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Shoe, To, an Anchor. See Shoeing the Anchok. 



SiiOE-Bloch, are two fingle blocks, cut in a folid piece 

 tranfverfely to each other. They are ufed for legs and falls 

 of the bunt-lines, but are feldom employed. 



Suoz-Heuftng. See Housing. 



SHOEBURY Ness, in Geography, a cape of England, 

 en the fouth coalt of the county of Eil'ex, at the mouth of 

 the Thames. Here king Alfred erefted a, fortrefs againft 

 the Danes. There are two villages near North and South 

 Shoebiiry, both containing together about 200 inhabitants ; 

 5 miles N.E. from the Nore. N. lat. 51'' 32'. E. long. 

 0° 45'. 



SHOEING o/'HoRSEs, a term applied to the operation of 

 faftening the pieces of iron on the bottom parts of the hoofs, 

 or that of fixing fhoes to the feet. Thefe, and fome other 

 animals deftined to labour, are fliod with iron, in order to 

 defend and preferve their hoofs. The fhoes of horfes fhould 

 difter according to the feet, as has been already feen. The 

 eommon form of fhoes, and the method of (hoeing, are 

 wholly condemned by fome, as Mr. Clark, and a new 

 method recommended, which appears founded on juft prin- 

 ciples, and to have been fanftioned by much experience. It 

 is remarked, that in preparing the foot for the fhoe, accord- 

 ing to the common method, the frog, the fole, and the bars 

 or binders, are pared fo much that the blood frequently ap- 

 pears. The common fhoe by its fotm (being thick on the 

 infide of the rim, and thin upon the outfide), muft of confe- 

 quence be made concave or hollow on that fide which is 

 placed immediately next the foot, in order to prevent its 

 refting apon the fole. The fhoes are generally of an im- 

 moderate weight and length, and every means is ufed to 

 prevent the frog from refting upon the ground, by making 

 the fhoe-heels thick, broad, and flrong, or raifing cramps or 

 eaukers on them. From this form of the fhoe, and from 

 this method of treating the hoof, the frog is raifed to a con- 

 fiderable height above the ground, the heels are deprived of 

 that fubftance which was provided by nature to keep the 

 cruft extended at a proper width, and the foot is fixed as 

 it were in a vice. And by the preflure from the weight of 

 the body, and refiflance from the outer edges of the fhoe, 

 the heels are forced together, and retain that fhape imprefied 

 upon them, which it is impoflible ever afterwards to re- 

 move ; hence a contradlion of the heels, and of courfe lame- 

 nefs. But farther, the lieels, as has been obferved, being 

 forced together, the crufl prefies upon the procefles of the 

 coffin and extremities of the nut-bone : the frog is confined, 

 and raifed fo far from the ground, that it cannot have that 

 fupport upon it which it ought to have : the circulation of 

 the blood is impeded, and a wafting of the frog, and fre- 

 quently of the whole foot, enfues. Hence, it is contended, 

 proceed all thofe difeafes of the feet known by the names of 

 founder, hoof-bound, narrow-heels, thrufhes, corns, hiffh 

 foles, &c. ^ 



And it has likewife been frequently obferved, that there 

 arifes from this comprefTion of the internal parts of the foot, 

 a fwelling of the legs immediately above the hoof, attended 

 with great pain and inflammation, with a difcharge of thin, 

 ichorous, fetid matter : from which fymptoms, it is often 

 concluded that the horfe is in a bad habit of body (or what 

 is termed a greafe faUing down), and mufl therefore undergo 

 a courfe of medicine, &c. The bad effefts of this praftice 

 are ftill more obvious upon the external parts of the hoof. 

 The crull towards the toe, being the only part of the hoof 

 free from comprefTion, enjoys a free circulation of that fluid 

 neceffary for its nourifhment, and grows broader and longer; 

 from which extraordinary length of toe, the horfe ftumbles 

 m bis going, and cuts his legs. The fmaller particles of 



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fand infinuate themfelves between the fhoe and the heeU,. 

 which grind them away, and thereby produce lamenefs. 

