Stereoplea: or, the artificial defence of the horse's foot considered. Also hints for rearing young colts, sound and with good feet / [Bracy Clark].

  • Clark, Bracy, 1771-1860.
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Stereoplea: or, the artificial defence of the horse's foot considered. Also hints for rearing young colts, sound and with good feet / [Bracy Clark]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The shoe is now in a state to be presented to the foot, being made perfectly flat. The French, however, and so do the Spaniards, give it a curved figure downwards in the middle, elevating a little the toe and heels; which is certainly more comformable to the natural worn foot, and causes a primary pressure at the quarters on the ground. There is this difficulty, however, attends it, that if the flat form be once departed from, it is not so easy afterwards accurately to fit the shoe to the foot. Long practice may render this somewhat easier; but we believe that the difficulty will more than outweigh any advantage derived from it, for which reason we prefer the simple flat form. And the French, (formerly at least,) used not only to cup or concave the shoe, upwards like the interior of a bowl, but they also beat up the iron all round the outer rim, perhaps to assist the nails in holding on the shoe; and with a notion also of thereby preventing the hoof from splintering. Formerly, their horses were supposed to go with more safety and freedom than ours, and which, I believe, was well founded; now, I am sure from much observation, it is otherwise. This arises from two causes; first, that they have departed very much from their old method of shoeing; and, secondly, that their horses have much more of the Arab blood now than formerly, with hoofs finer and not so coarse, which makes them feel it more. But another reason was the great width of their shoes, and the comparatively thin small shanks of their nails, suddenly rising from a large round or square head, nothing but the shank entering the hoof; and then from the head having perhaps a very slight power of motion in the hole of the shoe, instead of fitting it tight, as with the square countersink long-headed nails with us. They also, at this time, did not much cut and slice the frog away, or sole of the foot; and knew not at all the use of that destructive tool, the drawing knife. Now the reverse of all this is seen, and the furch is more cruelly cut, and the hoof rasped, than in any other country. Their shoes were turned down also lightly at both heels or extremities, forming their crampons, which much eases the foot, and gives it advantages by throwing it upon the more solid toe. A wide web to the shoe, is, I am thoroughly convinced, of more utility than is generally apprehended: in confirmation of the truth of this, I well remember, in the first institution of a Veterinary College in England, Professor Coleman maintaining the doctrine, that the only use of the shoe was to protect the wall from wear, and being splin- tered by the stones of the road, and he actually ordered, upon this principle, all the shoes to be made as narrow as possible, and in fact very little wider than the wall; and so they were all made. And I now record the result, that it may never be done again, for all the horses so shod went so crippling and tender, that ]t