# Horse shoes and horse shoeing: their origin, history, uses, and abuses/Chapter X

CHAPTER X.
For the remainder of this history, we will confine our attention to England and France, alone; countries which have vied with each other in researches into the functions of the horse's foot, and the best mode of protecting it by shoeing.
During the 17th century, there appears to have been an increasing desire to enhance the services of this noble animal, and, thanks to the influence of the Italian hippiatrists, the men who now began to study the horse in health and disease were capable of greatly adding to the small amount of knowledge previously possessed on the ​subject of shoeing; although it is probable their efforts to improve it met with little success.
In England, the form of the shoes in ordinary use would seem to have varied to a notable degree in different parts of the country, and on one occasion this variety gave rise to a remarkable incident connected with the Civil War that broke out about the middle of the century. When Charles II. was making his escape from England in the winter of 1649, and got as far as Lynne, he put up at an inn in a village where his attempts at getting away, and his being somewhere in the locality, were well known. 'The passengers who had lodged in the inn that night, had, as soon as they were up, sent for a smith to visit their horses, it being a hard frost. The smith, when he had done what he was sent for, according to the custom of that people, examined the feet of the other two horses (the king's) to find more work. When he had observed them, he told the host of the house, "that one of those horses had travel'd far; and that he was sure that his four shooes had been made in four several counties." Which (says Lord Clarendon), whether his skill was able to discover or no, was very true. The smith going to the sermon (it was Sunday), told this story to some of his neighbours; and so it came to the ears of the preacher, when his sermon was done.' This preacher was a most enthusiastic puritan, and having strongly suspected Charles to be in the neighbourhood, at once gave the alarm; the king, however, contrived to make a very narrow escape.
Whether it was in grateful recognition of the acuteness manifested by this son of Saint Eloy, or a necessity ​imposed by the important development this art had assumed, certain it is, that some years after the king's return from exile to England, and the restoration of the monarchy, the Company of Farriers was incorporated (1763) by the style of 'the Master Wardens, Assistants, and Commonalty of the Company of Farriers, London.' This local corporation was, and is now, a livery company, and governed by a master, three wardens, and twenty-four assistants. In 1736, it had, besides these, thirty-nine on the livery.
The arms of the corporation are: Ar. three horseshoes. Sa. pierced of the field. Crest. An arm embowed, issuing from clouds on the sinister side, all proper, holding in the hand a hammer az. handled, and ducally crowned or. Supporters. Two horses Ar. Motto, 'Vi et Virtute'.
In Scotland, the artificers had, from an early period, formed a corporation at Edinburgh, designated the Hammermen's Corporation. This was one of the chief guilds or public bodies, and included every handicraft; though at first it appears that that of the iron, or black-smith, greatly predominated. The earliest entry, which occurs in 1582, though the corporation had been embodied for some considerable time before this date, gives us to understand that among the 'essays' or specimens of skill and proficiency required to obtain admission, that of the smith was 'ane door cruick (hook) and door-band, ane spaide iron (a spade), ane schoile iron (a shovel), and horse-shoe and six nails thereto.'
Many distinguished men were presented with the freedom of this Corporation of Hammermen. An entry for ​March 21st, 1657, shows that Mr Charles Smith, advocate, was admitted a blacksmith; and was pleased to produce, by way of essay, 'the portrait of an horse's leg, shoed with a silver shoe fixed with three nails, with a silver staple at the other end thereof; which was found to be a qualified and well-wrought essay,'
If I remember aright, the crest of the corporation was an uncovered arm grasping a hammer, and the motto, 'By hammer in hand all arts do stand.'
A horse-shoe in my possession, dug up from the battle-field of Marston Moor (near York), and which belonged, without doubt, to some horse engaged in that slaughter (July 2, 1644), is of a good outline. Though extremely oxidized, we can yet see that it measured a little more than 4½ inches in length and breadth—the width being about one inch and three-eighths, and the thickness about one quarter inch. The foot surface appears to have been concave throughout, and without any seating for the hoof; while the ground surface is convex to such an extent that the inner circumference is much lower than the outer. I can only trace three oblong nail-holes on each side; but whether the shoe has been grooved around these or not, it is impossible to say.
