A 
FEW BRIEF OBSERVATIONS 
ON THE 
FOOT OF THE HORSE, 
AND 
ON SHOEING. 
BY JOHN HASLAM, 
Veterinary Surgeon. 
BALTIMORE: 
PRINTED BY SAMUEL HARKER. 
1832, To The Reader. 
In placing myself thus before the public, I deem it proper to state 
in what relation I consider myself as occupying a station in society; 
and this 1 do with all the deference becoming every one who appeals to 
public opinion in justification of his motives and actions. 
I have resided in Baltimore a little more than thirty years, and mar- 
ried a native of this state, we have raised a family of six children, for 
whose welfare as respects both their financial concerns, and becoming 
useful and valuable members of society, I have had, (as all good pa- 
rents have,) my full share of anxious solicitude, which has ever prompt- 
ed me to impartially examine into and look after their moral conduct, 
and now I am reaping the pleasure, which for the good of society I 
wish it was the lot of all parents. 
I am of opinion, that all men in civilized society, who have a desire 
for the welfare of that society, have some particular object in view, 
which makes them steadfast in their pursuit. This I confess has been 
my case, for I have had a proud desire, and the same continues with 
all the vigour of youth, to leave, when with me time shall be no more, 
a professional family name that shall stand as a monument, and I know 
the desire has acted as a stimulus to my efforts and actions. To this 
end I placed one of my sons to the study of human medicine, and the 
only intention I had in this, was to lay in him a better foundation for 
studying the Veterinary art, for which purpose I afterwards sent him 
to study at the Veterinary College in London. 
Another of my sons I apprenticed to a blacksmith, and this I did 
with the view of being able to conduct the profession and art unitedly, 
with some profit and pleasure to ourselves, and with an intended ad- 
vantage to the public. And thus have I endeavoured to fill up my 
measure of usefulness, and in despite of all obstacles that may await 
me, I am determined to proceed with that strict integrity and stead- 
fastness of purpose, which with all, so seeking, in the great majority of 
cases carries the pursuer to the desired point. 
This exposition of facts I should not have given, had not a few pre- 
judiced designing persons attempted to operate against us, by refer- 
ring to the proceedings of one, who, a few years ago came with an 
intention, (or as bis subsequent actions would justify such an opinion) 
to deceive, asserting that he was a member of the Veterinary College, 
when in the assertion there was no truth; for while he was in Balti- 
more I received the printed rules and regulations of the College for 
1822, in which year he was living on a farm eight miles from Balti- 
more. In those printed rules are the names ©f all pupils who have 
received diplomas from the College; but neither in the above docu- 
ment nor in any subsequent one does his name appear, and yet my 
name is continued in all that have been printed since 1800; the year in 
which I received my diploma. 4 
And so by comparing this person (who was only as a bird of pas- 
sage) with me, who have had a fixed residence in Baltimore for more 
than thirty years, do they strive, as far as their influence will extend, 
to produce a prejudice against us. 
Having within ourselves a true knowledge of our motives, being 
for the benefit of the public, as well as our own, such prejudice as the 
above disturbs us not, neither do we envy them their pleasure. 
The Mind of Man has ever been inventive to discover, whatever 
would most tend to produce to him the greatest possible share of hap- 
piness; which implies comfort and pleasures, which are to be acquiree 
in a variety of ways. 
One of the items, and probably the one giving to man the greatest 
sum of pleasure, together with usefulness, is the horse: the symetry ol 
this animal, his nobleness of form and majestic carriage, together with 
his valuable merits in a domesticated state, appears to us now, naturally 
to make him an associate for man. But to fit him to all the varied and 
useful purposes, and also to the artificial state of the roads, it was ne- 
cessary to give an artificial defence to his feet, and then were the in- 
ventive powers of man set to work. 
As it appears from what is recorded of the ancients, they were not 
in the least behind the present age for their attachment, and I will say 
unbounded love to the horse. Of this we have proof in the Roman 
Emperor Heliogabulus; this personage was so passionately fond of one 
of his horses that he actually created him Consul of Rome, and gave 
him a stately palace, with a magnificent set of apartments richly fur- 
bished, and a suite of household officers and attendants to wait on him. 
