Horse shoes and horse shoeing: their origin, history, uses, and abuses/Chapter XV
CHAPTER XV.
There are probably few arts which have been known and practised for so long a period, which have been found of such general utility, and yet have undergone so little modification or real improvement as this of horse-shoeing. The earliest model of an iron shoe we can discover differs but little in form from those now in everyday use; and perhaps there are not many arts which have attracted a larger share of attention and experiment by men who had made the subject their profound study, and others who had not, and knew but little of the theoretical principles which should govern its practice. Books have been written by scores, promulgating new methods; patents innumerable have thrown their aegis over inventions Scanning error; doubled pageScanning error; doubled pagedoomed never to be adopted; expensive machines have been devised for the speedy manufacture of shoes of a particular shape or quality of metal; and individuals have given various designations to eccentric or trivial deviations from the ordinary pattern; yet what is the result? That, with one or two exceptions, little change has been wrought, and shoes resembling in shape those in use ages ago are still in universal repute, and are not likely to be supplanted for some time to come; while the mode of fastening them to the hoofs by nails, cannot, it appears, be replaced by any other yet proposed. The reason for this most probably depends upon the fact, that the supposed improvements have been either too extravagant or speculative in their aim, and gave rise to disappointment after a brief trial; or they were so elaborate, or unsuited to the foot and its functions, that they could not be adopted.
The shady aspect of civilization, as regards an artificial existence, is manifested in the horse as palpably almost as in man; and of the many ills entailed upon this creature by domestication and continual employment upon made roads, none are more grievous, more frequent in their occurrence, or more difficult to remedy, than those attributed, directly or indirectly, justly or unjustly, to shoeing. Hence the avidity with which any reasonable proposal for the avoidance of these evils was jumped at, and the inevitable reaction and disappointment which ensued when they failed; until now, so firmly established has the present mode of shoeing become, the announcement of any improvement seldom obtains more notice than a smile of incredulity, or a hesitating and often prejudiced trial.
The truth consists in this, that it is not so much newfangled notions or devices, which have really no practical bearing, and are usually founded on error, that are wanted, but careful attention to the anatomical and physiological teachings which the study of the limb and foot alone can give, and simple adherence to well-established principles which have their foundation in these. A neglect, or want of a just appreciation of the value of the facts which the above sciences furnish, have been fruitful sources of false doctrine in this respect, and have caused much suffering to the unfortunate horse, and loss to his owner.
For a period extending over very many centuries, it would appear that the horse's foot was regarded and treated pretty much as if it were a block of wood exposed to attrition, and that the sole aim and purpose of shoeing was to defend it from wear. Its anatomy, functions, and maladies, if it had many in primitive times, were little understood; nor, perhaps, were the less noticeable, but no less important advantages to be derived from the scientific application of farriery, thought of. As M. Megnin remarks, from the time of their invention, and during many centuries,horse-shoes were simply a narrow iron armature laid flat against the foot, with the exclusive object of protecting it from wear. This primitive idea of shoeing has its analogy in that now employed by the Arabs: an analogy which is further confirmed in the method of attaching the shoe. In both cases the nails have large heads, intended to grasp the ground; they take a short, yet strong hold of the wall of the hoof, and the points, instead of being twisted off, are simply turned round to the side of the foot. The nail-holes are circular, the necks of the nails are also round, and the shoe is light. This analogy, says Megnin, gives rise to the conviction that with the Gauls, the Gallo-Romans, the Greeks of the lower Empire, as well as with the Arabs of now-a-days, the horses' feet were scarcely pared; that they were as frequently without shoes as with them, and that the deteriorations of the horny case, and the infirmities of the inferior extremity of the limbs, were unknown to them.
The settlement of certain Germanic races in France and Britain after the departure of the Romans, and the extension of their rule, caused the gradual substitution of the German for the Celtic method of shoeing. Instead of the narrow shoes, with the flat upper surface and undulated border, heavier plates with a wider surface, and concave towards the sole of the foot, began to be introduced, and, adds M. Megnin, at this period the boutoir, or 'buttress,' commenced its functions, and reckless paring of the hoofs began.[1] From this time up to the present, this attendant curse of shoeing has prevailed. Cæsar Fiaschi, one of the earliest writers on farriery, gives us a long catalogue of foot diseases, directly or indirectly due to paring, and he, and all enlightened men who have succeeded him, and who have written on this subject, have protested against this wanton destruction and unmitigated cruelty. Whenever the sole began to be pared, the heels opened, and the frog mutilated, it became necessary to adopt shoes with the foot surface concave; no pressure could be borne by those parts which had been deprived of their natural protection. Therefore were the shoes dished—made like a basin—the inner border only resting on the ground, and the whole strain of the animal's weight and burden, as well as that incurred in violent exertion, was thrown entirely upon the outer margin of the foot. This could have but one result for the poor horse—disease and agony. Routine has accompanied the art from the remotest period; it haunts it now; there are but few workmen who are able or who care to reason as to its application, or its effects on the healthy functions of a most beautiful but a most complicated organ. The art of shoeing is simply traditional; and however able an artisan may prove himself in the beaver or bee-like monotony of practical detail which he has acquired by imitation from others, yet he will never advance a step beyond, unless his intelligence has been quickened by something besides the mere mechanical knowledge he has acquired by laborious but unstudied repetition. He is but a labourer or workman pursuing a useful but unscientific occupation, unless he can combine theory with practice, and extend his knowledge beyond the inert inorganic envelope, to the vital and all-important structures within, and in this way maintain them in a healthy state by his art. It is no doubt owing to this routine manner of treating the horse's foot that no progress has been made in diminishing the natural or acquired defects and diseases of this organ, which are so numerous and prove so destructive.
Previous to the beginning of the last century, it may be said that the art of shoeing was traditional; the shoes were clumsy, and, at a later period, even viciously contrived. No thought appears to have been paid to the injurious influence shoes and paring might have on the form of the hoofs, on their texture, on the true or false disposition of the limbs, or on the horse's natural movements.
And in this century, the exaggerated and mistaken notions prevailing with regard to the elastic properties of the foot have done much to perpetuate the mischief. Apparently overlooking the fact, that a large portion of the inferior part of the hoof is closely filled with inelastic bone (the os pedis); that the wings of this bone, which is of a crescent shape, extend to the very extremity of the heels, and that the inflections of the wall, termed the bars, are attached to the inner face of these wings, it has yet been stoutly maintained that this portion of the foot was largely capable of dilatation and contraction, and that these movements actually occurred during progression. The sole, too, descended and ascended, and the whole inferior surface of the horse's extremity was a wonderfully contrived resilient apparatus, whose freedom must not only be uninterrupted, but facilitated.
Paring the sole until the blood was nearly or quite oozing through, and sometimes applying extreme pressure to the frog, were the means employed to keep the foot in a natural condition; and to prevent the then extremely sensitive sole from being bruised by coming in contact with the shoe, as well as to permit its easy descent, the upper surface of the shoe was bevelled off so as to leave a wide space in this vulnerable region, and the whole strain of the weight and movement thrown on the crust or wall alone.
The result was, that the hoofs, instead of contracting and expanding, as it was erroneously believed they ought to do, only contracted; the tender horn, ruthlessly exposed by the drawing-knife to rapid desiccation and other abnormal conditions, rapidly shrank, dried, and lost its healthy properties; from this arose various disorders, such as contracted heels, fissures in the horn, wasting of the frogs, and even more deep-seated maladies of the foot. Or if the unfortunate creature was put to severe exertion, the tremendous strain thrown upon the anterior and lateral parts of the foot readily set up congestion or inflammation of the vascular textures uniting the hoof to the bone within, and flat or convex soles, deformed wall, lameness, and partial or total inefficiency was the result.
This will be rendered more apparent, perhaps, if we show a section of the anterior portion of a foot pared to 'thumb-springing,' and shod with an ordinary shoe (fig. 204).
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| fig. 204 |
This most injurious fashion of cutting away the sole and frog, and deeply notching the heels, is still largely in vogue in Britain; though in the army it has been for many years abolished, and the results of a rational method of shoeing are most marked in the diminution of foot-lameness, and the maintenance of the hoofs in a natural and serviceable condition.
So far as the integrity of the foot is concerned, there can scarcely be any doubt that the primitive farriery of the early races of Gaul and Britain was preferable to that of modern days, when this excessive mutilation of the hoof is practised. Although protecting the horse's foot from exposure to undue wear, and from the injuries which would befall it if made to undergo hardships with which it was not naturally designed to contend, yet, unless most judiciously employed, much that belongs to shoeing is a serious evil; and the skill of man ought therefore to be directed to the diminution or suppression of those prejudicial tendencies. For example, the employment of nails to fasten on the shoe, however carefully managed, is to a certain extent a source of injury to the hoof; but when used indiscreetly, is positively ruinous to the animal. No invention yet proposed has succeeded in retaining the shoe so firmly as nails, and the many failures that have resulted when other fastenings have been tried, leads to the belief that no means at once so convenient and so efficacious will readily be substituted for them. Again, different models of shoes have been devised to meet wants, real or imaginary, and to guard against the casualties incidental to the employment of the ordinary shoe, but without success; for one after another they have all been discarded, and the simple shoe, with all its defects, and but slightly modified to suit particular cases, has outlived them all. So that there appears but little chance that anything more simple, useful, or less injurious than the ordinary shoe, when properly applied, will ever stand the same prolonged test, or gain such universal favour.