The most notable work on veterinary medicine published in England in the 16th century, was that of Thomas Blundevil. This, though not the first, is yet ​entitled to be considered the foundation, or real commencement of veterinary science in Britain. As previously explained, this science, like many others, owed its resuscitation to Italy. After the fall of the Byzantine empire, learning once more sought refuge in that favoured land; and the writings of the Greek and Roman hippiatrists, transferred to this genial soil from their Eastern nursery and repository, were not long in bringing forth good fruit, as evidenced in the writings of Rusius, Ruini, Fiaschi, and many others. The veterinary science of France, England, and other countries, took its origin from this source. And Blundevil acknowledges this in the frequent quotations he gives from the Italian writers, and the references he makes to their opinions. Indeed, the technical expressions he employs are nearly all Italian, only some few of them being French. The English language could not furnish them; and more particularly is this observed in the section or treatise devoted to 'paring and shooying all maner of houes.'
He mentions the various breeds of horses he was acquainted with, and their good and bad qualities, particularly with a view to their being profitably reared in England; these were the horses of 'Turkey and Barbary; Sardinia and Corsica, courser of Naples, jennet of Spayne, Hungarian, highe Almayne; Flanders horse; Frizeland horse, and Iryshe hobbye.' In that portion of his work which is more intimately connected with the subject now under consideration, he writes: 'The art of shoeing consisteth in these points, that is to say, in paring the hoof well, in making the shoe of good stuff, in well fashioning the webb thereof, a well piercing the same, in fitting the ​shoe unto the horse's foot, in making nails of good stuff, and well fashioning the same, and finally in well driving of the said nails, and clenching of the same. But as neither paring nor shoeing is no absolute thing of itself, but hath respect unto the foot or hoof (for the shoe is to be fitted to the foot, and not the foot to the shoe), and that there be diverse kinds of hoofs both good and bad, requiring great diversity as well of paring as shoeing, it is meet, therefore, that we first talk of the diversity of hoofs, and then show you how they ought to be pared and shod.'
After describing the hoofs in a very quaint manner, and showing us, unwittingly, how much disease and defective form prevailed, and which arose, no doubt, from bad shoeing, paring the hoofs is next commented upon, when he talks about the 'butter.' This is the ungainly weapon or instrument long wielded with such fatal effect on horses' feet in England, and still in use on the continent. It appears to have been introduced into this country and France from Germany, the authors of the 'Origines de la langue Française' deriving it from bozen or botzen, to push, in Old German. In France, from an early period, it has been named boutoir, from whence Blundevil, who is the first to import it into our language, terms it 'butter.' Up to a recent date it was in use in England, and was known as 'butress.' Contemporaneously with its mention in the writings of the old farriers, do we find serious diseases of the feet noticed, and particularly contraction of the hoofs at the heels.
While Blundevil is advising that the heels of the fore feet should be gently pared, he recommends that 'the ​toes be pared so thin almost as the edge of a knife' In paring, too, he mentions that 'the French ferrers hath a proverb which saith, "Devant dariar, dariar devant," which means spare the fore foot behind, and the hinder foot before, as well in paring as in piercing the shoes (i. e. making the nail-holes).