The following brief account of attempts made by the ancients to 
give artificial defence to horses feet, I quote from Blain's Outlines of 
the Veterinary Art, third edition. Mr. Blain is a classical gentleman, 
and was by educati®n a surgeon, and afterwards a self taught Veteri- 
narian of the highest merit, a man of close investigation, and deep re- 
search in writings of antiquity. 
"In very early ages a species of sandals were made use of for horses 
as well as men, which were formed either of leather, of matting, or of 
rope; but it appears that these were only in occasional use for horses." 
"Xenephon, who commanded the cavalry of the Grecian armies, 
about five hundred years before Christ, and who wrote expressly on 
the subject of horses, mentions such a defence for their feet in use, in 
his time. In Columella and Varro, who were subsequent writers, we 
have additional evidence of this. Two hundred years after these, Ap- 
syrtus, a famous Veterinary writer, who lived in the reign of Constan- 
tine, gives express directions for the treatment of bruises and galls of 
the shanks, brought on by the thongs or fastenings of the foot shac- 
kles. At later periods, these shackles were strenghthened by plates of 
metal, which in general cases were probably of iron, but on occasions 
of great magnificence, appear to have been sometimes made of gold; 
as we are told by Pliney, were those used by the mules of Popsea. 
"But as riding, and the use of chariots, became more general, so 
some means for obviating the inconveniences of the inapt modes of 
fastening the defences for the feet then in use, presented themselves 
more forcibly; yet it is probable, that it was not until some centuries 
after, that the present method of shoeing with iron plates, and attach- 
ing the same by means of nails, was practised. Vegetius, who lived 5 
in the reign of Valentinian the third, though he accurately enumerates 
every thing connected with an army forge, makes no mention of any 
apparatus for shoeing horses, nor any artificers for that purpose. And 
from Beckman, we learn, that the first account of the modern horse- 
shoe that can be relied on, is gathered from an account of the furni- 
ture of the Emperor Leo, of Constantinople. 
"But the use of shoes of this kind was very confined at this period, 
nor did, perhaps, any continue to wear such altogether, but now and 
then only, nor was it until long after their introduction, that the use of 
them became general. Pere Daniel, in his Histoire de France of the 
ninth century, informs us, that horses of his country were only shod in 
time of frost, or on very particular occasions. The art of horse shoe- 
ing appears to have been brought into England by William the conque- 
ror, having been previously sometime practised among the northerns, 
who were skilful artificers in iron, and among whom the adapting of 
shoes to the feet of horses appears to have been considered as a very 
important matter; for we are informed that this puissant monarch ap- 
pointed Henry de Ferrers, a favourite, who came over with him, su- 
perintendant of shoers, and from hence the future Earls of Ferrers, 
his descendants, have always borne six horse &ioes in the quartering of 
their arms. But neither in England nor in any of the continental 
countries, did the art make a progress at all equal to its importance. It 
is true, that many writings, expressly on the subject were produced, 
and French, German, Italian, and Spanish treatises on shoeing, of very 
old date are to be met with; there are a few English also, but which 
are mostly borrowed from the French. Nevertheless, when the cele- 
brated La Fosse began his well known career, the practice of this art 
was clumsily managed, and his well known writings on this subject ap- 
pear to have first paved the way for the improvements that followed." 
The first application of iron shoes was then as it is now, necessity 
compelling the measure, and as it was first adopted without ana- 
tomical instruction, as must have been the case, for the anato- 
my of the horse's foot was then not known, it may rationally be 
expected that nature would not suffer such an innovation with impunity, 
for the rude state in which it was then done must in a short time have 
proved that these as well as the sandals had also their evils, this must 
be admitted as a fact, or it must be admitted that in this branch of the 
arts we have retrograded. For what is more common at this day than 
for owners to say when speaking of lameness, that there are more lame 
horses from shoeing than from any other cause; but with all the evils 
attending the iron shoe it was a great improvement, and owners who 
know the value and pleasure of the horse, will say with professor Cole- 
man, that the man, whoever he was, that first applied the iron shoe, 
commenced the greatest luxury that was ever produced. 
