SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SHOEING. 
579 
sirable end, Mr. Coleman would probably recommend the frog 
shoe; Mr. Bracy Clark, no doubt, the hinge-toed shoe; Mr. 
Goodwin says the curve-toed shoe and French nailing: while 
Mr. Turner insists upon it, that the one-side nailing would be 
the only means of keeping the foot in a state of perfection. It 
must, however, be confessed, that we sometimes see feet of the 
finest form and appearance, nay, I may say, often changing their 
character in spite of any system of shoeing. Colts feet, that 
seemed to be every thing one could wish at the first shoeing, I 
have seen change in an extraordinary way after a few months 
stabling, and that under the most careful shoeing. Persons who 
have been much in the habit of seeing horses used from the 
commencement, must have observed (that is, if they take any 
notice at all) many hoofs, which in the colt and in the first few 
shoeings appeared perfectly firm and good, assuming, in a 
short time after stabling, a weak and brittle character, becoming 
more or less elongated, or presenting some other change : and 
this I say will sometimes happen, not only under any one par¬ 
ticular system of shoeing, but even under the most skilfully varied 
treatment that we can devise. On all occasions we are apt to 
censure the farrier for spoiling the horse’s foot; and certainly he 
often is, but not always, to blame for this mischief. We ought 
to recollect that shoeing is only, at best, a partial good : without 
it the horse would be almost useless to man; but with regard to 
the foot of the animal itself, it is a positive evil , applied in any 
form. The best mode of shoeing may, therefore, be said to be 
that which does the least injury to the foot, or that which has 
the greatest tendency to preserve it in its natural state. 
W herever I find strong feet, with hiorh heels, such as have the 
greatest tendency to contraction, I have adopted a shoe for com¬ 
mon use very much upon Mr. Goodwin’s principle, which, by 
being hammered gradually thinner from its outer to its inner rim, 
presents a concave surface on the ground side; an arrangement 
which at once gives it lightness, affords it a firmer hold upon 
the ground, and is in accordance with the natural form of the 
hoof. Its upper surface or foot side is flat, except at the heels, 
where it presents an inclined plane outwards, a form favouring 
the lateral expansion of the heels of the hoof. It is attached by 
means of seven nails, of which three only are placed along the 
inner portion of the hoof, and kept at a distance from the heel, 
in order to leave that quarter as free and unfettered as possible. 
This mode of shoeing when well executed, the shoe well made, 
properly fitted, and attached in this way, will not only prevent 
contraction of the hoof from going on, but in many instances it 
will be found to be a good means of removing it. 
Nails, it may be observed, are a necessary evil in shoeing. 
