Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1837-10-12

than nature. He would al last conclude tina,
| the shoe ought 10 be made 10 fit The horses
| foot, as shoes Of Christian folks are made, n at
the loci pared & burned down 90 tit the shoe
and that M hitting on the latter, idiosy ncrasies
(dear reader excuse the term) must be as
FULLY attended 10 as would be done by the
fashionable boot maker ia Regent street,
when taking account of bunious and other
peculiartIes on the feet of one o { his iashiona
/ bic customers
Unhappily for the poor horses, there are
but lew obser' ing :arriers IN London for there
are Too many Cockneys who ride in The pal k
on their curb rein, ignorant Of the habits
or comforts Of the poor animal they bestride,
| 10 allow tho farriers time for improvement in
their craft and as we have before observed,
the oracular sayings Of ignorant grooms he
ing received in preference TO the dicta of men
OF information, there is no encouragement
held out 10 those who would otherwise devote
their time and energies to the question.
IL Is much 10 be desired that shoe were
invented which should have the faculty OF
yielding TO The different impressions which
The hoof would impsrt 10 it through its elas-
tic action, however slight. In apply
ing hard, unyielding iron shoe to a horny
substance which gently contracts and ex-
pands during the action of Walking, degree
oil Inconvenience must always be felt by the
animal but this Inconvenience is greatly in
creased when the natural position Vt the loot
is altered. 1t becomes, therefore, matter
OF vital importance TO the we'll being of the
animal that the shoe should be so formed and
fastened on as To allow that action 10 conrin-
nc unimpeded which nature has impaired 10
the horses foot. For this purpose we offer
the follow directions, hoping that, as we have
called the attention Ofour readers 10 the sub
Ject, they will give il their earnest attention.
The horses foot being Giro ular and not o.
val, the shoe should be made in that form or
rather the hoof should be measured, and the
shoe made exactly 10 correspond An oval
or elliptic loot is generally, nay we may say
always, diseased. II has assumed that shape
10 consequence OF the contraction of the bars,
brought on solely by diseased state of the
frog Tor want OF pressure ; and in no one in
stance Of oval formed feet will the frogs be
found healthy. The moment The foot is lift
ed from the ground, the smell indicates the
diseased frog though perhaps cockney eques-
TRANS consider this the natural perfume Of
the ergan when in health.
! The shoe should be as light as possible
consistently with the labor the animal has TO
undergo. Before il is put on the bsof should
! be pared away towards the heels, in such a
! manner that with the shoe the horse should
s!and with tho frog clnss tn The ernuad as
! when in state OF nature; when the shoe is
on, it should be filed away towards the heels,
being left sufficiently thick 10 enable the
frog in the natural position of the animal
without rider or burthen, just to clear the
ground SO that when the horse bears its
burlhen or lite rider, the freq OF the shoed
foot should receive the same pressure from
the ground that il would do If The shoes were
taken off and The animal turned Loose. When
q horse is shod according 10 the present sys-
lem, besides the various diseases brought on
by the want Of the action OF the frog, the an-
imal walks upon its tees, Ohe expression
cannot be misunderstood and the proper
muscular action of the foot and leg is proven
ted. Hence many horses fall dead lame W ith.
out the farrier being able 10 assign any cause
for it, although he will talk dogma,ically e.
nough on the subject to confound those who
know no better than bimself-The lion
DOM Sportsman. for July, 1897.