 All this is entirely owing to the great fpring the heels of 

 the horfe muft unavoidably have upon the heels of a fhoe 

 made in this form. This concave fhoe in time wears thin at 

 the toe, and, yielding to the preflure made upon it, is forced 

 wider, and of confequence breaks off that part of the cruft 

 on the outfide of the nails. Inflances of this kind daily 

 occur, infomuch that there hardly remains cruft fufEcient to 

 fix a fhoe upon. And further, it is generally thought, that 

 the broader a fhoe is, and the more it covers the fole and 

 frog, a horfe will travel the better. But, as it has been re- 

 marked, the broader a fhoe is of this form, it muft be made 

 the more concave ; and, of confequence, the contrafting 

 power upon the heels mufl be the greater. It is likewife 

 to be obferved, that, by ufing ftrong broad rimmed concave 

 fhoes in the fummer feafon, when the weather is hot and the 

 roads very dry and hard, if a horfe is obliged to go faft, 

 the fhoes, by repeated flrokes (or friftion) againft the ground, 

 acquire a great degree of heat, which is communicated to 

 tlic internal parts of the foot ; and, together with the con- 

 tradlion upon the heels, occafioned by the form of the fhoe, 

 muft certainly caufe exquifite pain. This is frequently fuc- 

 ceeded by a violent inflammation in the internal parts of the 

 hoof, and is the caufe of that difeafe in the feet fo fatal to 

 the very befl of our horfes, commonly termed a founder. 

 This is alfo the reafon why horfes, after a journey or a hard 

 ride, are obferved to fhift their feet fo frequently, and to 

 lie down much. And if we attend further to the convex 

 furface of this fhoe, and the convexity of the pavement upon 

 which horfes walk, it will then be evident that it is im- 

 poflible for them to keep their feet from flipping in this 

 form of fhoe, efpecially upon declivities of the flreets. It 

 is alfo a common practice, efpecially in this place, (Edin- 

 burgh,) to turn up the heels of the fhoes, into what are 

 called cramps or eaukers, by which means the weight of the 

 horfe is confined to a very narrow furface, uia. the inner 

 round edge of the fhoe-rim and the points or eaukers of each 

 heel, which foon wear round and blunt ; befides, they for 

 the molt part are made by far too thick and long. The 

 confequence is, that it throws the horfe forward upon tlie 

 toes, and is apt to make him flip and flumble. To this 

 caufe we mufl likewife afcribe the frequent and fudden 

 lamenefs horfes are fubjeft to in the legs, by twifting the 

 ligaments of the joints, tendons, &c. It is not affirmed 

 that eaukers are always hurtful, and ought to be laid afide : 

 on the contrary, it is granted that they, or fome fuch-like 

 contrivance, are extremely neceffary, and may be ufed with 

 advantage upon flat fhoes where the ground u flippery ; but 

 they fhould be made thinner and fharper than thofe com- 

 monly ufed, fo as to fink into the ground, otherwife they 

 will rather be hurtful than of any advantage. 



It is fuggefted that the Chinefe are faid to account a fmall 

 foot an ornament in their women ; and for that purpofe, 

 when young, their feet are confined in fmall fhoes. This no 

 doubt produces the defired effeft ; but mufl neceffarily be 

 very prejudicial to them in walking, and apt to render them 

 entirely lame. This praAice, however, very much refembles 

 our manner of fhoeing horfes ; for, if we looked upon it as 

 an advantage to them to have long feet, with narrow low 

 heels, and fuppofing we obferved no inconvenience to attend 

 it, or bad confequence to follow it, we could noi poflibly 

 ufe a more efFeftual means to bring it about than by follow- 

 ing the method already defcribcd. It is fuppofed that in 

 fhoeing a horfe, therefore, v.e fhould in this, as in every 

 other cafe, ftudy to follow nature : and certainly that fhoe 

 which is made of fuch a form as to refemble a« nearly as 



poffible 



