502 
THE ANTI-CONCUSSION HORSESHOE. 
The Anti-concussion consists of two shoes, one being conspicu- 
ously light or thin, and the other of the usual substance. The 
larger or heavier of the pair has no nail-holes, but, in the stead, 
four bores for an equal number of moderately-sized bolts to pass 
through. 
The thin shoe has holes made for the nails, and is to be attached 
to the hoof, after the customary fashion : through it pass the four 
bolts, two on either side of the toe, and two at the heels. The 
upper shoe, when on, is to be covered by a slip of Indian-rubber, 
which should be shaped so as to overlay the entire surface of the 
shoe; then, by means of nuts screwed to the bolts, the lower 
shoe is to be firmly fixed, and the whole to be made secure. 
The lower shoe thus alone receives attrition, and will only re- 
quire to be from time to time replaced. Any light ordinary shoe 
will answer for that purpose, and no smith should find it difficult 
to forge the upper plate. The expense of the bolts and nuts is 
very trivial, and the cost would not altogether exceed that of shoes 
with leather soles. 
The bolts are made with square counter-sunk heads, and are 
left unattached to the shoe, so as to allow of a certain degree of 
play. The nuts are made of a cone shape, and fit in a correspond- 
ing cavity in the lower shoe ; and are easily tightened till they are 
level with the ground surface by means of a key which fits into 
two nicks that are made upon the surface of them. 
The Indian-rubber that I use is vulcanized, and the person from 
whom I bought it informed me I could have it made of the exact 
shape, thereby preventing any waste. 
This shoe has for its object the prevention of concussion ; it does 
not pretend to any thing more. To say that it tends to facilitate the 
expansion of the foot would be to utter a falsehood, which the most 
inexperienced in the art of shoeing could point out ; but that it will 
prevent concussion nobody who has seen its construction can deny. 
That it is a shoe that will stand the test of practice I can assert, 
having tried it. I had a pair placed upon the fore feet of a mare, 
and she went beautifully with them ; and I find that they make 
considerably less noise than the common shoe. 
I propose that it should be used in those diseases either produced 
or aggravated by concussion, such as ringbones, navicular disease, 
splent, &c., but more especially as a preventive against relapse of 
navicular disease. 
Your’s respectfully. 