'Make your shoe of spruse or Spanish iron, with a broad web, fitting it to the foot, and let the sponges (heels) be thicker and more substantial than any other part of the shoe; yea, and also somewhat broad, so as the quarters on both sides may disbord, that is to say, appear without the hoof a straw's breadth to guard the coffin, which is the strength of the hoof, and only beareth the shoe. . . . And as touching the nails, make them also of the same iron, the heads whereof would be square, and not fully so broad beneath as above, but answerable to the piercing-holes, so as the head of the nails may enter in and fill the same, appearing above the shoe no more than the breadth of the back of a knife; so shall they stand sure without shogging, and endure longer, and to that end the stamp that first maketh the holes, and the "preschell" that pierceth them, and also the necks of the nails, would be of one square fashion and bigness: that is to say, great above and small beneath, which our common smiths do little regard, for when they pierce a shoe, they make the hole as wide on the inside as on the outside. . . . A good nail should have no shouldering at all, but be made with a plain and square neck, so as it may justly fit and fill the piercing-hole of the shoe. . . . The shanks of the nails should be somewhat flat, and the points sharp, without hollowness or flaw, and stiffer towards the head above, ​than beneath. And when you drive, drive at the first with soft strokes, and with a light hammer, until the nail be somewhat entered. . . . The shoe standing straight and just, drive in all the nails to the number of eight, four on each side, so as the points of the nails may seem to stand on the outside of the hoof, even and just one by another, as it were in a circular line, and not out of order like the teeth of a saw, whereof one is bent one way and one another way. That done, cut them off and clinch them so as the clinches may be hidden in the hoof, which by cutting the hoof with the point of a knife, a little beneath the appearing of the nail, you may easily do. That done with a rape (rasp) pare the hoof round, so as the edge of the shoe may be seen round about.'
He always recommends free paring, and for rough and brittle hoofs 'plenty of rasping on the outside to make them smooth, and the shoe put on with nine nails—four inside and five out.'
For the contracted or hoof-bound foot, he recommends paring the sole thin and opening the heels well, and putting on a shoe like a half moon.
Concerning shoes with calkins, he quotes Cæsar Fiaschi as opposed to their use, and as approving of the Turkish mode of shoeing for mountain travelling. 'Notwithstanding, some never think their horses to be well shod, unless all the shoes be made with calkins, either single or double.'
Of the shoes with rings, shown in Fiaschi's work, he says they were first invented to make a horse lift his feet high, but that they caused a horse pain on hard roads, especially those horses which had not sound feet. ​devil calls them 'unprofitable devices,' and recommends that the shoes with sponges (from the French éponge, the heel portion of the shoe thickened) only be used; if it is necessary to teach a horse to lift his feet, he should be shod heavily while at the school, and afterwards with light shoes.
'In Germany and "highe Almany," the "smythes" do make the shoes with a swelling welt round about the shoe, which being as high as the heads of the nails, or higher, saves the nails from wear.' These shoes Blundevil praises for lasting, having used them in these countries on very stony ground, and he mentions that Fiaschi also lauds them; though he advises that the wealt be indented, having sharp pointed teeth like a saw, and that the sponges behind be as thick as the welt; and that the welt be of a tough hard temper, for fear of wearing too fast. 'With these kind of shoes they use in Italy to shoe such Barbary horses, jennets, and Turks, as are appointed to run for the best game at some public triumph, or any other private wager.
'Some that use to pass the mountains where smiths are not readily to be found, to shoe a horse if need be, do carry about with them certain shoes made with vyces, wherewith they make the shoe fast to the horse's foot without help of hammer or nails. Notwithstanding, such shoes are more for the show than for any good use or commodity. For though it save the horse's foot from stones, yet it so pincheth his hoof, as he goeth with pain, and perhaps doth his hoof more hurt than the stones would do.'
He advises the jointed shoe to be applied in such ​cases, 'but this shoe must be set on with nails, and therefore it is needful that the rider learn to drive a nail if need be, whereof he must have always store about him, together with hammer, pynsons, and "butter," handsomely made, and fit for carrying; without these the horsemen of Almany never travel, neither is there any gentleman that loveth his horse but can use these instruments for that purpose as well as any smith.'
* fig. 181
All the shoes have the square hole and no fullering. This is not mentioned anywhere; so that I may be in error in assigning it so early a date in England.
Sensible as are many of Blundevil's remarks, yet we cannot avoid concluding that he was greatly in error in recommending paring and rasping, particularly to such a ruinous extent. The terrible injury inflicted on horses by this unwise and barbarous practice, in addition to very faulty shoes, has hung like a curse upon these creatures up to the present day. Blundevil has in this respect been largely followed.