The subject of shoeing, and the evils attending it, have for ages, 
but more particularly for a number of years past, engaged the attention 
of scientific gentlemen, and some of these have almost devoted them- 
selves to it. Blain informs us of Cassar Fiaschi an Italian, who more 
than three hundred years ago, wrote a treatise on shoeing, in which 
he strenuously recommends a shoe with a concave surface to the 
ground. I have known this shoe in some few cases of contracted feet 
to do good. The same author informs us of another Caesar Fiaschi, 
an Italian, who wrote in the 17th century, a treatise on Horsemanship, 6 
'n which he introduces a very rational method of shoeing, and forbids 
the use of calkings as destructive to the feet. In the same century 
was introduced the half moon shoe, or as it is now called the tip, the 
application of which to horses feet sufficiently shows the consideration 
that was then given to this branch of the arts. 
From the preceding we see that for centuries this subject has been 
one of much interest, and as such we may take it as evidence, that the 
evils complained of at this day, have existed ever since the application 
of the iron shoe. That they did exist in the 17th century, and engage 
the attention of the scientific, we have evidence in the application of 
the tip, for it could only be on true principles of knowledge that the 
tip could have been suggested to the mind of man. 
All experiments ought to be conducted on true principles of sci- 
ence, for it is only by acting on false principles that intended improve- 
ments fail, and on the other hand, when these improvements are at- 
tempted on just principles of science, success is sure to attend. The 
truth of this observation is forcibly exemplified in the application of 
tips to the front feet of horses, for as they were applied to some bad 
feet and found to answer, the calculation then was, that as good, they 
must on a general application be the best, but on this general applica- 
tion their imperfections became so evident that they were by common 
opinion condemned and cast out of use, until La Fosse in the 18th 
century applied them as his own invention, and finding them alike 
good, he also applied them to all front feet in place of the long shoes, 
and in so doing he found i like result. But a few scientifics of the 
present age, acting on a just knowledge of tips in the application of 
them to diseased feet, discover that they can be applied with great 
advantage, for there are some horses that can travel better with them 
than they can with long shoes. 
Having in this brief manner examined the proceedings of earlier 
times, it is now proper to take up the subject more in detail, and in 
doing this, we must commence with examining the horse's foot in its 
perfect state, which is that of a colt's on the first application of shoes. 
The foot is of a circular form, externally composed of insensible 
elastic fibres, forming a horny case, the superior and anterior portion 
of which is called the wall, inside of this portion there are very fine 
plates called the insensible laminae, these plates are of primary impor- 
tance. The inferior portions of this case is called the sole and frog. 
We see the wall descending in an oblique direction from the hair 
downwards, the sole concave, the frog convex, and of a wedge like 
shape, at the extremity of the heels we see an inflection or turning 
back of the wall between the sole and frog, which inflection is called 
the bar, and is of considerable importance. In this horny case are 
contained the coffin bone, sensible laminae, sensible sole and frog, the 
elastic matter and tendon as it is inserted in the coffin bone, ligaments, 
and lateral cartilages. It is on the coronary ring that is at the upper 
part of the hoof and lower part of the hair where the vessels for se- 
creting the hoof are placed, and also in the sensible laminae and sen- 
sible sole. The insensible horny case is firmly attached to the foot by 
the sensible and insensible laminae folding in each other together with 
the necessary vessels entering into these plates. In proof of this firm 
attachment existing in the laminae. Professor Coleman had the insen- 
sible soles drawn from the front feet of a vicious horse, he was then 7 
provoked until he kicked up with both his hind legs at the same tim> . 
and this provocation was several times repeated in succession, thi 
placed the entire weight of the animal on his front feet, and yet th 
hoof remained firmly attached, which it could not have done had th 
union been less firm. This experiment is conclusive in proving tha 
the horse's weight is supported by 'the laminae and not by the sole a. 
many people would expect, for when the insensible sole was removed, 
the sensible sole must have been from half an inch to one inch from 
the ground. This trial proved the important use of the laminae to be 
that of supporting the weight of the animal; another use of this lami- 
nated attachment together with this firm union, is that of giving less 
concussion than any other union of equal firmness could have done. 
