PATTEN-SHOE
—was a shoe formerly used with lame horses; but from the palpable absurdity of its adoption, seems now to be nearly banished from modern practice. This shoe was constructed with a ring, circular, or nearly oval, at the bottom, which being fixed upon the SOUND foot, its intentional use was to compel the horse in all injuries to stand upon the lame leg, that a contraction of the muscular parts might be prevented. Happily such ridiculous and ill-founded notions are gliding into oblivion.