29 



simple defeuce of tlie uailed kind that can be used, iiext to tlie natural 

 foot, is, The Tip, (seeplate2, fig. 6,)which should be madeof steel notvery 

 thick, and nailed on by three or at most four nails, assisted by two clips 

 in front ; it aftbrds protection only to the very front of the hoof, which should 

 be a little hollowed out to receive it. The next shoe in point of simpli- 

 city, is, the Lunette, or Crescent, somewhat inore extensive in its protection 

 than the former, covering a larger portion of the front of tlie hoof; and after 

 this, will be the half, and the ihree-quarter S/toe ; ihm last appears to be what 

 Lafosse intended, and iniagining it advan(ageous that the frog should be 

 pressed upon, he niade it thin at the heels, three times thinner than at 

 the toe— See hi.s " JEssai sur la Fernire, p. 81, Planche 4, Fig. 5," and 

 Plate 2, Fig. 5, of this vvork. 



I have known these shoes to have been used with tolerable satisfac- 

 tion, and the open state of the foot to be preserved by them much better 

 than by the common shoe; but they do not appear so easy to the foot, 

 which is especially sensible in performing long journies. The objection 

 to them is, the very unnatural tread which they give to the foot, by elevat- 

 ing the toe, and lowering the heels, throwing him too strongly upon the 

 frog and inflexions of the hoof, thereby extending the back sinews, creating 

 first fatigue, then pain and inflammation. Next to these partial shoes, 

 is ashoe covering the entire wall; the natura and properties of which I 

 have already endeavoured to illustrate. The JBar-Shoe, again, is a farther 

 extension of it over the frog, usefuUy defending it after it has suffered by 

 being cut or contracted by shoeing; and in oldfeet is particularly service- 

 able, making horses go well, and removingthe ill consequencesof shoeing. 

 We have now noticed all the shoes at present in use that appeared to be 

 vvorth considering, and they are all, as we have before stated, upon the same 

 principie, being all portions of a circle or ring, more or less extensive, and 

 nailed to the foot. 



Being a little out of the common course of shoeing, I had almost forgot 

 to notice Frost Shoes; and as roughing the shoes is an easy thing, and 

 may be accomplished in various ways, so much ingenuity is often exhibited 

 in this way. Two or four pcints of steel screwed into the web of 

 the shoe is a very favourite Suggestion of this sort, and is calied the Ame- 

 rican Ice Shoe. To do this, the shoe must be removed, and be drilled 

 and tapped in four places with a female screw, which is about ten times 

 the trouble of simply turning down the ends of the shoe, and when done. 



