SHOE MADE TO FIT FOOT.
Removing too much of the heel-horn is the seventh evil with which we have to deal. This is a very usual practice, and is strongly calculated to make a temporary cripple of the horse so operated upon. It ought to be remembered that the ground face of the hoof should be even, and justly proportioned from toe to heel, and that the sides of it ought to be of equal depth. There is at times, indeed very often, an excess of horny growth about the toe, but it is impossible to lay down any precise rule with reference to the angle to which the hoof ought to be brought: a competent eye will, however, judge of it, and will be able to decide whether it is in conformity with the natural formation and bearing of the limb.
LOW HEEL.
HIGH HEEL.
I have a great fancy for tips—otherwise half-shoes, nailed to the toes only, and leaving both quarters free. I have known one or two young horses shod in this way who have travelled quite safely, and shown wonderfully healthy feet. For racers I particularly approve of them, and for young light-weight hunters, especially when running in a grass country. I am aware that there is a prejudice against them, except for animals that are for awhile thrown up, but it is an entirely ignorant one, and ought to be discarded. The late Duke of Wellington was especially fond of tips, and for a long while rode his horses with no other kind of foot-covering. He was at length, however, induced to give it up, as he suffered torment from persons perpetually informing him that his hack had cast a shoe. I have from time to time been shown an immense variety of india-rubber shoes, together with other novel kinds too numerous to mention, and to all of them have found some grave faults. Lyons has, however, lately produced a new specimen, which has been experimented with upon French horses in a manner somewhat successful. It is made entirely of sheep’s horn, and is said to be particularly adapted to such animals as are known not to be steady-footed when going over pavements. It is, moreover, excessively light and very durable—two excellent qualities—and although at present somewhat more expensive than the ordinary shoe, it will no doubt come down in price when the novelty wears off, and will in all probability replace the present style before the world is many years older. For horses employed in towns it must be peculiarly valuable, as it is said to be an effectual check against slipping.
FOOT WITH TIP.
Before closing the present chapter, I should like to warn horse-owners still further against the ordinary uses of the smith’s drawing-knife, rasp, and heated iron, all of which are, as I have said, most lamentably abused. By the first, especially, numerous “accidents” are made to occur. The sole of the foot being all pared away and exposed close to the earth, induces it to assume a harshness of texture totally opposed to its natural qualities, which are soft and yielding—and this change of structure is a fruitful source of corns. The outer portion of the sole rests upon the web of the shoe; the coffin-bone descends, and not meeting with any yielding substance to play upon, the flesh is pressed between the inferior surface of the bone and the upper surface of the shoe, causing malignant corns.