But knowing the structure and uses of the several parts of the hoof and its contents, as well as the physiology and just proportions of the limbs, the skilful artisan, taught by the veterinary surgeon, should be able to obviate many of the disadvantages which usually attend the use of nails and shoes, and reduce others to comparative harmlessness.
The principal object in arming the hoof with a rim of metal is to protect it from the effects of wear. This was the intention of the inventor, and to-day it is our chief aim. To prevent the outer margin of the hoof from being broken and worn, by the simplest means in our power, is the cardinal problem with regard to the preservation of the horse's foot; and nothing appears to be easier to accomplish. Before our interference with that organ, its beautiful structures were contrived to meet every demand, and its manifold functions were freely and vigorously maintained. On soft or uneven soil, the entire lower border of the wall, the sole, bars, and frog came into contact with the ground: nature intended them to meet the ground, and there to sustain the animal's weight as well as the force of its impulsive powers. On hard or rocky land with a level surface, only the dense tough crust and bars, the thick portion of sole surrounded by them, and the resilient retentive frog meet the force of the weight and movement; and in both cases, not only with impunity, but with advantage to the interior of the foot, as well as the limb. The horn, in addition to its being a slow conductor of heat, is dense, tough, and elastic to a degree varying with different parts of the foot, while its fibres are not only admirably disposed to support weight, secure a firm grasp of the ground, and aid the movements of the limb, but are also an excellent medium for modifying concussion or jar to the sensitive and vascular structures in their vicinity. Nature has done her best to make these structures, perfect and suitable in every way to the requirements of limb and foot.
In the fore limb, which is chiefly concerned in sustaining weight, the crust or wall of the hoof is formed of fibres running continuously from above, where they are secreted, to below, where they are worn, and following the same direction as the wall itself. As we examine them from within to without—from the surface where they are in contact with the living tissues, we find that they are at first loose and soft in texture, and easily penetrated, while they can be readily dispossessed of their moisture, and then shrivel up into thin, brittle fragments. As we recede from this surface and approach the external fibres, we notice that, like the cells of the human epidermis, they grow more resisting and dense, are smaller, packed closer and more cohesively together, until near the outer face of the wall, when they become rapidly harder, stronger, and more whale-bone like, and though porous, yet appear destitute of moisture. In this respect they resemble the fibres of an ordinary cane, and further than this are, as in the cane, entirely covered with a delicate, translucent, varnish-like secretion, intended to prevent the too rapid evaporation of moisture from the fibres, and to guard against their shrinking and splitting. The bars are similarly formed, and are secreted, like the wall, from the large projecting, elastic mass, the coronary ring, that lies in a wide concavity around the upper and inner aspect of the crust, and has an important share in supporting the weight, and preventing the sole being unduly pressed upon by the bone resting upon it. The crust being always, in an unshod condition, exposed to wear, is continually growing downwards from this coronary cushion to meet the demands of attrition; and if hindered from coming into contact with the earth, would increase to an indefinite length. The fibres of the horny sole follow exactly the same direction as those of the wall, and are destined, like them, to come more or less in contact with the ground, and support the weight of the body. They vary in length, being shortest towards the middle of the sole, and longest at their junction with those of the wall. At this part the sole is equal to the wall in thickness. Unlike the wall fibres, however, those of the sole only attain a certain length, when the horny matter of which they are composed dries and fractures like the human hair. By this means the sole seldom, if ever, becomes abnormally thick in a state of nature, and the loose flakes that are continually forming are not only active agents in retaining the moisture necessary for maintaining the elasticity and proper development of horn, but also play the part of so many pliant defences to guard the plantar surface of the hoof from injury by extraneous substances, with which it is always coming in contact.
The frog is a most important organ. It is analogous to the elastic pads on the foot of the dog, cat, camel, elephant, and other creatures. It is designed, like these pads, to meet the ground, diminish the jar to which the limb would otherwise be subjected, especially during violent exertion, and, by its india-rubber-like properties, prevent slipping. In conjunction with the admirably constructed vascular cushion, or 'sensitive frog,' lying above it, and contained between the wings of the pedal bone, it acts as a protection and support to the large flexor tendon in its passage over the navicular bone and at its insertion into the os pedis. This function was pointed out by Lafosse in 1754: 'The frog serves as a cushion to the tendon of Achilles . . . it is composed of soft and compact horn . . . of a spongy nature . . . it ought to bear on the ground, as much for the facilité as for the safety of the horse in progression . . . it is the natural point d'appui of the flexor tendon.'
In aiding the movements of the internal parts of the foot, its influence on the lateral expansion of the hoof may be said to be nil, or at any rate extremely trifling; and notwithstanding all that has been imagined and written on the subject of this lateral expansion, it may with confidence be asserted that the lower margin of the horny case, from the toe to the heels, if perhaps not perfectly immovable under all circumstances, after the animal has attained maturity, yet is, in the unmutilated foot, practically so. With the unpared hoof, it may also be asserted that the sole does not descend; the descent of this portion of the foot, and its lateral expansion at the heels to any very appreciable degree, would be incompatible not only with the functions, but also with the anatomy of that organ. The elasticity required to assist in the movements of the horse and to prevent injury, is to be found in other parts of the foot and limb. Such is the result of daily observation, every variety of experiment possible to devise, and a long and attentive study of the anatomy and physiology of this wonderful structure. I have before expressed my opinion that the lateral expansion and sole-descent theory has proved a sad one for the horse, and has caused him years of untold suffering and inconvenience.
The support afforded by the horny frog and plantar cushion to the flexor tendons is not without its counterpart in other regions of the body. We find cushions of fat, for example, placed in various situations to act as a pad, and particularly in maintaining the structures surrounding joints in close approximation to these, especially in the anterior and posterior extremities; but there the enveloping muscles play the part that ground pressure does on the frog.
It may be noted that the wall or crust of the fore foot is thickest at the front part, or toe, and gradually diminishes in substance, as it does in depth, towards the heels, the inside quarter and heel being the thinnest and straightest, while the outside quarter is stronger, wider, and more circular. The hind foot, on the contrary, is strongest and widest towards the quarters and heels, and is deeper there than the fore one; the frog is also smaller, and the sole more concave.
In the unshod fore foot, a large portion of the plantar surface comes into contact with the ground, even when this is in a hard condition. If we place a fresh hoof that has never been shod—I mean one that has not been trimmed and dressed by the farrier, and that belonged to an animal with no hereditary defect in this respect—on a table, we will find that the crust, bars, and a considerable portion of the posterior part of the frog are on the same plane, and must have sustained wear together. The outer surface of the crust looks shining, tough, and solid; the sole is wonderfully thick, and the horn beneath the flakes, if there are any, is moist, flexible, and easily cut; while the frog, if it be a fore foot, extends well towards the toe, and is full, round, and solid, with perhaps a few loose shreds in process of exfoliation, and the cleft extending to a very slight depth. In consistence it resembles a piece of india-rubber, if in a moist condition; but if dry, then it is harder and less vulnerable. This is the condition in which the hoof should be studied by every horseman and every farrier; as it is the condition in which it should and can be maintained by careful management and shoeing.
I much regret that I cannot in this work enter more fully into the anatomy and physiology of this important region of the horse's body; to give anything like an adequate idea of these would require a larger space than I now have at my command, and indeed is a proper subject for a special treatise.
As my object here is merely to show the use and abuse of shoeing, I may have said sufficient to show that in the unshod foot of an animal that has not been improperly reared, and has descended from sound stock, we find a perfect organ adapted to meet all natural requirements.
Domestication, and the necessities of man, however, are apt, unless carefully guarded against, to change the character and healthy condition of this and other organs. In our climate and state of civilization, the horse taken from pasture to share in the artificial existence of his master cannot long travel without protection to the hoofs. Travelled for a short distance only on hard roads during wet weather, the crust of the hoof at the toe and quarters is worn and broken away, and the sole becomes diminished in thickness; the frog resists wear better than either. Knowing this, before the animal is put to any service, the precaution is taken to have it shod. Indeed, usually long before this period arrives, the creature has to submit to the unreasonable routine which is for ever after to dominate its life of slavery. The farrier is repeatedly called in to trim and dress the young creature's hoofs, to rasp and cut them in an unmeaning fashion, so as to keep them in a good form for shoeing. When at last shoes are applied, the foot has to submit to an amount of alteration, cutting, rasping, and beautifying, which might cause us to exclaim with Snout, 'O Bottom (or rather foot), thou art changed! what do I see on thee?' The hoof has been brought into a shape conformable to the prevailing fashion.
Coutumes, opinion, reines de notre sort,
Vous réglez des mortels et la vie et la mort.
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| fig. 205 |
A shoe is then fitted to the foot; in all probability it is too small; it has a wide, flat ground-surface, the foot-surface has a narrow plane border on which the crust rests, and the remainder is bevelled to avoid contact with the abnormally thin sole. When this metallic plate is fastened on the hoof, and the horse once more rests on the limb, the foot has no longer its natural bearing. The whole weight of the horse, as well as any other weight he may have to sustain on his back, is borne by the crust of the foot alone. The frog is elevated above the ground, and the sole dare not come near it. In fact, the shoe has a very wide surface or web to protect the sole of the poor mutilated foot from the injury likely to be inflicted by stones on the roads: injury that, before shoeing, could have been resisted far better by nature's protection.