Michael Baret, in his treatise on horsemanship, published 50 years later, speaking of teaching a horse to pace ​or amble, mentions 'tramels, heavy shoes, pasternes of lead, and shoes of advantage' being used on the hind limbs, 'to keep the hinder parts of the horse down, and to cause his hinder feete strike further forward within his fore parts.' The 'shoe of advantage' was the most dangerous; as the projections or plates at the toe struck the tendons of the fore-legs and seriously injured them. For the coursers, the day before racing, the hoofs were to be shod, 'but let them be such shooes as shall be best agreeing to the race; which if it bee a soft moore or swarth, let them be but thinne plates, or halfe shooes (like a halfe moone), but if it bee hard and gravelly, let them be whole shooes, but yet so light as is possible.'
Markham's principal work on farriery and horsemanship contains little beyond what Blundevil had stated in the previous century; but in a smaller treatise we have some examples given of the condition of horses' feet, and the attention they received. For 'foundering, frettizing, or any imperfection in the feet or hoofes of an horse,' he gives the following directions for the treatment of the unfortunate creature's extremities: 'First pare thin, open the heels, and take good store of blood from the toes, then tack on a shooe, somewhat hollow.' The sole was then to be filled up with all kinds of fantastic compounds. In a later edition of this treatise (1647) he omits the 'good store of blood:' 'First pare thinne, open the heels wide, and shooe large, strong, and hollow.'
The agony the poor horses must have suffered on a ​journey, from the outrageous treatment their feet were subjected to, as well as from the terrible basin-shaped clumsy shoes, is fully evidenced by the numerous recipes this admirable horseman gives for 'stoppings' to be applied while travelling. We have also directions 'how to helpe the surbating or sorenesse in the feete.' These are, as might be expected, on a par with the general management of the hapless organs. 'When you find your horse to be surbated, presently clap into each of his fore-feet two new-layd eggs, and crush them therein, then upon the toppe of them lay good store of cow-dung; thus stop him (or, rather, the horse's feet), and in foure houres he will recover.'
It is not until we arrive at the 18th century, that anything worthy of notice occurs relative to this subject, in England. It may be mentioned, however, that the 17th century produced the first treatise on the Anatomy of the Horse, by Snape (London, 1683), farrier to his Majesty King Charles II., a very estimable work, and one which did good service in drawing attention to the value of anatomy, particularly with regard to the horse's foot.
In France, in the 15th century, the community of maréchaux comprised the maréchaux ferrants and the maréchaux grossiers. The latter were only carriage-smiths, and had nothing to do with horses. The maitrises, or 'trade freedoms' were, however, abolished in February, 1776, and the farriers stood upon their own proper designation. In the following August, the trade companies were again formed, and the maréchaux ferrants were classed with the éperonniers or spur and bit makers; an ​improvement, as the two occupations were closely allied with the conservation and utility of the horse.
In the 17th century, many publications on veterinary medicine and farriery were published, among which may be mentioned those of Francini, Dumesnil, Beaugrand,, Espinay, Prome, Beaumont, and Delcampe.
But the most distinguished treatise of the century was perhaps that of Solleysel. This had an immense success, was translated into every cultivated language in Europe, and became the oracle of the veterinary surgeons and horsemen of those days. Although this hippiatrist is largely indebted to the writings of Cæsar Fiaschi; and though anatomy and physiology enter but little into his writings, yet there is a good deal of originality in the matter of shoeing, evidencing a tendency to place that art upon a scientific basis; but the high estimation in which it had been previously held was apparently on the wane. Solleysel, while attaching to its practice great importance, being persuaded that every squire, gentleman, or other person having good and fine horses 'ne doit ignorer l'ordre et la methode qu'il faut tenir pour les bien ferrer, afin que s'il ne peut avoir un bon maréchal, il puisse ordonner de quelle manière ils doivent être ferrés ​pour le bien être;' yet adds, that, in his time, kings and people of quality could shoe horses: 'On a vu, de notre temps, des rois sçavoir forger un fer; et il est peu de personnes de qualité qui ne sachent brocher des clous, pour s'en servir dans la nécessité.' And he now complains that the little progress that had been made in a knowledge of this branch of veterinary science 'has maintained it in a state of debasement which even affects the other branches;' farriery, when he wrote, was 'un métier, ou une certaine routine, que ces ouvriers apprenaient chez des mâitres dépourvus de tous principes de leur art.'