The coffin bone is much in shape of the half moon, its wings, as 
they are called, are placed towards the heels of the foot, attached to 
the superior edges of the wings of these are the lateral cartilages, so 
called from them being placed at the side of each heel. Immediately 
above the insensible frog, is placed the sensible one, with its greatest 
portion having no bone over it, it is situated between the wings of the 
coffin bone; the frog thus situated and suffered to stand opposed to the 
ground meets with no resistance from above as it recedes from below; 
and in ascending between the cartilages it gives a fulness to the elas- 
tic matter, which keeps them further apart than they are when the 
frog is raised from the ground. By this expansion between the two 
cartilages the vessels which are placed on the coronary ring to secreet 
the horny fibres composing the hoof are at the heels kept further 
apart, and thus is the frog in a great measure calculated to keep the 
heels expanded. 
The perfect foot is of a circular form, and it is the duty of all who 
have the care of horses feet, to preserve that form as much as it is 
possible for them to do. In this healthy state we see the frog in the 
shape of a wedge, wide and prominent, with expanded heels, and sole 
concave. It appears from time out of memory, to have been thought 
by the operatives, that this natural and perfect shape of the foot was an 
imperfect one, for it was a universal practice, and in this country con- 
tinues to be so, for smiths as soon as they have taken off the shoes, to 
take their buttress, and with this instrument of destruction, diminish 
the size of the frog, by taking away a considerable portion of its in- 
sensible part. It is also the practice to cut away the wall and leave 
the sole flat, and oftentimes convex, when by proper paring it would be 
concave; with some this flat paring of the sole is done through igno- 
rance, with others I believe it to be part ignorance, and partly an un- 
willingness to take the necessary time. 
There is another error committed by shoeing smiths, but which theft' 
vanity in self knowledge teaches them to view as one of the best 
items in well paring the foot. This is in opening the heels as they 
call it, which consists in removing a part of the wall and bars, at the 
very extremity of the heels; by thus removing this part and cutting 
the frog they think, and persuade the uninformed that they have opened, 
that is expanded the heels. That we may come to a true knowledge of 
this, as they conceive necessary trimming, we are to consider which is 
the part injured by contraction; the question then is, whether is it the 
sensible or insensible part? I fondly hope there is no person so igno- 
rant as to say it is the insensible, for let the readers judgment be 8 
much or little, I must expect all are ready to acknowledge it is the 
sensible part. Now the part that is by contraction, particularly the 
seat of disease, is the sensible laminae, as they are placed between the 
wings of the coffin bone and the wall which is insensible. I will here 
ask what possible relief can be given to the internal sensible part of 
the foot by this supposed opening the heels? When it is as clear as 
the brightest sun at meridian, that they are exactly as much contracted 
as before it was done. 
I will venture to assert, and I do it without fear of contradiction by 
any individual, who is well informed on the subject, that this cutting 
away the heels weakens them, and thus facilitates contraction. 
Paring the frog, and raising it from the ground, was with all, and 
even now is, by most smiths thought to be an essential part of good 
shoeing, and such was the prejudice of smiths thirty years ago, the 
time when I came to Baltimore, that on my going to their shops with a 
gentleman's horse, in order to have the frog if possible brought to the 
ground, I was sure to meet with insults; and so often were those in- 
sults repeated, that I finally refused attending unless accompanied by 
the owner. 
At that time, there were but few', if any, who paid attention to the 
intended purposes of the frog, any more than if nature had been, so 
profusely lavish in giving to the horse's foot a part of so much impor- 
tance, and so prominent, as that of the frog, only to be destroyed by 
man. 
To me it is cause of much pleasure, that I have lived long enough 
to hear pressure of the frog advocated by many who have of late years 
paid attention to the subject: but as it is at this time not understood, 
by a great number of well intended owners, I will illustrate the impro- 
priety of paring and raising the frong trom the ground, and which is 
done with the view of preventing bruises. 
Were the horse always to stand on an even surface, it is admitted, 
that on thus paring and raising, it would receive no pressure, but as 
thus constantly standing is never intended by the owner, and as the 
horse is often forced immediately after this paring and raising of the 
frog from the ground, to travel on uneven roads where it must of ne- 
cessity come in contact with projecting stones, I ask if the frog will 
ever bruise if this is not the time? The mechanic whose hand is ac- 
customed to the hammer, feels no inconvenience, while the person 
whose hand is not so employed, feels on using that instrument for a 
little while considerable pain attended with blisters. This fact in a par- 
ticular manner illustrates the impropriety of raising the frog from the 
ground, and shows to a demonstration, that the practice is fully calcu- 
lated to produce the effect it is intended to avert. Then as the frog 
cannot be kept from pressure, it is adviseable that it should at all times 
stand opposed to the ground, that it may become insensible to either 
constant or partial pressure. 