The shoe, as we have seen, was too small; or rather, the farrier imagined the plantar surface which supported the weight and strain so admirably in a natural condition to be too large. So when the metal plate has been securely attached, a large portion of the hoof hangs over it—the best and strongest portion; and this has to be removed with the rasp or toe-knife. The nails have been driven to a certain height in the wall, and as their extremities must be riveted or clenched, these clenches must not be disturbed. The overhanging crust between them and the shoe, however, is rasped away, and the face of the foot presents a rounded or knobbed appearance very unlike its natural outline. In all probability, the whole external surface up to the coronet is tastefully rasped and polished, the varnish-like covering nature had spread over it is carefully removed,[2] and the fibres beneath are more or less damaged, are exposed to desiccation, and shrink; while below the clenches they have been entirely destroyed, and nothing is left to support the nails holding on the shoe but the thin soft fibres, as fragile almost as the pith of a rush, and which were never intended by nature to be exposed. Consequently, they lose their moisture, wither, chip, crack, and break off, and frequently the shoe is lost, and with it a large portion of the hoof.
The same process goes on with the sole and frog. The young horn, prematurely exposed, cannot resist the effects of evaporation, and shrinks in the same way. At each shoeing the same routine is followed by the farrier, and the horn is often so hard that artificial means must be adopted to soften it, in order to get off a sufficient quantity to allow the sole to spring under the thumb.
In this we cannot altogether blame the farrier; he is only carrying out the ideas of men who have published books on shoeing. Can we wonder that it soon becomes necessary to adopt every means to supply artificially that which has been removed so indiscreetly. Heavy iron shoes with plenty of cover to defend the morbidly sensitive horn of the soles, which may have been thinned till the blood was oozing through, before these cumbrous shields were applied. Words cannot describe the agony a horse must experience when he chances to put his foot on a sharp, or even a blunt stone. And yet the writers who have counselled this mutilation of the foot, have laid this tenderness—the limping gait, and falls with broken knees—to the nails of the shoe preventing expansion! Plates of leather covering the delicate frog and sole, and layers of tar and tow, are brought into requisition to compensate—though such is not confessed—for the loss of the horn; but with very small results. In a brief time, the whole of the foot becomes dwarfed; the frog, deprived of its natural function, like the muscles of a paralyzed arm, becomes atrophied, diseased, and almost disappears, the sole becomes still more concave and hard, and the foot towards the heels narrower, as in figure 206.
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| fig. 206 |
At the same time the unfortunate creature begins to move as if in pain; the flexor tendon, on its course over the navicular bone, has lost its support, and has from the first shoeing been acting at a very serious disadvantage. The mutilation of the hoof, by removing the best portion of its horn, at the very time it was most required, has inflicted serious injury on it and the bone over which it has to play during its arduous task of flexing the foot and limb; while the heavy iron shoe, and the increase of concussion it engenders on artificial roads, all tend to hasten the ruin of the animal—and sooner or later, depending on circumstances, we have either acute or chronic navicular disease, acute or chronic laminitis, or a host of other maladies of a more or less serious character. I am of course always speaking of the anterior extremities.
This evil of paring and rasping must be looked upon as the greatest and most destructive of all that pertains to shoeing, or even to our management of the horse. Nine-tenths of the workmen who resort to this practice cannot explain its object, and those who have written books in defence of it, say it is to allow the descent of the sole and facilitate the lateral expansion of the hoof.
Fancy our gardeners cutting and rasping the bark off our fruit-trees to assist them in their natural functions, and to improve their appearance! And yet the bark is of no more vital importance to the tree than the horn of the sole, wall, and frog is to the horse's foot.
Bracy Clark has admirably delineated the changes the hoof undergoes in a short course of modern shoeing; though, always haunted by the expansion phantom, he wrongly attributed this alteration to the nails confining the lateral movements of the heels. The same transformation from health to disease can be noted in the feet of young horses whose soles are pared and hoofs embellished at some forge where shoeing is practised on 'improved principles.'
Not only is this unscientific practice injurious to the hoof and its contents, but it indirectly reacts upon the whole limb. If the foot suffers, this must share to a greater or less extent. We have but to cast our eyes on the horses passing to and fro in large cities, to discover how many, at a comparatively early age, are limb-worn and crippled; and, though we must attribute much of this to excessive and premature toil, yet we cannot overlook the effects of the hoof-mutilation and unreasonable shoeing, and are compelled to lay a large share of blame to their account.
In briefly noticing the rules which ought to guide our practice in shoeing the horse's foot, we will again glance at the most prominent and common errors in the farrier's art which occasion and perpetuate such grave evils.
The limb and hoof of the unshod horse should be attentively studied, as both are beautifully adapted for their functions, and our care should be to interfere as little as possible with these; in fact, we ought, in shoeing, to adapt to the feet shoes which will preserve the regularity and just direction of the limbs, maintain the integrity of the hoof in form and texture, allow freedom to those movements of which it is capable, while shielding the horn from the effects of undue wear. They should also aid the animal in retaining a firm and solid grasp of the ground or pavement, as well as assist in the impulsive efforts required in the performance of certain duties.
In a normal state of the foot, the crust or wall grows from the coronet at an equal rate at all points, and in a degree generally sufficient to compensate for the wear sustained at its lower or ground margin. When this wear is regular, and the foot may be said to stand in harmonious relations with the other parts of the member, the angle of inclination of the front of the hoof depends on the formation of the limb to a certain extent, but may be set down at from 50 to 60 degrees. This part of the hoof is longer than the heels by one-third. The crust grows to an indefinite length when prevented from sustaining wear through accident, or the application of the shoe. This growth appears to be greatest at the front of the foot, and least at the heels. This is only apparent, however, and may be accounted for by the attrition that takes place between the shoe and foot, from the last nails to the heel, where there is an amount of play which wears down the horn almost as quickly as it grows, and is evidenced by the deep furrows observed towards the heels of the shoe. This is an important fact to remember, as the continual increase in length of the toe is one of the unavoidable evils of shoeing. Every hour the balance of the limb is being altered as the foot grows forward, and more strain is thrown on the back parts of it. In a state of nature, growth and wear would be continually balancing each other. At each shoeing, the abnormal length of the foot is certainly remedied by the skilful farrier, who reduces it to its natural proportions; but he has no sooner applied his shoe than the same process of growth again slowly, but surely, alters the aplomb. This is, to a certain extent, irremediable. But it is not a very great evil; and it is in reducing the wall of the hoof to its proper length that a workman is known. The amount of growth varies in different animals, according to circumstances. If it is active in the shod horse, then the shoes must be more frequently removed to reduce the redundancy, and restore the lower part of the limb to its natural position. We will hereafter notice how this should be done.
The second rule—to maintain the integrity of the hoof in form and texture, and allow freedom to those movements of which it is capable, is one of vital importance to the well-being of the animal. To indicate in a general manner how it should be enforced, I cannot do better, I think, than enumerate the various steps in the operation of shoeing, as they have been inculcated by me for several years. The directions are applicable for all kinds of horses, and even for every description of foot, and are those I give to the farriers under my supervision. It will be perceived that what we may term hygienic shoeing is reduced to a few simple lessons, which any one may learn and readily practise, or see carried out on their own horses; and that it has nothing of the painfully elaborate carving, rasping, nailing, and filing attending the usual method of shoeing, and which demands much skill, much labour, and after all entails grave injury on the horse.
Shoeing, as it is termed, is required either when the armature has been worn out, the hoofs have grown too long, or the wear and growth have both reached a stage when the intervention of the farrier is needed. The length of wear of the shoe will depend upon the material of which it is made, its weight, and the attrition to which it has been subjected. It is generally better that it should wear for a long than a short period; frequent shoeing, requiring frequent nailing, damages the crust by piercing its fibres and splitting them.
The shoe is said to be 'worn out' when it has lost a portion of its substance at the toe—where the greatest amount of wear usually occurs, or when it has become very thin either over the whole surface, or in one of its branches. When the shoe lasts for a long period—six weeks or two months—without being removed, the hoof usually becomes unnaturally long, widens at its under surface, and the iron being carried forward with the growth becomes buried within the crust. The horse moves awkwardly, stumbles, goes on his heels, and an undue strain is thrown on the flexor tendons and the posterior regions of the limb.
The period during which a shoe ought to wear, or be allowed to remain on the foot, depends upon circumstances. Unless in very exceptional circumstances, it should not be suffered to remain longer than four or five weeks, and neither should a horse be shod more frequently than once in three weeks or a month. It must be always remembered, that an excess of growth is far less injurious than too frequent shoeing.
It is easy to distinguish when the shoe is worn out; though some people, whenever the outer margin of the iron at the toe is worn away—and though the horse may not have been shod the full period—become alarmed, and have the animal re-shod.
So long as the shoe remains firmly attached, this wear is of little importance. If the horse has not been shod a month, I allow him to go until the plate nearly or quite breaks through at the point of wear, as he only removes that horn from the front of the hoof which must be taken away by the rasp in the operation of shoeing. This enables me to order lighter shoes to be worn.
