted theory that leather soles modified concussion 

 and protected the foot from jar. This is more than 

 doubtful, and I hold a very firm opinion that a plate of 

 leather between the shoe and the foot has no such efi^ect, 

 whilst it interferes with the exactness of fit of the shoe. 

 " Leathers" are useful on weak feet to protect a thin or 

 defective sole from injury. When the under surface of 

 a foot has been bruised, cut through, or when it is dis- 

 eased, leather offers a useful protection, but when the 

 sole is firm and sound, it is quite unnecessaiy. 



To apply leather properly, a square piece fully the 

 size of the shoe is taken. A portion is then cut out where 

 the clip has to fit and all protruding parts cut away level 

 with the border of the shoe. If applied without more 

 precautio:is, an open space would be left between leather 

 and sole, into which mud and grit would find their way, 

 and the leather would soon be cut through by resting on 

 the irregular surface of the frog. To jDrevent this mis- 

 chief, the under surface of the foot is made level before 

 the shoe is applied. The leveling is managed by spread- 

 ing a paste of tar and oatmeal over the sole, and filling 



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