132 
REMARKS ON MR. REEVE’S EXPERIMENTS. 
neous. If Mr. Reeve will only be good enough to try back, and 
see what the words “in addition” means, he will find that they 
refer to the preceding paragraph of my experiments marked con- 
clusion No. 2, in which I have described the varied ways in which 
concussion expands itself in the foot of the horse when shod with a 
shoe bearing evenly all round to the heels. 
Page 63, first paragraph. — Mr. Reeve makes me to say, that, 
to provide for the action of the foot which I have described, I re- 
commend a shoe much sprung at the heels. 
I have very carefully looked over the experiments in question, 
and car.not find any thing tending to this. My belief in the action 
of the foot remains unchanged ; but I know that the declination of 
the foot is only trifling, and that the degree differs in various kinds 
of horses with peculiar formation of legs and feet ; and that the 
necessity for springing the heels, either one or both of them, or 
omitting it, depends on circumstances, such as the make and shape 
of the horse, his peculiar tread, his weight, &c., which it is un- 
necessary to enter into now : Mr. Reeve, therefore, assumes his 
statement. I advocate the principle truly, but it requires to be 
carried out with judgment, and not by blind chance. 
Page 63, third paragraph. — In answer to this, I can only say, 
that, as a general rule, I do not consider it necessary, the upper 
surface of the shoe should be made concave ; nor will harm result 
in healthy feet from the use of a shoe having a flat upper surface, 
so long as the sole is left strong, and the heels, one or both of them 
when necessary, lightly sprung. It is only when the sole is mor- 
bidly thin, and the foot cannot perform its function of declination, 
that the effects described take place*. 
Page 63, fourth paragraph. — Mr. Reeve deduces as an hypo- 
thesis, that, under my ideas of the action of the foot, the unilateral 
shoe is useless. If Mr. Reeve had carefully read my Experiments, 
he would have found that I have advocated one-sided nailing, and 
stated that 1 approved of it on account of its slightly allowing of 
the downward and backward motion; but not from the general 
ideas entertained of it, i. e., allowing of the lateral expansion of the 
foot, to which action I cannot subscribe. 
Page 63, the woodcut. — This makes it appear that the shoe l 
have used for experiment, or perhaps use in common, was of un- 
even thickness in the web, and very much bevelled off at the 
heels. For some experiments, it is true that I did spring the heels 
very considerably, although I generally did this by the abstraction 
* Although making this statement, I know very well as a fact that heavy 
cart-horses, &c. with weak crusts, must have a slight concavity in the upper 
surface of the shoe, on account of the crust not being strong enough to sup- 
port the animal, and breaking away, allowing the sole to sink. 