Some horses have naturally long feet, and when they rest on the ground they appear to require 'shortening.' If a foot is raised, it will be at once seen whether this is the case—that is, if the sole has not been mutilated by the drawing-knife in the previous shoeing. If it is in its natural condition, this will be some distance from the shoe, and the latter will have lost its proper seat on the foot. This is because the crust grows indefinitely, while the sole always maintains a regular thickness.
Whether the shoes be worn out, or only require removal when the crust has obtained an excess in length, it is necessary that the farrier's assistance be called in. Before the shoes are taken off, the direction of the limb and foot should be studied, both while the horse is standing and when it is moving. This is seldom, if ever, done by the farrier; and yet it ought to be an important object to maintain or regulate the direction of the leg and hoof, which can be done by ascertaining whether in front or in profile they are in line—whether the toe, the side of the hoof, or heel, incline too much inwards or outwards—whether the heels of the hoof are too low or too high—the toe too long or too short—and if there are any traces of 'brushing' or 'cutting' on the inner sides of the hoofs, fetlocks, or knees. Seeing the horse walk or trot indicates the nature of his action—whether high or low—or if the movement of the limbs is false or irregular—and whether any fault which may exist can be rectified by shoeing.
These are very essential points to observe, as they all come within the domain of the art; and the intelligent workman can do much to modify or rectify natural or acquired defects, as well as preserve perfect form and action, and in this way carry out our first rule.
Then the shoe is removed. This is a very simple operation, and yet it requires tact and care: tact, that the horse's limb and foot be not twisted by violently wrenching off the shoe; and care, that no nails or clenches are allowed to remain in the crust, and that the latter be not broken. It is better, after cutting the clenches clean off, to spring the shoe gently at the inner or outer heel by means of the pincers, prizing them softly forward, and then across the foot—never outward—and withdrawing the nails one by one. A glance is sufficient to show the state of the sole and frog. The next step is to reduce the hoof to its proper dimensions—and this is no trifling matter. On this operation depends the true or false direction of the limbs, and it is in this respect that grave errors are often committed. It may be accepted as a truth, that the ground-surface of the foot ought to be directly transverse to the direction of the pastern, no matter how defective the limb may be; and it is in maintaining or restoring this relation, and keeping the length of the toe in harmony with that of the heels, that care and skill are required.
This is accomplished by reducing the crust. If the pastern is perpendicular to the shank-bone, and the two sides of the lower margin of the foot are directly transverse to the line passing down from these, the crust has only to be lowered equally on each side; but if the pastern deviates to the outside or inside, then more horn must be taken away from one margin than the other, to regulate this deviation. This operation, says M. Guyon, ought to be accomplished with mathematical exactitude, as a difference in height between the sides of the foot of some fractions of an inch determines considerable oscillations of the weight.
A just relation may be said to exist between the height of the toe and that of the heels, when the latter is about two-thirds that of the former. This is the natural form; though, through improper shoeing, and perhaps defective organization, it may vary. To lower the heels more than the toe, is to lengthen the foot; and to shorten the toe, and leave the heels untouched, is to raise the latter.
The amount of horn to be removed from the crust, as well as the manner of removing it, is another important consideration. As before mentioned, the heels usually wear themselves tolerably low against the extremities of the branches of the shoe; but where the latter has been firmly fixed to the crust, this up-and-down friction does not take place, and the posterior parts of the foot are proportionally long. As a general rule, however, the heels require little or no alteration, and the toe needs shortening. With the hoofs of saddle or carriage horses, this shortening is best and most safely accomplished with the rasp. Heavy draught-horses, whose hoofs may have grown excessively long, and which have more horn to spare, are oftener trimmed with the toe-knife.
If the horse is to be shod with a shoe reaching to the points of the heels, the horn of the wall at this region, if necessary, is to be removed to the degree prescribed above. Under all circumstances, every fragment of loose horn incapable of supporting the shoe, ought to be taken away, so as to reach sound material. This may be done by passing the rasp evenly along the ground-surface of the crust, gradually removing a larger amount as the toe is reached, and inclining the instrument in a sloping manner on the outer edge, so as to cut off the external fibres shorter than the internal ones. At the toe, the crust should be cut down to the level of the sole. Here the knife may be used, and the remainder of this part removed until the white or yellow line marking the junction of sole and wall is reached. This is only to take place around the toe, and no more of the sole must be taken away than is absolutely necessary to give a level bed to the shoe; or, as Osmer says, 'in order to obtain a smooth and even surface, so far as the breadth of the shoe reaches, and no farther.' In the majority of cases I never allow the knife to be used for this purpose; causing all the work to be done by the rasp. The object in cutting off the external fibres at an angle from the quarters to the toe, is to give the edge of the hoof a rounded appearance, while it equalizes its thickness, and prevents it from splitting and breaking. The sole, frog, and bars must on no account, or under any conditions—unless those of a pathological nature—be interfered with in any way by knife or rasp. I have already shown the urgent necessity there exists for preserving these important parts of the plantar surface in their full natural strength. As certainly as they are interfered with, and their substance reduced, so surely will the hoof be injured. Nature has made every provision for their defence. They will support the contact of hard, soft, rugged, or even sharp bodies, if allowed to escape the terrible drawing-knife; while hot, cold, wet, or dry weather has little or no influence on the interior of the foot, or on the tender horn, if man does not step in to stuck between the foot and shoe, with the intention of shielding the surface that has been, through ignorance, rendered morbidly sensitive and defective. What is called the excessive growth, or exuberant horn, was intended to protect the lower surface of the foot from wounds and bruises, to maintain the elasticity of the young horn beneath, and to aid the crust in sustaining the weight and impulsive efforts, at the same time strengthening the latter at its point of union, and preventing its being broken or worn away too readily.
These remarks, which we can scarcely too much insist upon noticing, apply with equal force to all horses, from the dray mammoth, to the fleet race-horse or diminutive Dartmoor pony.
Indeed, they are perhaps more applicable to the case of race-horses and hunters than to any other class. With these animals, it is of the utmost importance that the feet, especially the fore ones, be accurately levelled on both sides or ground face, according to the rule laid down, so as to obviate the risk of sprains and dislocations during rapid and energetic movements, particularly lateral twists of the lower joints. By leaving the sole, bars, and frog intact, the foot is not only strengthened, but muscular fatigue is wonderfully diminished, especially in traversing heavy ground. When the sole has been thinned and hollowed out into a cup-like shape, the foot readily penetrates to a greater depth than if it were flat, and is also more difficult to withdraw, because there is a larger extent of surface in contact with the tenacious soil. In proportion to the width of cover in the shoe, and the space between it and the sole, there is a still greater amount of adhesion, and consequent loss of speed and power, as well as diminution of stability.
For the reasons before given, the frog should remain untouched by the knife, unless it be to remove some flakes which are all but detached; though this should always be done under supervision, as the drawing-knife has no conscience. It is scarcely necessary to say that the barbarous and destructive operation of opening the heels should be sternly reprobated. The 'commissures' of the bars and frogs may be scraped out by some blunt instrument, merely to free them from soil or gravel that may have lodged at the bottom.
This is all the preparation any kind of foot usually requires for the shoe, and may be summed up in a few words: levelling the crust in conformity with the direction of the limb and foot, and removing as much of its margin as will restore it to its normal length, rounding its outer edge at the same time; and leaving the sole, frog, bars, and heels in all their natural integrity. Such is the treatment of the hoofs of the horses under my care; and so strong are they—such massive solid blocks of horn do they appear, that should a shoe by some rare chance be lost on a journey, there is no danger whatever in marching a horse for ten, twenty, or even thirty miles without another. Horses are never pricked in nailing, and foot-diseases are, I may say, scarcely known. Nearly every hoof is a model, and as perfect as before the animal was first shod.
With hoofs of this description, the kind of shoe employed is of secondary importance. I need not say that the armature needed to protect the crust and maintain the integrity of the foot will vary with the requirements of the animal, i.e. with the services demanded from him. For instance, we would not shoe a race-horse like one for draught, or a hunter like one for carriage-work; the shoes must be varied more or less in form and weight, to suit different purposes and degrees of wear. It will be understood that no fixed shape, size, or weight can be determined for all horses. It may be laid down as a rule, however, that the properties of a good shoe, no matter for what service, must be lightness and durability—opposite qualities which require skill to combine, but which are nevertheless of some moment, more particularly with horses required to move quickly, and for long periods, over paved roads.
One of the great evils that has accompanied the art of farriery for many centuries, in addition, and in immediate relation, to the mutilation of the hoof, has been the excessive weight of the shoes attached to the feet. The most primitive specimens of shoes were only a narrow band of iron, plane on both faces, and were, in all probability, fastened on uncut hoofs. With the introduction of the paring fallacy, more iron was necessary to cover the parts made tender and sensitive by being robbed of their horn, and the lateral expansion and sole-descent theory perpetuated, if it did not exaggerate, the mischief. Not only is a wide surface of metal urgently required to shield the greater part of the sole, as we see in Mr Miles's directions, but it is regarded by only too many men, who ought to know better, that in addition to width, shoes should also possess a good thickness, to protect the foot from jar. The absurdity of this plea does not need demonstration; it may be sufficient to remark that the flexible horn is the best modifier of concussion, and that as the thickness of metal increases, so does the jar.