In a brief historical notice like the present, an analysis of this treatise will not be expected; and we can only give some abridged notices from the translation made by Sir William Hope, and published in London, in 1706.
Speaking of a journey, he says: 'Many horses as soon as unbridled, instead of eating, lay themselves down to rest, because of the great pain they have in their feet, so that a man is apt to think them sick; but if he look to their eyes, he will see they are lively and good; and if he offer meat to them as they are lying, they will eat it very willingly; yet if he handle their feet he will find them extremely hot, which will discover to him that it is in that part they suffer. You must therefore observe if their shoes do not rest upon their soles.' And again: 'When you are arrived from a journey, immediately draw the two heel-nails of the fore-feet, and if it be a large shoe, then four. And two or three days after you may blood him in the neck, and feed him for ten or twelve ​days with wet bran only, without giving him any oats, keeping him well littered. The reason why you are to draw the heel-nails is, because the feet swell, and if they were not thus eased, the shoes would press and straiten them too much. It is also good to stop them with cowdung, but do not take off the shoes, nor pare the feet, because the humours are drawn down by it.'
There are also frequent allusions to foundering (inflammation of the feet), the changes in the hoofs induced by this disease; as well as to the occurrence of treads, overreaches, coronary abscesses, &c. With regard to the practice of shoeing at this time, there are the following directions and explanations: 'There are two methods of shoeing. The first is, to shoe for the advantage of the foot, and, according to its nature and shape, to fit such shoes to it as may make it better than it is; and if it be good, may preserve and keep it from becoming bad. The second method is, that which disguiseth the foot, and maketh it appear good when really it is not; which method, although in time it wholly ruins the foot, yet horse-coursers, who have no other design but to sell and put off their horses, do not much trouble themselves about it; for provided their horses' feet but appear good, and they get them sold, it is all they desire. I shall treat of the first only, wherein are four rules to be observed in shoeing all sorts of feet whatsoever. The first is, Toe before, and quarter behind, or as we commonly say, before behind, behind before. By toe before is meant, that you may give the nails a good hold upon the toes of the forefeet, because there the horn is very thick, which it is not in the quarters of the fore-feet, for there the horn is thin, ​and you would hazard the pricking your horse. Quarter behind is that a horse hath the quarters of his hind feet strong, that is to say, the horn thick, and so capable of suffering a good gripe by the nails; but at the toes of the hind feet you will immediately meet with the quick, because the horn is but thin in that part; and therefore smiths should put no nails at all just in the toes of the hind feet, but only in their quarters.
'The second rule is, Never to open a horse's heels. People call it opening of the heels, when the smith in paring the foot, cutteth the heel low and close almost to the frush (frog), and taketh it down within a finger's breadth of the coronet, or top of the hoof, so that he separates the quarters at the heel, and by that means weakens and takes away the substance of the foot, making it to close and become narrow at the heels. Now this, which they call opening, would be more properly called closing of the heels; for the roundness and circumference of the foot being cut, by doing that which they call opening of the heels, which is to cut them wholly away, they are no longer supported by anything; so that if there be any weakness in the foot, it will of necessity make it shrink and straiten in the quarters, which will quite spoil the foot.
'The third rule is to make use of as thin and small nails as possible; because the nails that are thick and gross make a large hole, not only when they are driving, but also when they are riveting; for, being stiff, they split the horn and take it away with them. Neither can a tender foot be shod with such big nails without hazard of pricking, especially if there be but little horn to take hold of. ​But smiths, to prevent this, pierce their shoes too near the edge, which will in time ruin the foot.
'The fourth rule is to make the lightest shoes you can, according to the size of your horse, because heavy shoes spoil the back-sinews and weary the horse; and if he happens to overreach, the shoes being heavy are more easily pulled off.' 'Those who think it frugality to shoe with thick and heavy shoes, and seldom, are deceived, for they lose more by it than they gain, for thereby they not only spoil the back-sinews but lose more shoes than if they had been light.'
