118 THE ART OF HORSE-SHOEING. 



np the space at the sides of the frog with tow. Then the 

 shoe with tlie leather is nailed on in the usual manner. 



The belief in leather as an anti-concussive appliance 

 has led to the use of what are called "ring-leathers." 

 These are not plates covering the whole under surface of 

 the foot, but narrow bands fixed between shoe and hoof. 

 They are absolutely useless; in fact, their only possible 

 effect is to spoil the fit of the shoe. Plates of india- 

 i-ubber have been tried between the shoe and the foot as 

 preventives of concussion. They invariably fail by 

 reason of their effect upon the shoe. At each step when 

 the weight of the horse conies on the foot, the elastic 

 rubber yields, the shoe is pressed closer to the foot, the 

 nails are loosened, and when the foot is raised the 

 rubber rebounds. The shoe soon becomes so loose that 

 it is cast or torn off. !N"otliing elastic should be placed 

 between shoe and foot. When an elastic or spring is 

 applied it must be between the shoe and the ground. 



Various arrangements have been adopted to supplj'' 

 the horse's foot with some provision against concussion. 

 Injured and diseased feet may no doubt be benefited by 

 some elastic appliance, which secures them from the jar 

 of contact on a hard road. They may be j)rotected 

 against direct bruise. The healthy foot requires no such 

 protection. Nature has covered it with a thick layer of 

 horn and has provided against concussion by quite other 

 means — by the co-ordinate action of muscles, by the 

 oblique position of the i^astern, and by the construction 

 of the back part of tlie foot. 



Quite apart from any attempt to prevent concussion, 

 a valuable use has been fouud for india-rubber pads in 

 connection with horse-shoeing. The improvement in 

 modern road-surfaces has been accompanied by an 

 increased facility for slipping, and it has been found 

 that no material gives such security of foot-hold on 

 smooth surfaces as india-rubber. 



The earliest of these contrivances with which I am 

 acquainted was formed so as to leave the frog uncovered 

 whilst a bearing of rubber was given all round the inner 

 circumference of the shoe. This pad had a wide, flat 