Whenever in any public manner a person makes an assertion which 
goes to condemn present and ancient customs, and as without explana- 
tion it may appear that he does it through perverse prejudice, it be- 
comes him either by sound argument, or by facts, to show on what 
ground he supports such an assertion. I have said above that the 
buttress is an instrument of destruction, and inasmuch as it comes to 
us from ages now not know^and to the present time is in use, I am 9 
now to shew cause for condemning this antiquated tool, and here it is. 
The time was when there was not to be found a shoeing shop in all 
England without a buttress; but the time now is, and has been for 
years, that in London, Bath, and some other towns, there is not a shoe- 
ing shop in which a buttress is to be found. Independent of any ex- 
pression from me, the above fact goes to prove that with this instru- 
ment the foot cannot be properly pared, and as proper paring is an 
essential item in good shoeing, I reiterate the assertion that it is an 
instrument of destruction. 
Then why! it may be asked, is it at this time in general use? I an- 
swer, that with the drawing knife which was the only agent used in 
paring the sole at the shoeing forge, belonging to the Veterinary Col- 
lege in London, when I was a student, which is now thirty years ago, 
and the only instrument in use at our forge, it requires more time than 
those who use the buttress are willing to devote in preparing the foot 
for the shoe. We therefore, make no pretention to shoeing a horse as 
quick as others may do, but we have a fixed determination to employ 
as much time as may be requisite to do it on the most approved mo ■ 
dem principles. 
I will here remark, that on taking a horse to shoe, which has good 
feet, there is not mechanically any difficulty, but the difficulty lies in 
so managing his feet as to continue them in that state, and also in 
adopting the best possible means for giving relief to such as have be- 
come diseased. These are the perplexities which have engaged so 
much of the scientifics time, talent, and study, and which the horse in 
some measure must continue to feel until a better system of managing 
his feet shall be more generally adopted, which better system is follow- 
ed at all the shoeing fnrgp« belonging tn scientific characters, of which 
there are now in Europe great numbers. 
In order that we may not receive unjust censure, it is a duty we owe 
to ourselves for me to notice, that contraction taking place is not the 
work of a day, but in all probability it is, as those who are well acquaint- 
ed with the subject, say it is, a disease that commences with the first 
shoeing of the colt, and gradually progresses until he is often shod for 
years before lameness is discovered, and then on a sudden becomes 
lame, and so it would be at this juncture of time, whether the last shoes 
then applied were put on at the usual place of shoeing him or at our 
forge. 
Contraction is a disease, and one to which the foot is of all others 
the most subject, and at the same time there is no disease coming under 
the Veterinarians notice more difficult to relieve, and a disease of which 
it is impossible to make a perfect cure, in as much as it is impossible to 
bring the foot to its original circular form. The existence of contrac- 
tion is evident to the most superficial observer when it gives to the foot 
an oblong shape, but it may and does often so exist as to elude the no- 
tice of many who are well acquainted with the horse; and this is when 
contraction is more abrupt than it is in the oblong foot, for in this abrupt 
state, on taking up the foot it may appear to represent a circular heal- 
thy form, because in a line across its centre it may appear very broad, 
but on examining the very extremity of the heels as they turn in towards 
the frog, they will be found to approximate each other. 
Contraction may, and does often exist without producing lameness, 
and this is when its progress is so tardy as to give the coffin bone time to 
conform in elongation with the hoof. 10 
Contraction is itself a disease, but it is also the parent of others, and 
those are corns, and sand-cracks, and in many cases of thrush. Corns 
are an extravasation of blood into the insensible sole at the heels, but 
most commonly on the inside one; their cause is, the sensible part being 
bruised, which is by the lateral pressure of contraction, and not by per- 
pendicular force, but in this opinion Professor Coleman and I are at issue; 
he says it is perpendicular force, but, in as much as corns are common 
to contracted heels, and rarely met with in such as are expanded, and 
as in some cases the heels may feel the effect of contraction, when we 
on viewing the foot would scarcely suspect its existence, and as the feet 
which may appear to be expanded are as much exposed to perpendicular 
force as those which are contracted; I have for a number of years been 
decidedly of opinion, that the lateral pressure given by contraction is 
the cause of corns. 