Excessive paring with the 'butteris' seems to have been in vogue then as at a later day, for in recommending a certain method of shoeing he remarks: 'Do not pare your horses' feet almost to the quick, as some people do, who think thereby to prevent the so frequent shoeing of their horses. But if you know that your horses' hoofs are smooth and tough, you may with the more confidence pare his soles reasonably near.'
This old hippiatrist, in fact, gives a few excellent directions for the management of the horse's feet, and evidently far beyond the usual practice of his age; though mixed with many which are bad. He condemns heavy and high calkins, and admits that horses are much better without them altogether. Though the rasp was in use, he does not advise its being put to the outer surface of the wall, and only speaks of paring the frog when the heels are flat or low, and that part of the foot is likely to come in contact with the ground. For the cure of these flat feet, too, he recommends the barbarous operation of barrinig (ligaturing) the pastern veins, 'so that you may put a stop to the ​superflous humour which falleth down upon the lower part of the foot, and causeth the sole to grow round and high; and also the coffin-bone, or little foot, which is the bone in the middle of the coffin, to push itself down, which, through time, maketh the foot become round at the sole.'
Flanders at that period appears to have furnished large numbers of horses, whose special characteristics were hairy legs, and wide flat-soled feet; for this author, when describing the best way to remedy this defective form of hoof by a shoe resting on the sole, instead of the customary vaulted armature, adds: 'The surest way is to rectify such bad feet in the beginning, and especially in the time when horses alter or change their horn, which is the first six months after they come from Flanders.'
His advice to keep the sole strong by refraining from paring it, to make the shoe fit the foot instead of the foot the shoe, and to take a short thick hold of the wall with the nails, is excellent. His remarks on pathological shoeing, too, show much judgment and experience of this important subject. The nails were to be thin and supple; large nails were destructive to the hoofs. For contracted hoofs, he recommends the employment of fers à pantoufles, which he says were invented by M. de la Brone, squire to Henry III. These were merely shoes with the inner border of each heel turned downwards at a more or less acute angle, so as to cause the heels of the hoof to glide forcibly outwards when the horse's weight was imposed on them. Lunette shoes were also employed by him for horses of the manége who had their hoofs contracted.
To the people who argued that horses were better ​without shoes, Solleysel mentions that those of the German peasantry are not shod; though he asserts it would be much to their adv antage if they were, as the limbs and feet were in nearly every case he saw more or less deformed.
M. Bernard recently confirms this observation, by stating that in Lorraine, Alsace, and Bavaria, he saw very many agricultural horses unshod, and that deformities of the hoofs were common.
* ↑ Hist, of the Rebellion, vol. iii. p. 330. Oxford, 1702.
* ↑ Transactions of the Socy. of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. i. p. 170.
* ↑ The Four Chiefest Offices belonging to Horsemanship. The Order of Curing Horse Diseases, etc. The True Arte of Pariug and Shooying all maner of houes, together with the shapes and fygures of dyuers shooes, very necessarye for dyuers horses. By Thomas Blundevil, of Newlon-Flotman, in Norlfolke. London, 1565.
* ↑ An Hipponomie, or the Vineyard of Horsemanship, pp. 97, 112. London, 1618.
* ↑ Masterpiece. London, 1638.
* ↑ The Faithful Farrier. London, 1639.
* ↑ Amlert, Equisses Historiq. sur l'Armée Françaises, p. 68. Saumur, 1837.
* ↑ Hippiatrique. Paris, 1607.
* ↑ L'Art de la Maréchalerie. Paris, 1628.
* ↑ Le Maréchal Expert. Lyons, 1633.
* ↑ Le Grand Maréchalerie. Paris, 1642.
* ↑ Le Grand Maréchal Française. Paris, 1662.
* ↑ Le Nouveau Parfait Maréchal. Paris, 1660.
* ↑ Art de Monter à Cheval. Paris, 1663.
* ↑ Le Parfait Maréchal. Paris, 1664.
* ↑ The Compleat Horseman, or Perfect Farrier. London, 1706.
* ↑ Journal de Méd. Vét. Militaire, vol. iv. p. iii.