SHOEING. 



will in niofl inftances be found fufficient. This (hoc, in 

 point of efTecl, would be equally proper for the fore-feet, 

 ■were it not that in fuch horles as are iifed for the faddle, the 

 fore-feet, being more charged with weight than the hind-feet, 

 are more particidarly fubjcdl to be injured, and a horfe thus 

 fliod on the fore-feet might go unfafe : therefore, it is expe- 

 dient to let the iriner quarter of the (hoe be thin, and reach 

 to the heel ; but the outer edge fliould be bevelled off, fo as 

 to ilope inwards. The fame kind of fhoe is equally well 

 calculated to prevent the fpeedy cut ; obferving to bevel off 

 more ftrongly the part which Itnkes, and not to put in any 

 nails thereabouts. And here it may be proper to remark, 

 that in found feet, the iiecl of the (hoe fhould reach as far on 

 the heel of tlie hoof as to admit of the angle formed by the 

 cruft, and the bar relling fully upon it ; but it fliould net be 

 carried quite as far as the end of the heel of the hoof. But 

 in order to afcertain what would happen to a horfe fhod 

 with diflerent kinds of (hoes, the following trials were 

 made. 



Experiment i. A horfe with a narrow cheft, who had 

 never cut, and having parallel fhoes on his fore-feet, was 

 trotted at about the rate of eight miles an hour, in a itraight 

 line, over ground fufficiently foft to retain flightly the mi- 

 prefTions of the Ihocs, but not to admit the feet to fink into 

 it. Then two parallel lines were drawn along the track, 

 including between them the prints of the Ihoes. By tliefe 

 it was found, that there was regularly a diltance of nine 

 inches and a half between the outer edge of the near fore- 

 flioe and that of the off fore-fhoe. 



2. Shoes thick in their inner quarter, and like a tip, 

 reaching only halt way on the outer quarter, were then 

 ufcd ; ;.nd it appeared that the diilance between the outer 

 ed,;i , of the prints of tli • fhoe«, taken as before, was re- 

 guhirly reduced to eight inches and a lialf. 



3. The lame fhoes were afterwards placed on the opprfite 

 feet, fo that the thick heel was on the outer quarter ; and 

 the refult, under circun-.ftances exafllv th fame a'i in the 

 foregoing experiments, was, that the diflancc between the 

 outer edges of the prints of the fhoes was regularly increafed 

 ' ) eleven inches. To account for thef- refult s, it is necef- 



;iy to attei.d clofely to the different effcfts produced by 

 liie weight of the fore part of the body acting ujjon the two 

 fore-feet, when raifed on the inner or outer Quarters, during 

 the oppolite ftates of refl and aftion. And iirit, with re- 

 gard to fh :s railed on the inner quarter: wliillt a horfe fo 

 fhod is llandnig ilill, the fetlock-joints are certainly thrown 

 fan her apart than wlicn any other kind of flioe is ufcd. 

