218 
SHOEING CAVALRY HORSES. 
who formed part of the committee which has so recently 
been sitting on this important subject. 
That a uniform system was called for, is self-evident ; but 
I cannot help expressing my disappointment and surprise 
on seeing the new pattern shoe, to find pretty much the same 
shoe re-introduced which w r as in use at the time I first en- 
tered the service, seven and thirty years ago ; with the excep- 
tion of its being stamped, in place of being fullered. And 
what augmented my surprise w r as, on perusing the Horse 
Guards circular, finding it stated, that the Board was assists 
by two old and experienced professional gentlemen ! Now, Mr. 
Editor, I don’t know who the professionals alluded to are, 
but their experience has not only not afforded us any im- 
provement in our system, as far as the shoe is concerned, be- 
yond uniformity; but, I think, has precluded the service from 
being likely to derive any benefit or advantage whatever 
from so faulty a piece of workmanship. 
As regards the prep aration of the foot to receive the shoe, 
I think, with you, that the order to pare the soles as little as 
possible, leaving them strong, merely removing v T hat Nature 
is endeavouring to effect by exfoliation, is an improvement ; 
and if, in addition to this, the concave shoe had been adopted, 
we should have had, in my opinion, a rational and scientific 
system, calculated to preserve the foot in a sound and healthy 
state ; embracing all the advantages a piece of iron nailed to 
the foot can possibly possess. There is a strong prejudice, I 
know, in the mind of many individuals, against the concave 
shoe ; and it is very common to hear such men, in speaking 
of the same, boast of their experience in this or that cavalry 
corps ; but does this experience teach them the anatomy and 
physiology of the foot of the horse ? and, if ignorant of the 
structure and functions of this complicated and highly im- 
portant part, are they competent to give an opinion; or what 
can they possibly know about shoeing, unless it be a well or 
ill-made shoe ? Little more than Mr. Hobey, or any other 
boot-maker, knows of the anatomy of the human foot. All 
I ask is, let one of the anti-concave advocates ride a horse in 
concave shoes, and another in flat shoes, from Hyde Park 
Corner to the Bank, and back ; or (if he pleases, as a more 
fashionable locality), up and down Rotten Row, on a frosty 
day, which is the only way or means he has of judging of the 
merits or demerits of the two shoes ; and if, after performing 
these feats, he tells me that the horse w ith the flat shoes car- 
ried him better than the horse with concave ones ; — that he 
was more secure on his legs ; — that there was less chance of 
his slipping up and breaking his own knees or his rider’s 