But this supposed jar is the least of the ills attending the use of heavy shoes. The difference in the muscular fatigue of a limb, after carrying at its extremity for a long distance a clumsy mass of iron, weighing, perhaps, two pounds, and afterwards another of one or one and a half pounds, is astonishing. I cannot, perhaps, do better than quote the remarks of Professor Bouley, when discussing this subject in Paris a short time ago. He says, speaking of the omnibus horses: 'If, at the termination of a day's work, we calculate the weight represented by the mass of heavy shoes that a horse is condemned to carry at each step, we will arrive at a formidable array of figures, and in this way be able to estimate the amount of force uselessly expended by the animal, in raising the shoes that surcharge his feet. The calculation I have made possesses an eloquence that dispenses with very long commentaries. Suppose that the weight of a shoe is 1000 grammes; it is not excessive to admit that a horse trots at the rate of one step every second, or sixty steps a minute. In a minute, then, the limb of a horse whose foot carries 1 kilogramme makes an effort necessary to raise, kilogramme after kilogramme, a weight of 60 kilogrammes. For the four limbs, this weight in a minute is represented by 60 X 4 = 240 kilogrammes; for the four feet during an hour the weight is 14,000 kilogrammes; and for four hours, the mean duration of a day's work in these omnibuses, the total amount of weight raised has reached the respectable figure of 57,000 kilogrammes. But the movement communicated to these 57,000 kilogrammes represents an expenditure of power employed by the motor without any useful result; and as the motor is a living one, this expense of strength represents an exhaustion, or if you like it better, a degree of fatigue, proportioned to the effort necessary for its manifestation. This calculation is most simple and readily understood. It is to be noted, nevertheless, that I have omitted a considerable fact: which is, that the weights I have tabulated are situated at the extremities of the limbs, and that the arms of the levers on which the muscles act to raise them, being infinitely shorter than those of the physiological resistance to which these weights are added, the intensity of their action ought, therefore, to be singularly increased. But to measure this intensity of action would require a mathematical aptitude which I do not possess. I will not, therefore, dwell on this point, notwithstanding its importance, and am content to signalize it. Otherwise, the figures I present speak for themselves, and tell us that the diminution in the weight of horse-shoes is not an accessory consideration, so far as the useful application of the horse's strength goes.'
It will be seen that this question of weight at the lower end of the limb is a serious one; the power moving it acting at the upper extremities, and having but short leverage. We can readily imagine what a difference in power must be required to move a pound at the fore-arm or knee, and at the lower surface of the foot, and how much the lightening of a shoe by one or two ounces must affect the motion of the limb.
In shoeing, this important consideration has been carefully kept out of sight, or altogether overlooked; and yet we cannot forget that it has a great influence on the wear of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. It is the fashion to say that a horse always travels better in his old shoes, and to attribute this to the fact that he is not pinched in them. Ascribing something to this circumstance, though if the horse's hoofs had not been mutilated by the knife and rasp, he would probably, or rather ought not to feel pinched, we must also take into account that a good portion of the superfluous and fatiguing weight has been got rid of by wear.
It is worth noting the changes that take place on the ground-face of a heavy shoe on the foot of a riding-horse during a long day's journey. How in the morning we have the indications of muscular freshness and activity,—the agile step and due flexure of the articulations, putting their impress on a certain part of the metal; towards midday a change of bearing and point of friction testifying to muscular fatigue and heavier attrition; and in the afternoon, unmistakable symptoms of dragging the feet and leg-weariness.
So that in hygienic shoeing, we have a perfect right to insist that not a grain of iron more than is absolutely necessary to protect the crust from undue wear, or serve a useful purpose, be applied to the foot. Every particle beyond this is not only unnecessary, but injurious. Nature, in constructing the animal-machine, and enduing it with powers to sustain the ordinary requirements of organization, and even certain extraordinary demands, could scarcely have been expected to provide the large additional amount of energy necessary to swing backwards and forwards several ounces, or even pounds, attached to the extremity of each limb at every step.
Lightness and durability can only be attained by employing the best material. If the sole of the foot is not mutilated, it does not require to be covered by the shoe, as nature has furnished an infinitely better protection. Wide-surfaced shoes can therefore be at once dispensed with, and a narrow rim, fabricated from the very toughest and best iron, and adapted for travelling on slippery roads, while aiding foot and limb, and sufficient to sustain wear for four or five weeks, is all that is required. Here again the skilful artisan is needed, and science steps in to aid him. We have seen that the sole was destined, particularly at its junction with the crust, to sustain weight, if not cut away by the drawing-knife. We also know that it is advantageous to the whole foot and limb to give the sole as wide and general a bearing as possible; so that the one part may relieve the other—the sole coming to the aid of the crust, and the frog interposing to share the strain imposed upon both, as well as to relieve the strain on the posterior parts of the foot, flexor tendon, and limb, and keep a firm grasp of the ground by its resilient and adhesive properties.
It would, then, appear to be indicated, that the shoe applied to the foot should have its upper or hoof surface plane, in order that it might sustain the crust, and as much of this strong part of the sole as its width permitted. This is contrary to the usual practice, which only allows the crust to rest on a narrow level surface, and bevels off the remainder of the shoe to prevent contact with the sole. But the sole in these cases is mutilated, and in this natural condition would suffer injury if anything came in contact with it. Many years' experience of this plane foot-surfaced shoe, in various regions of the globe, and on feet of every kind and quality, have proved the soundness of this view. The foot is brought as near to a state of nature when the greater part of its plantar surface supports the weight of the body, as man can hope to achieve while submitting the horse to an artificial state of existence.
From what has been said, it will be understood that in speaking of a light shoe, a narrow and thin plate of iron was meant. The narrowness of the metal insures a good foot-hold—in this respect imitating the crust,—while its thinness brings the sole, frog, and bars in closer approximation to the ground.
It is a most difficult matter to devise a shoe that will meet every requirement. The heavy draught-horse, doomed to bring into play every muscle while endeavouring to move and drag along an enormous load, must have his feet differently armed to the hunter or race-horse, in which speed is the chief requisite. Taking into account the different character of the horny textures, it is none the less true that the same rule holds good in all with regard to the sole and frog sustaining weight, though in the slow-moving animal it is of less importance, perhaps, than in the lighter and more fleet ones. The massive draught-horse requires toe-and-heel projections on the ground-surface of the shoes to economize his locomotive powers and to aid his impulsive efforts; though his hoofs none the less require the observance of those conservative principles which have been so strongly insisted upon, but which are so seldom applied. To give the greatest amount of strength and foothold to the shoes of the heavy draught-horse, with the least amount of weight, should always be kept in view in fabricating them. But with this animal the preservation of the crust is the principal object; and to effect this, the sole and frog ought, if possible, to be preserved intact.
The form of the shoe should, in outline, resemble the shape of the ground surface of the hoof. It has been decided that its upper or sole surface must be fiat from the outer to the inner margin. For horses other than those of heavy draught, its width will of course vary; but it must be an advantage to have it as narrow as is compatible, in relation to its thickness, with the amount of wear required from it. After what we have said, it will perhaps be well to remember that it is better to have a thin wide shoe than a narrow thick one—so far as the foot surface is concerned.
The ground face of the shoe is the next point for consideration. This should always, if possible, be parallel with its plantar face; that is, the shoe ought to be plane on both surfaces, and of the same thickness on its outer margin at least, both for hind and fore feet. This insures the foot and limb being kept in a natural position. What are termed calkins, on one or both heels, are very objectionable, for the simple reason that they raise the posterior part of the foot higher than the anterior, and disturb the aplomb of the limb; and unless the hoof meets the ground in its natural direction, some part of the leg will be certain to experience the evil effects. On the fore foot, calkins are far more objectionable than on the hind one, and their use on either is but temporary projecting beyond the surface of the shoe, and opposing but a limited surface to the ground, their duration is limited, and when they are worn off, the foot, though in a better position, has nothing to prevent it from slipping on pavement.
For very many years inventors have endeavoured to remedy the defects of calkins in various ways. Indeed, the very earliest specimens of hoof-armature show us that the primitive farriers were no mean adepts in providing their steeds with a 'biting' foot-hold. The nails that fastened on the shoes had large semicircular heads that projected beyond the lower face of the metal on a level with the calkin, and were supported in the oval cavities of the shoe; forming, together with the calks, no less than eight catches—all powerful aids in aiding progression under certain circumstances, and guaranteeing a secure support.
Fiaschi and Blundevil give us more modern examples in their way; the 'catches' of which they speak, however, being notches in a raised welt on the border of the shoe.
In this century, many plans have been adopted; the iron or steel employed being, in a number of instances, rolled by machinery, and generally channelled into grooves or concavities. The most successful of these attempts to fabricate shoes to prevent slipping appears to be that adopted by Mr Gray, of Sheffield. The bars of iron and steel from which his shoes are made are grooved up the middle by either one or two cavities, or notched in various ways. These ridges and teeth are extremely hard, the shoes being tempered after they are forged; consequently they can be made lighter than Rodway's shoes, which were also made from rolled bars.