Inflammation attending corns may not terminate in supuration, but the 
formation of pus is a very common occurrence, and if not let out, by 
opening the lower part of the heel, it will find vent at the upper part. 
They effect both heels, but most commonly the inside one alone. 
Sand-cracks are fissures which take place in the quarters of the foot, 
but like corns they most generally affect the inside quarter. These 
fissures are a disunion of the horny fibres in a longitudinal direction 
from the hair downward, this disunion is produced by the hoof contract- 
ing, until from some particular cause, the coffin bone not conforming to 
that contraction, the hoof meets with resistance from the wings of that 
bone, but as the hoof continues to contract posterior to these wings, it 
is exactly opposite to their points that the fissures in the horn takes place.* 
As it is from some particular cause to us not known, that sand-crack 
do not take place in all contracted feet, so it is with thrush. This dis- 
ease has in many cases contraction for its cause, and is an inflammation 
of the sensible frog which results in an offensive ichorous discharge, 
corroding the insensible frog, but the very opposite of this is in some 
cases produced by contraction, for instead of this offensive and corrod- 
ed state of the frog, it becomes dry and much harder than in a healthy 
state. 
With the scientific there are on the foot various theories entertained, 
some believing that the frog is intended to be as a bolster and defence to 
the tendon; others contend, that its use is to keep the heels expanded, 
and to act as a stop, and spring to the animal. 
Of those entertaining the latter opinion Professor Coleman stands the 
foremost, he contends that its shape sufficiently explains its use, and 
certain it is, that on investigation his theory is best supported by the 
fact, that at the expansion of the tendon as it is inserted in the coffin 
bone, is there placed the point or narrowest part of the frog. But though 
they on this point vary in opinion, they agree in this, that, the frog ought 
to stand opposed to the ground. 
As regards paring the foot, modern authors are uniform in opinion, 
that as the sole is in a natural state, concave, it ought by paring so to 
be kept by the smith. They are also uniform in opinion that the inside 
edge of the shoe ought to be thinner than the out side, and that the heels 
ought not to be raised except in time of frost. 
• We do most unequivocally assert, that every recent case of sand-crack can be 
cured by shoeing, if without being controlled, we are permitted to apply such shoes 
as. we may see proper 11 
Besides those who have studied, practised, and written on this sub- 
ject as necessary to their living, other authors have appeared, who hav- 
ing a particular regard for the horse, devoted much of their time to the 
studying of his welfare. Of these Lord Pembroke was a prominent 
character, and in his treatise on shoeing advanced some judicious obser- 
vations, which in his day was attended with improvement in the art. 
The foot having functions of the utmost importance to perform, which 
can only be well understood by those who have studied its anatomy and 
physiology; it becomes us to deliberately consider on what they have re- 
ported, and if after having so meditated, it shall appear that they have 
not drawn just conclusions, it is then right to reject their authority. But 
if on the other hand it appears that they have drawn just deductions, it 
is then right to appreciate their discoveries and take them for rules of 
action. 
It has been discovered by all who have properly studied the subject, 
that there is that just connection between the hard and soft parts of the 
horse's foot as to allow of as much elastic motion as becomes necessary 
for his comfort and just action, and that at every step there is laterally 
and perpendicularly this elastic motion, the perpendicular motion is the 
sole descending at every tread the horse takes. Such elastic action is 
essential for the horse's own comfort, and which his rider may well ap- 
preciate if he will consider how far otherwise it would have been, had 
the foot not been composed of elastic parts. This elasticity of action is 
not by the smith's taking into consideration, and therefore it is that they, 
through lack of knowledge or unwillingness to take the necessary time, 
often apply the shoes without any regard to the state of the foot. Pro- 
perly paring the foot facilitates the elastic motion. 
Of the long shoe,there are for healthy feet two forms recommended 
by the scientific. The first I shall mention is Osmer's seated shoe. 