 Hence it wa"i concluded, that the limb which fupportcd t!ie 

 body would have its fetlock-joint thrown fo much outwards, 

 as to keep it completely out of the way of the foot in mo- 

 tion But it appears that the imprcflions made on the 

 ground by fuch fhoes are an inch nearer together, than thofe 

 made by parallel (hoes, and two inches nearer together than 

 thofe made by flioes raifed on the outer quarter. l\nA this 

 may be thus explained : when the horfe is at reft, the weight 

 is fupported equally by the two fore-feet ; but the inftant 

 one foot quits the ground, the weight is fuddcnly tranf- 

 ferred to the other; and by the outer quarter being lower 

 than the o])pofite one, the fore part of the horfe has a ten- 

 dency to fall over to the outfide. To prevent this, the 

 moving foot is fuddenly brought clofe to the fetlock of the 

 fupporting foot, in order to relieve it by catching the 

 Weight ; and the foot itfelf is placed on the ground too 

 much under the middle of the breafl. The fame circum- 

 ftance occurs to both feet in their turn : and the horfe, 

 being thus in conllant danger of falling to one fide or to the 

 Other, is conltrained to bring his feet near together to prc- 



8 



ferve his balance ; and in doing this, ftrikes the foot againft 

 the oppofite fetlock. And it frequently happens, that the 

 more the toes are turned outwards, the nearer the fetlock- 

 joints are brought together, and the more the horfe is dif- 

 pofed to cut. However, this is true only to a certain ex- 

 tent ; for if this faulty pofition of the lower part of the leg 

 be carried artificially beyond a given point, inflcad of pro- 

 ducing an increafed degree of cutting, in molt inllanccs it 

 remedies the defeft altogether. The reafon of this is jufl 

 the rcverfe of what takes place when the inner quarter is 

 raifed ; that is to fay, when the weight of the fore part of 

 the body relh only upon one leg, it bears too much upon 

 the inner quarter, from its being lower than the outer 

 quarter ; and thus the horfe has a tendency to fall over to 

 the infide of the fupporting leg. To prevent this, the 

 moving foot is thrown farther from the fupporting leg, in 

 order to maintain the balance : and thus the foot miffes the 

 fetlock-joint. 



In cafes where the roads are covered with ice, it becomes 

 nccefl'ary to have the heels of horfes' fhoes turned up, and 

 frequently fliarpened, in order to prevent them fr^im flip- 

 ping and falling ; but this cannot be done without the fre- 

 quent moving of the flioes, which breaks and dellroys the 

 cruft of the hoof where the nails enter. To prevent this, it 

 has been recommended to thofe who are willing to be at the 

 expence, to have fteel points fcrewed into the heels or quar- 

 ters of each fhoe, which might be taken out and put in oc- 

 cafionally. And_the method of doing this properly, as laid 

 down by Mr. Clark, is lirll to have the flioes fitted to the 

 fliape of the hoof, then to make a fmall round hole in the 

 extremity of each hei 1, or in the quarters, about three- 

 eightlis of an inch diameter, or more, in proportion to the 

 breadth and fize of the fhoe : in each of ihefe holes a fcrew 

 is to be made. The ilecl points are likewife to have a fcrew 

 on them, exailly fitted to that in the fhoes. Care muit be 

 taken that the fcrew on the points is no longer, when they 

 are fcrewed into the fhoe, than the thicknefs of the latter. 

 The Heel points are to be made fliarp : they may either be 

 made fquare, triangular, or chiffel-pointed, as may be mod 

 agreeable. The iieight of the point above tiie fhoe fliould 

 not exceed a quarter of an inch, for a faddle-horfe ; they 

 may be made higher for a draught-horfe. Tlie key or 

 handle, that is iiecefl'ary to fcrew them in and out occa- 

 fi ii.dly, is n ade in the fhape of the capital letter T, and of 

 a fuflicient fize and Itrength. At the bottom of the handle 

 a u.eket or cavity mult be made, properly adapted to the 

 fhape of the ttcel point, and fo deep as to receive the whole 

 head of the point that is above the (lioe. In order to pre- 

 vent the fcrew from breaking at the neck, it will be necef- 

 fary to make it of a gradual taper. The fame is likewife to 

 be obferved of the female fcrew that receives it ; that is, the 

 hole mult be wider on the upper part of the fhoe than the 

 under part. The fharp points may be tempered or har- 

 dened, in order to prevent them from growing too foon 

 blunt ; but when they become blunt, they may be fliarpened 

 as at firft. Thefe points fliould be unfcrewed, when the 

 horfe is put into the liable ; as the ftones will do them more 

 injury in a few minutes than a day's riding on ice. A 

 draught-horfe fliould have one on the point ot each fhoe, as 

 that gives him a tinner footing in drawing on ice ; but for 

 a faddle-horfe, when points are put there, they are apt to 

 make hini trip and Humble. And when the flioes are pro- 

 vided with thefe points, a horfe will travel on ice with the 

 greatell fccurity and fleadiiiefs, much more fo than on caufe- 

 way or turnpike roads, as the weight of the liorfe preflcs 

 them into the ice at every Hep. And in addition to the 

 common (hue fur horfes that have found feet, there are alfo 



other* 