With a plane ground-surfaced shoe, a great object to be gained in attempting to prevent slipping, and affording a grasp of the ground, is the diminution of the wide surface of metal, without interfering with the wear of the shoe but as little as possible. The simplest method of doing this, is merely changing the bevel on the foot surface of the ordinary shoe to its ground surface—making what is now concave plane, and the flat slippery ground surface concave. The effect is almost magical, in the security it gives the animal during progression, and is best exemplified in the case of the hunter, which is shod with shoes of this kind. Here we are imitating nature again, in following the concavity of the sole. There can be no doubt whatever as to the advantages to be gained in employing shoes of this description. The sole is partly supported, as well as the whole of the crust, by the wider surface of metal, while the narrower surface towards the ground affords security of tread. For ordinary wear by carriage or saddle horses, the English hunting-shoe, on unmutilated hoofs, is excellent. The hind shoes, however, should have no calkins; neither should hind or fore shoes be thickened towards the heels: this is a very bad practice.
For hunting or other purposes, a slight modification of this form of shoe can be made, which gives it a still firmer hold, especially on grass land. Besides the concave sole and frog in the unshod foot being of the greatest utility in affording a secure grasp of the ground, the angle formed by the bar and crust at the termination of the heel must also be looked upon as a useful agent in this way, and particularly in preventing the extremity of the limb from slipping forward. Some time ago, I devised a shoe something in this form, which has been employed on the road and in the hunting-field, on fore and hind feet, and with most satisfactory results[3] (fig. 207). |
| fig. 207 |
Instead of the bevel on the ground surface gradually becoming shallower as it approaches the heels, as in the ordinary hunting-shoe, in my shoe it is rather shallow at the toe (a); and as it passes backw^ards gets deeper, until, within fig. 207 an inch or so of the extremity of the shoe, it has cut down through the thickness of the inner border and abruptly stops, leaving a sharp catch {b), that, like the inflexion of the crust at this part, gives an excellent grip that lasts until the shoe is quite worn out. With a contrivance of this kind, three important objects are secured: 1. The plane upper surface resting flat on the crust and unpared sole, leaves no space in which foreign bodies—as clay, stones, or gravel—may lodge, and in heavy ground suction is obviated. 2. The metal is only removed from the parts where it can best be spared, and where there is least wear; consequently the shoe is lightened without being weakened. 3. The level border and extremities of the branches afford an equal bearing for the foot, while the gradually deepening bevel, with its sudden check, secures a permanent and powerful catching surface. The shoe is easily made by any farrier, differing as it does so slightly from the usual hunting hoof-armature; and there is no difference between the fore and hind shoe, except in the shape—the former being more circular than the latter, which is somewhat oval. For carriage and saddle horses, each shoe should have a clip at the middle of the toe, except in special cases, when a clip at each side of the toe of the hind shoe may be necessary. Horses used for hunting should wear a clip on each side of their hindfeet shoes, the sharp edges being carefully removed from the toes and the inner branches, to prevent wounds from over-reaching, cutting, or treading. Horses have been hunted without slipping with shoes of this description, each weighing about eight or nine ounces, and they have worn a month and five weeks over all kinds of country, but particularly grass-land; and I am not aware of any shoes having been lost, or any tread or over-reach occurring during the whole time they have been in trial.
We have remarked how important it is that the shoes worn by horses should be as light as possible. It is generally a most judicious plan, if a horse wears his shoes more at one part than another, so that they do not last a sufficient time, to weld in a small piece of steel at that place, instead of thickening the shoe, and consequently making it heavier. The latter method, which is that generally adopted to save time, most frequently defeats its purpose—the increased weight causing the animal to drag his feet heavily along the ground, instead of lifting them freely.
The position and shape of the nail-holes, as well as their number, is the next point to be considered. The shoe ought to be attached by nails to those parts of the crust where the horn is strongest and toughest. In the fore-foot these are in front and along the sides to the quarters, where the horn becomes thin, and nails find less support and are nearer to the living textures; this is more particularly the case towards the heel.
In the hind-foot, the crust is generally strongest towards the quarters and heels. These facts at once give us an indication as to the position of the nail-holes. In the fore-foot, nails can be driven through the crust around the toe, as far as the inside quarter, and a trifle nearer the heel on the outside. In the hind-foot, they can be driven around the toe, and even up to the points of the heels, with impunity.
The form of the nail-holes is of secondary importance. The fullering or groove of the English shoe, though artistic-looking, is a mistake; it is a waste of labour, weakens the shoe, and is of no service. The stamped shoe is in every way preferable. The square cavity, wide at the top and tapering to the bottom, gives a secure and solid lodgment to the nail-head, which of course should be of the same shape; it does not weaken the shoe, is easily made, can be placed nearer the outer or inner margin as required, and when filled with the nail is as capable of resisting wear as any other part. It is usually better to have the nail-holes stamped 'coarse;' that is, at some distance from the outer margin of the shoe, and neither inclining outwards nor inwards.
The number of nail-holes through which nails are to be driven should be as few as possible. Every nail penetrating the crust may be looked upon as a source of injury to it; and with a shoe bedded in a solid manner on the crust and sole, as I have recommended, and diminished in weight to the utmost degree compatible with endurance for a certain period, it is astonishing what a small number of nails is needed. The ordinary heavy seated-shoe is damaging to the foot, not only because it rests on such a narrow basis, but also because its weight and instability necessitates its being attached by a large number of long thick nails which do great harm to the crust. For shoes worn by medium-sized draught-horses, I never allow more than six nails in the fore and seven in the hind feet; more frequently the fore shoes are retained by five nails—three outside and two inside, and the hind ones by three on each side. The nails are comparatively small.
For carriage and saddle horses, as well as hunters, four and five small nails are employed for the fore, and generally five and six for the hind shoes. It must always be remembered, that the retention of a shoe for a sufficient time does not so much depend upon the number of nails attaching it, as upon its exact coaptation and solid bearing on the crust and sole.
The immense number of nails needed to retain the shoes of the last four or five centuries, and as we see exemplified in figure 189, was not so much in consequence of their weight and clumsiness, as the absence of level bearing on the crust, the whole strain being sustained on the extreme outer margin of the torturing encumbrance. It should be laid down as a rule, that where there is a clip there should be no nail; the one is likely to act injuriously on the other. It is scarcely necessary to say, that when so few nails are employed, they should be of the very best quality and judiciously prepared.
We have now prepared our imaginary hoof, and laid down principles to guide us in the manufacture of our shoe. The next step is to fit it. This is also an important one.
The part of the hoof intended to be protected by the iron rim has been made as level as possible by the rasp, aided a little perhaps by the knife; the surface of the shoe destined to rest on this horny bed has also been made perfectly level and smooth, particularly towards the clip or clips. It only remains now to fit the shoe and put it on.
After the evidence I have adduced, and so far as my own practical experience in the matter is concerned, I need not say that fitting the shoe cold is only to be justified when it cannot be fitted hot; and that it will not be nearly so quickly, conveniently, or satisfactorily performed, nor will the shoe be so secure. The red-hot shoe at once disposes of those inequalities which cannot be discovered or removed by tools, and it shows the workman at a glance the bearing of the iron. The whole surface of the shoe intended to be in contact with the horn should be distinctly imprinted on the contour of the hoof, so as to insure the closest and most accurate intimacy between the two; and this carbonized surface should not be interfered with on any account, except by the rasp, which is employed to remove any sharpness of the edge of the crust that may have been caused in this fitting. No harm can arise from this mode of adapting the shoe. Usually a small portion of the margin of the wall has to be removed to imbed the clip; this is done with the knife.
By this hot-fitting, the shoe is made to fit the hoof; with the cold-fitting, it is the contrary. It would be departing from the object of the brief sketch I have here laid down to describe how the shoe ought to fit every foot; suffice it to say, that it should be wide enough at the quarters and heels to support the whole of the crust, but yet not wide or long enough to endanger the opposite limbs by striking them, or run the chance of being torn off by the other feet treading upon it; and it should not impinge upon the frog, neither prevent that organ from playing its part in the physiology of the foot.
The shoe, dressed round its edges with a file (my shoes are usually made in a tool, and finished off with a file on their concavity, especially towards the 'catch,' or 'sunk calkin'), is then nailed on. Every nail should pass through sound horn, and a short thick hold of the wall is better than a long thin one. A foot allowed to grow strong in the manner I have described, will suffer no inconvenience in having the nails driven well home in the shoe. Every nail should form a part of the shoe, and scarcely project above it; and when all have been firmly wedged in, they should be tightly 'drawn up' by hammer and pincers. Nothing then remains to be done but to bend down, or 'clench,' the small portion of the nail that remains on the outer face of the crust, after the point has been twisted off. This should be accomplished by shortening the fragment with the rasp, so as to leave just enough to turn over; then with the slightest touch of the knife or the edge of the rasp, the small barb of horn immediately beneath it is cut away—no notch or trench must be made, and the clench laid down flush with the general face of the crust. No more rasping or cutting should be permitted on any account.