Osmer was educated a Surgeon, but turning his attention to the horse 
became a self taught Veterinarian, and about the year 1740, commenced 
practising in London with much reputation. He introduced the seated 
shoe, this is a shoe from the out side edge of which there is a flat sur- 
face to the foot, this flat surface is a seat for the wall of the foot to rest 
on; through the centre of this seat the nail holes are made; and from 
the flat surface to the inside edge of the shoe it is gradually made thin- 
ner so as to have a flat surface to the ground. On a view of this shoe 
it has an imposing effect on the mind, but on mature reflection its sup- 
posed good will appear to be a real evil. For as there are some horses 
having very thin walls to their feet, and there being many horses at one 
shop to be shod, causing the men to be very busy, it is more than proba- 
ble that the seat would be left too broad, by which, pressure would be 
given to the sole and lameness produced. These are rational, and as I 
think weighty objections adduced by Mr. Coleman against the seated 
shoe; and are facts which have by experience been proved. 
The second shoe is Mr. Coleman's, it is thick on the outside edge and 
made gradually thinner to the inside one, so that there is space between 
the shoe and sole, to admit a picker, and at the same time gives a flayto 
the ground. ' 
The heels and toe of this shoe are of equal thickness, and for abou 
half an inch in length, at the heels the two edges have an equal thick- 
ness, giving a flat surface to that part of the shoe for the junction of 
the bar and wall, at the very extremity of the heels to rest on. Mr. 12 
Coleman also teaches, in order that the elasticity of the heels may not 
be interrupted, the nails are not to come nearer to the heels than is 
compatible with the security of the shoe. 
Against this shoe there can be no rational objection, for as the sole 
from its concavity was never intended to receive pressure, this shoe is 
so formed as that in the hurry of business the same mistake cannot be 
made, as might be made with the seated shoe. In thus forming a shoe 
its weight is diminished, when compared with the common one of the 
same size, the two edges of which are of equal thickness; and although 
its weight is diminished, there is in it no less wear, as the wear is not 
on the inside but outside edge. 
Liberality of sentiment is the darling attribute of all science, its 
bounds to improvement are nothing short of perfection in the intended 
object. It is not like self conceit which is the true companion of igno- 
rance, parrot like, content with what it was taught, or with what its 
vanity may imagine it has discovered, and although ever so imperfect, 
believing it to be all perfection seeks no further improvement, but dis- 
cards improvements made by others be they ever so good. In this 
animadversion I wish not to be understood as applying it exclusively to 
any one branch of the arts, but to the ignorantly conceited in all branches. 
Unlike such narrow mindedness has been Mr Coleman's pase, for as 
a true possessor of science, when he commenced his professorship, he 
devoted himself to improvement in the Veterinary art. But jas by lame- 
ness there were more horses either temporarily or permanently render- 
ed useless than there were by sickness, he almost devoted himself to 
the foot and its diseases; and by him has been commenced an era of in- 
vestigating the horse's foot, its diseases, their cause and remedies, which 
has fixed on him a name which will not by time easily pass into obli- 
vion. Any thing less than this could not be expected of him, who when 
young and while a student of Surgery under Mr. Cline, brought out a 
work on suspended animation to the astonishment of the medical world, 
in as much as it far excelled any treatise on the same subject which had 
appeared before. 
Mr. Coleman has not rested satisfied with the form of shoe be first 
adopted; but having varied several times, it was when I was a student 
under him, thought by some, to be sufficient cause for dissatisfaction 
and rejection of his system. At this he was nothing daunted, but per- 
severed in the cause of reform in this department until the present high- 
ly improved state of shoeing was brought forth. But with respect to 
the security of the shoe and longer time of wear, Mr. Coleman added a 
part which was introduced by Mr. Goodwin, who was formerly a pupil 
at the Veterinary College, and now Veterinary Surgeon to the king's 
stables. This part of improvement consists in the shoes not being fuller- 
ed, and the holes so made as to receive nails with countersink heads, 
which gives to the shoe the best security it can have. Whether there 
can ever be, for healthy feet, a better system of shoeing than this one, 
as it is now' done at the Veterinary College in London, we may reason- 
ably have our doubts, and must wait for what time and the present rage 
for improvement may bring forth. 
