THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XXIII, 
No. 268 . 
APRIL 1850. 
Third Series, 
No. 28 . 
ON THE CONFORMATION OF HORSES, WITH REFERENCE 
TO THEIR FEET, AND TO SHOEING. 
By J. T. Hodgson, V.S. 
THIS subject has not, I think, received the attention from 
veterinarians which its importance demands. With a view of 
inducing a fuller consideration of it, and shewing the necessity of 
its study, I have written the following pages, intended principally 
for the student of veterinary medicine. My mind has been long 
directed to the subject of “ the horse’s foot;” indeed, ever since I 
went to India in 1815; and from the various positions in which I 
have been placed — as veterinary surgeon in charge of large breed- 
ing studs, and in my career of service in the Artillery and Light 
and Heavy Cavalry, and afterwards, during a lengthened residence 
in Germany (where 1 devoted my mind still to the pursuit of the 
same object) — it must be admitted that I have had extensive op- 
portunities of observation. 
In reflecting on the different states of the feet of many thousands 
of horses of all ages, and under different circumstances, it occurred 
to me, that their varied shapes were dependent on the conforma- 
tion of the individuals, and that certain causes produced certain 
shaped hoofs ; also, that however varied the forms of the feet, yet 
that the hoof had a determinate proportion, and that rules might 
be given whereby we could, in all cases, shew the extent and 
thickness of the horny covering at every portion of the foot. I 
need not say, that the researches incidental to these inquiries have 
cost me much time, trouble, and expense, as they were carried 
out on extended scale. 
Before entering into individual peculiarities, I think it necessary 
to premise some general remarks. The convex surface of the 
horse’s hoof partakes of the shape of the cylinder and cone, though 
we seldom find it perfectly cylindrical. It is the cone or shelving 
shape which causes the varieties in the appearance of feet, as 
this shelving or spreading out may exist at various parts of the 
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