It is usually recommended that the wall should not be rasped above the clenches; they who give this recommendation are ignorant of the fact, that as much, if not more, harm is done by rasping below than above these rivets. Those who study what I have said concerning the structure of the crust of the hoof will readily enough understand how this happens. Over the whole external surface of this part, it has been shown that a beautifully fine translucent horn or varnish was spread, to prevent undue desiccation of the horn, and consequent brittleness. Immediately beneath this are the dense resisting fibres, which are intended to resist wear, and are most capable of supporting a shoe, through the medium of the nails; in fact they are the fibres which ought to perform this duty, as beneath them, towards the inner aspect of the wall, the horn rapidly becomes soft, spongy, and more like the pith of a rush than horn fibres. What is the usual treatment this region of the hoof receives in, I will be bold to say, nearly every forge in this country, and on the continent, perhaps, as well? The farrier, obeying those whom he has reason to believe know better than himself, respects, it may be, the upper part of the crust, but certainly is not required to do as much for the lower. Owing to his having neglected to rasp away a sufficient amount from its ground border, when preparing the foot for the shoe, or having nailed on one which is too small, a large piece of hoof projects beyond the edge of the shoe, particularly in the front part. This is torn away by the rasp, after the clenches have been made; and by the time the shoer on improved principles has finished his task, what do we see? The wall of the foot, instead of coming down from the coronet to the shoe in all its integrity and evenness of slope, as soon as it reaches the clenches, is chopped abruptly downwards and rounded over like an ill-shaped roll, giving the foot a stump-like appearance, and greatly diminishing the extent of its bearing surface. The greatest evil, however, is in the loss of the strong tough horn, whose presence is so necessary to protect the lower margin of the hoof, and to afford support and hold to the nails. In consequence of its removal, these have nothing to depend upon but the thin, soft horn, and this being exposed to influences it was never intended to meet, quickly desiccates, shrivels, becomes brittle, and breaks away. Then we have a hoof which requires the greatest care in shoeing; the operation of rasping being repeated each time increases the evil, and should a shoe chance to come off on the road, an accident, as we may infer, extremely likely to happen, great damage will be done to the pared sole and the thin, brittle, split-up crust, and in all probability the animal will be lamed. The morbid desire to make fine work of shoeing when the horse first began to be shod, ends in the greatest amount of skill and labour being required to continue it, and keep the animal fit for service, though with deformed feet, seriously damaged horn, and perhaps great suffering. When the coachman or groom's fancy compels the farrier to carry his rasp to the top of the hoof, and make that organ far better fitted for exhibition on a sportsman's table than to meet the rude contact of the ground, or withstand the influences of weather and frequent shoeings, then the injury is greatly increased.
The so-called 'coronary frog-band,' or cuticular prolongation that extends in a wide, whitish-coloured band around the upper part of the hoof, and which is often so scrupulously destroyed in shoeing, is intended by nature to protect the fibres of the wall from the effects of heat and dryness while they are being secreted or so immature as to be incapable of resisting these influences; for it will be remembered that the wall is formed at the coronet, and this covering guarantees not only the integrity of the newly-made horn-tubes, but also maintains the secreting vessels that enter them in a healthy condition, and competent to supply fresh material for wear. Its destruction induces 'sandcrack,' and other morbid conditions of the crust.
After the clenches have been evenly laid down on the wall of the hoof, no more should be done, unless it be to round a little more the edge of the small fragment of horn that may project on each side of the clip, and thus prevent its liability to split. The angle of the face of the hoof should never be interrupted after the shoe is nailed on, but should be the same from top to toe, as in the natural foot. This is a matter of vital importance. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the conservation of the horn of the foot; and no amount of rasping can give the hoof the beautiful polish it has in its natural state.
To diminish the weight, and permit one portion of the posterior part of the foot to come in direct contact with the ground along with the frog, a three-quarter shoe is often applied—the portion of iron extending from the inside quarter to the point of the heel being cut off, and the shoe at this part thinned a little. The horn left unprotected is never interfered with. This is an excellent shoe for saddle and carriage horses, which may be employed on the worst roads while wearing it. For feet that have suffered very much from the effects of rasping and paring, and which are liable to have bruised heels (or corns), its use is attended with the greatest benefit.
The same may be said of tips or half-shoes. An unreasonable prejudice appears to exist against the use of these short light plates; but if they are properly used, there can be no doubt whatever that they are entitled to a far larger share of attention than they have yet received. Their very limited employment hitherto may have arisen from the imperfect manner in which they have been applied. They protect those parts of the crust most liable to damage by attrition—extending around the toe and reaching no farther than the quarters; while the heels and frog, when left unpared and unrasped, are strong enough to meet all demands made upon them, at the same time they are not deprived of their physiological functions. The diminution in the weight of the shoe is a matter of some importance, in addition to these considerations. Of course these shoes are only needed for the fore-feet; the hind-feet shoes, so long as they are not over heavy, are level, and do not wound the other limbs, may be the ordinary pattern.
In describing the latest novelties in shoeing, we glanced at the method introduced by M. Charlier, and which is, to a great extent, only a modification of that recommended by Lafosse. So far as my experience has gone, I must give my testimony to its merits. The introducer asserts that it favours the elasticity, or lateral expansion, of the hoof; if any proof were needed that the lower border of the hoof does not expand it would be proved by the use of this incrusted shoe. Its great merits are its lightness, and the fact that it allows the sole, frog, and bars to participate in supporting weight and strain. This is a great object gained. But to thoroughly incrust the metal, which is scarcely the width of the wall, but is very much thicker than the ordinary shoe, a proportionate amount of horn must be removed from the best part of the foot, and when this ranure has been made, the hoof is seriously mutilated; the junction between the sole and crust has been considerably weakened, and this is of serious moment. The workman is in far too close proximity to the living tissues, and the greatest skill is needed to prevent the rim from encroaching on them when driven back. This is another objection. A greater one lies in the danger of a shoe breaking or coming off when there is not another at hand to take its place. The horse could not travel very far on the sole and frog alone, and the road-side farrier would have much difficulty in attaching an ordinary shoe.
To be safe, it must not be deeply incrusted, especially in thin hoofs, and then the portion projecting above the level of the sole, from its thinness, is quickly worn. It certainly prevents slipping on pavement, but, it would appear, is not found so beneficial on ice. As a winter shoe, I fear it will be useless, as there is no means of attaching anything to it to give the horse a grip on ice; even frost-nails cannot be advantageously used. Again, as a pathological shoe, when dressings or other appliances are required for the sole, this will afford no assistance in retaining them, like the ordinary shoe. It must always be fitted hot; in this respect it is inferior to the sub-plantar shoe, which, on an emergency, can be fitted and attached without a forge.
It will not be suitable for every description of hoof, particularly one in which there is any tendency to separation between the sole and wall; neither will it altogether suffice for hunting or racing purposes. Of course, on any kind of horse, one would not think of applying it indiscriminately to the hind-feet; indeed on these there is no necessity for it. On the fore-feet of a hunter it does not afford, one would think, a sufficient grip of the ground, and appears to offer no advantages beyond its being, perhaps, a trifle lighter than the shoe I have proposed. The hunter's sole and frog, if left unpared, receive their full share of pressure with the ordinary huntingshoe.
The Charlier shoe is difficult to make, and takes a much longer time to apply by inexperienced workmen, and the smaller and thinner the hoofs are, the more this difficulty is increased. It requires skilful artisans, who will, consequently, demand a higher price for their labour. And even when fabricated from the best iron, I have found it very liable to break at some one of the nailholes, and one of its most objectionable tendencies is to widen at the points of the heels, owing to the lightness of the metal. This can only be remedied by making the shoe stronger, and of course heavier, or by having the last nails placed near the ends of the branches.
In the face of these obstacles, this method of shoeing can scarcely be expected altogether to supersede the sub-plantar system.
For carriage and saddle horses, condemned to travel incessantly on the pavement of large towns, and which have strong hoofs, it may be advantageous to resort to it, and particularly in cases where the heels have a tendency to contraction.
I have tried it with success in these cases, but the same result would have followed the use of 'tips.' A narrow rim of iron the length of a tip, incrusted in the wall, is an excellent pathological shoe for a contracted foot, or even for ordinary wear by light carriage or saddle horses.
Though my experience of the 'ferrure Charlier' has been in its favour, yet I would not at present venture to recommend it for general application. It is not likely to supplant the ordinary method if carried out as I have advised; but it will no doubt always remain, like the tip and three-quarter shoe, a valuable accessory mode of defending and preserving the hoof, and remedying its diseases or defects. This view would appear to be gaining ground in Paris, where it was at first employed for every purpose. Its utility has now become better known, and its use is, perhaps, much more limited than it was some time ago.
I need not enter into a discussion in this place as to the advantages or disadvantages of the French mode of ajusture, or curving up the toes of the shoes en bateau. It may be sufficient to state that, for the hind-shoes, it is a grave mistake, as the horse relies greatly on the toes of these feet in propelling himself and he cannot so well make the ground a fixed point, if the sharp edge be rounded upwards. It is scarcely more reasonable when applied to the fore-shoes.
Goodwin, followed by Miles, has founded his recommendation on a very morbid specimen of an os pedis. We do not require abnormal examples to guide us in devising an armature for a healthy organ. Others have pointed out the natural wear as indicated by a worn-out shoe; as well might we have our own new boots and shoes fashioned at the heels and toes exactly like those we can no longer wear. For stumbling horses, shoes of this shape may be useful, but otherwise they should not be employed. In some respects they cause a loss of power to the horse, and at all times the farrier is liable to err in giving too much curve. This not only damages the hoof, but it makes the horse's support less secure. It has been said that it diminishes the risk of sprains of the back tendons; but this is not correct, if one may judge from the number of lame horses to be seen in those countries where this adjustment is practised. It also tends to slipping.