To continue the foot in its healthy state by shoeing, has not engaged 
the attention of the Veterinarian more, than his desire has been to re- 
store to their former healthy state such feet as have taken on disease. 
Contraction is the disease to which of all others the foot is most sub- 
ject. the general cause of this is. as I have already said, want of pres 13 
sure to the frog; but whatever gives rise to inflammation in the foot, that 
inflammation tends to produce more or less contraction. To obviate as 
mueh as possible this evil, is an essential duty of man: and the best rem- 
edy at this time known, is attention in shoeing; for which purpose Mr. 
Coleman in some cases makes use of the tip, as by it, the foot in having 
an iron defence is placed nearer to a state of nature than it could be by 
any other form of shoe; and when all things correspond to make it a 
proper application, (because the state of the foot must be taken into con- 
sideration) the most pleasing result may be expected. 
The frog bar shoe is another, by the application of which we have seen 
very happy effects; it is a shoe so well adapted to contracted feet that I 
can scarcely speak with sufficient language in its favour. The three 
quarter shoe is one that often times is of great service when applied to 
a foot that has a sand-crack. 
The double oblique frog bar shoe is for diseased feet, the last of which 
I shall speak, it is equally entitled to consideration, as after, and some- 
times before the others have been used, it can be applied with great ad- 
vantage. 
There appears to be in man, (as I conceive) an acquired disposition to 
inconsistency, as appears in the fact, that all admit improvement ought 
to be made in such departments as have in them any thing radically 
wrong; but is improvement attempted? we find some who will say, the 
old way is the best, or that they are fearful the plan will not succeed, 
and thus through the effect of imagination, such men are ready to op- 
pose that reform that would be useful, and which often times after mak- 
ing its way in spite of and through a host of opposition proves to be 
the most valuable improvement. This, in the application of frog bar 
shoes has been the case with some few, who think that, because they 
are out of the common way, they cannot benefit, or may do injury, but 
with what pleasure do we know the fact, that several horses, since we 
first opened our shop have been cured of lameness, that would by any 
other means of shoeing which could have been adopted, remained incur- 
ably lame. 
As those shoes are for diseased feet, regard must be had to the state 
of the foot in order to decide, which, in the application will be the most 
proper. 
Another shoe I shall mention, which will probably by the public be 
deemed of no less importance, is one to prevent horses stumbling or 
tripping; and this we can do, although the defects may depend on the 
formation of the horse, but if the defect should be from weakness in his 
knees the shoe in that case cannot answer. It will be found to answer 
with those horses whose action is too close to the ground, and such 
horses would be considered with many to be valuable saddle horses, did 
such defect not exist. 
Having in these pages given a brief account of shoeing, from early 
ages to the present time, including the system practised at our forge, 
we return our acknowledgments to our patrons for the very liberal sup- 
port we have received, and now inform them that in order to continue 
their confidence we are determined on pursuing our course with unre- 
mitted exertion in endeavouring to make our forge a public good. But 
we are also determined that to insure other patronage nothing more 
shall be done by us than the best intentions and exertions may merit. 
For beside what to us is circumstantial evidence that servants are at 14 
other shops bribed to condemn us to owners, a gentleman who keeps 
his carriage and four horses informed us of his belief that such means 
had been taken with his servants, and this he communicated to us, that 
we might the better be on our guard. This information he gave us 
without the least intimation being given by us of our suspecting any one 
of such proceeding, but after returning our acknowledgment for his 
kind communication, he perceived that we already had suspicion of such 
as we believed being the fact. We therefore request owners to pay 
no attention to what servants nay say, but strictly examine for them- 
selves, and if they should have any imaginary or real cause of complaint, 
if such be made known to us, we shall ever receive it in friendship, as 
we should then have it in our power, either to acknowledge our error or 
give an explanation. 
I will now conclude this essay, with a quotation from Lord Pembroke's 
treatise on shoeing, he says, "whoever permits his groom to talk to him 
about shoeing or physicking his horses, will very shortly and very ab- 
surdly find himself on foot." 
I request owners to give these few pages deliberate readings, and if 
I have advanced any thing that does not accord with their opinions, I 
shall be happy to know it, that either I may give a more extended ex- 
planation, or embrace their opinion.