AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. 
13 
as it is, it compels us to seek assistance, both from anatomy and 
physiology, before we can understand its nature. The sole of 
the horse’s foot (though, as I told you before, it does not bear 
the weight) sinks down or descends, in consequence of the 
elongation of the elastic apparatus (which I also spoke of be¬ 
fore) ; consequently, whenever any thing is opposed to the horny 
sole that prevents this descent of it, the sensitive sole becomes 
bruised, much in the same manner as one of our nails would if 
struck with a hammer. The consequence of this injury is, that 
blood is extravasated underneath the horny sole, and soaks 
through into the pores of it, staining it of that red hue which 
every common groom or blacksmith knows indicates the ex - 
istence of corn ; though they are, in course, totally unable to 
account for it. 
With a view, however, to the detection and thorough under¬ 
standing of disease, we must extend our knowledge farther than 
comes within the immediate precincts of medicine. We must 
make ourselves well acquainted with the natural and domestic 
habits of the animal; with his external conformation ; with his 
action ; with his powers, &c.:—knowledge such as this will 
enable us to detect disease in its earliest and most obscure forms, 
and to make those nice pathological distinctions which are so 
necessary to a scientific and efficacious practice. 
There is a branch, gentlemen, of the veterinary art, which, as 
far as practice or even profit is concerned, is, perhaps, so little 
eligible, as to be rather rejected than desired ; and yet is one so 
intimately connected with the welfare of the foot in health, and 
the production and removal of disease in it, as to be a link quite 
inseparable from the veterinarian’s chain. However simple the 
art of shoeing horses, as commonly practised, may appear to be, 
and however mechanical it, in a great measure, in fact is, still, 
gentlemen, the paring of the hoof, and the adaptation and nail¬ 
ing of the proper sort of shoe, are operations that can only (in 
many cases even in health, and in all in disease) go properly on 
under the immediate eye of a veterinary surgeon. The foot is an 
organ doubly important to us: important to us, from being the 
organ of support and progression; and important to us, from 
being one so liable to disorder, in consequence of the defence it 
requires at the hands of art. It was a common saying with the 
farriers of old —“ no foot, no horse and one of our medical ex¬ 
aminers, in the course of a speech he made at one of the veteri¬ 
nary anniversary dinners, took occasion to laud us and our art 
so far, as to tell us w 7 e were the means of gaining the battle of 
Waterloo; which he explained as follows:—“ The British ca¬ 
valry,” said he, “ everybody knows, achieved wonders; and 