I am satisfied that the English plane-surfaced shoe is the best in every respect.
Thus far, then, we have devoted some attention to the uses and abuses of horse-shoeing—shoeing as it ought to be practised, and shoeing as it is generally practised.
Without doing more than pointing out the most salient features of the subject—all details relative to the organization of the horse's foot and the practice of farriery being reserved for another opportunity—it will be seen that though of vital importance to the welfare of the useful creature, nothing is more easy of execution than a rational system of shoeing; and few arts are more difficult to practise than the ordinary irrational one, simply because the artisan has destroyed what he cannot repair, and must then use his best skill to protect what remains. It is the case of an imperfect art attempting to improve and beautify nature.
The subject of shoeing is an important one in another point of view. For very many years, veterinary surgeons have agreed that various diseases of the limbs have a hereditary tendency; the principal of these are splints, ossification of the lateral cartilages, ossific deposits around the pastern bones, navicular disease, and spavin in the hock. To what extent these maladies might be due at first to the influence of improper shoeing, in addition to travelling upon artificial roads, we cannot discuss in this place. Certain it is, however, that in countries where horses are unshod, these diseases are rare, if not altogether absent.
In North Carolina, for instance, at a former period, horses did not wear shoes; and it has been asserted that they did not then suffer from the diseases of the feet and legs they now do.[4]
In mentioning this, however, we must take into account the fact that unshod horses do not always perform the same amount of severe labour, or undergo such long-continued exertion, and that there are generally no hard roads.
We can understand, nevertheless, how improper shoeing may induce diseases of this kind. Look at the horse which has been shod upon 'improved principles,' whose hoofs have been pared according to the directions given in some of the standard treatises on shoeing! He is not exactly lame—he is not quite a cripple—but is only tender in his feet. His soles have been 'thumb-tested,' to prove that they were thin enough; the miserable shred of horn remaining, and into which thousands of the most beautiful sensitive villi pass, is rapidly shrinking on these minute processes; in doing so it squeezes them painfully and unrelentingly, each in its narrow tube, as in a closing vice. The surface of the sole feels hot as fire, and the animal stands resting, first one foot, and then the other, showing symptoms of general uneasiness. What would the poor brute not give to get his sole and frog on the ground, just to ease them; and yet they are so tender that he would be even worse off than he is now with thick shoes on, and perhaps calkins higher at one side than the other, throwing the strain all on one side of the limb? This tenderness has been ascribed by those who believed in lateral expansion and sole descent, and consequently patronized paring to excess, to the binding action of the nails, standing on straw, being kept in stalls—indeed, everything but the right cause, and which they had themselves been guilty of inflicting. The gradual contraction of the hoof, the diseased frog, and the painful altered gait, were never ascribed to anything else than the cursed contact of the iron shoe. And yet the changed and unnatural direction of the limbs, induced by the pain in the feet, as well as by the unreasonable shoes applied to these poor tortured organs, was also producing disease in other parts of the member.
These diseases have usually been attributed to the fast paces, and concussion on the hard roads. To a certain extent this may be correct, but it must be borne in mind that we at the same time have maintained foot and limb in the worst possible condition to resist these influences.
The Arab method of shoeing is far superior to our own in this respect. The shoe rests on the wall, sole, and frog of the foot, the latter being particularly supported by the light metal plate; the nails, rough and clumsy as they are, obtain a short thick hold of the sole and crust, and are badly riveted—though it is extremely rare that a shoe comes off on a journey lasting for weeks together. Years of shoeing in this rude fashion do not alter the shape of the Arab horse's hoofs; the longest day's ride, no matter how fast or fatiguing, whether on burning sand or on sun-baked rocky ground, will seldom, if ever, cause him to have inflamed feet. Foot diseases, so far as my experience in Turkey and Syria goes, are all but unknown; and that most formidable of all maladies—navicular disease, I could neither see nor learn anything about. And any one who has seen Turk or Arab ride, will scarcely venture to say that they, as a rule, spare their horses on a journey, or ride as if they were afraid of laming them. And yet what happens when these Eastern horses come to Europe, and instead of their own primitive farriery, are shod upon improved principles? M. Megnin, an excellent authority on this subject, when speaking of the damage done by paring and hollowing out the sole, says: 'The best proof of the inconveniences of this practice is afforded us by the horses we obtain from Africa to mount our light cavalry. These horses, had they remained in their own country, would have preserved their hoofs as models of perfect health; but they are not six months in the hands of our maréchaux, before they have lost their precious qualities.'[5] And elsewhere he remarks: 'A shoe, no matter how clumsily it may be placed upon an unpared foot, does not cause one-tenth the injury that a fine shoe carefully attached to a hoof pared nearly to the quick (jusqu'à la rosée) will do.' 'This is seen every day in our mounted corps. What are the horses which furnish the largest number of cripples with contracted feet, corns, and sandcracks? Those of the officers; and simply because they are too carefully, too properly shod.'
As Samson's strength was concentrated in his uncut locks of hair, so it may truly be said that the highest development of a horse's powers is intimately dependent on the integrity of the horn of his feet (which we may assert is also a mass of hairs). And just as the giant was rendered helpless by the use of a razor, at the instigation of the crafty Delilah, so is the noble soliped in a great measure deprived of his strength and graceful movements by the unjustifiable and barbarous employment of the knife and rasp. There can scarcely be any doubt that the practice of paring the soles and frogs, and raising them from contact with the ground, by which they are thrown into disuse, and waste just as the muscles of a man's arm would if the limb were tied up for years, induces a hereditary tendency to contraction and deformity of the feet, as well as the occurrence of several serious maladies which affect them.
Taking into account the amount of work horses may have to perform, and making every allowance for its effects during a lengthened period, there can be no doubt whatever that the feet will remain nearly, or quite, as perfect after twenty or thirty years' service as they were before being submitted to the farrier's care, if only a rational system of shoeing be pursued.
The indispensable art of farriery, while serving the purpose for which it was originally intended, should also, as we have so often insisted, be conservative in its relations towards the foot. The natural form and functions of this all-important organ should be maintained intact; and even when the foot, limb, or even certain regions of the body, are irregular or defective, this handicraft may be successfully utilized in regulating, or curing, these. Science now-a-days requires that it may furnish more than a simple defence for the horny case; it must not only be a protector of nature's work, but it must also be a remedial agent when that work, from some cause or other, is deranged or imperfect so far as to be unserviceable to man. The mere mechanical workman, who sees nothing in the horse's foot but the horn, which he may cut and rasp away to suit his fancy, or through which he may recklessly drive any number of nails, and knows not how to apply the resources of this art to the many circumstances which urgently require a deviation from routine, is not the artisan who can truly minister in assisting, as well as protecting, nature.
The art of farriery, by careful study, and by the application to it of those teachings which are to be derived from anatomy and physiology, should take the rank of a science; but even then it would, and must always, remain a science of practice and experience.
Utmost to remove from its path any pain or discomfort which this exaction may entail. I can conceive no greater torture man can inflict on this most willing servant, than that induced by ignorance or neglect in the application of shoes to its feet.
Let every one who can, strive to prevent the unscientific and ruinous mutilation of the hoofs by paring and rasping. It is a practice which is only worthy of a barbarous age, and was a fit accompaniment to the hideous fashion of cropping the horse's ears, amputating his tail, and curving the miserable stump remaining over the poor animal's back—a fashion which, though it made a burlesque of nature's handiwork, was yet far less injurious and torturing than a vicious system of shoeing.
THE END.
- ↑ It must not be forgotten that in the ancient laws of Wales a paring-knife is mentioned, as well as a 'groover' for the nail-holes.
- ↑ So valuable is this protection, and so easily is it removed, that the groom or stableman, when washing the horse's hoofs, should never allow his water-brush to pass along the face of the crust. This part should be cleaned with a soft sponge.
- ↑ Though for ages it has been known that the sole, especially at its margin, will sustain the pressure of the shoe, I put my own method of shoeing to a practical test during the hot weather in September last. It is certain that long journeys on hard roads during the summer months, on horses whose feet are pared, and armed with the ordinary seated shoe, is likely to cause inflammation of these organs. Starting from Chatham, my wife riding an Arab horse, and myself mounted on an Irish mare, the first day we rode to St Albans, about 56 miles, and in three days and a forenoon reached Atherstone, Warwickshire, a distance of about 150 miles. The horses' hoofs remained quite cool, and there was not the least symptom of tenderness during the whole journey. We returned to Chatham by another route a short time afterwards, travelling a distance of 200 miles in five days. At no time was the temperature of the feet increased beyond the normal degree. This experiment is only corroborative of what has been observed on ship-board with horses shod in a similar manner. It certainly appeared to give very different results to the journeys mentioned in some of the authors we have quoted, who speak of the poor horses lying down with painful feet the moment they were put in a stable, after a journey of some twenty or thirty miles.
- ↑ Darwin. Animals and Plants under Domestication. Brichell. Nat. Hist, of North Carolina, 1793.
- ↑ Op. cit., p. 154.