The Hawaiian gazette., 1872-03-13

together the wall is perfectly adapted to NEE
the wear that occurs when the horse is running
at liberty in an unshod state. This is also th,
part on which the shoe rests, and through which
the farrier drives the nails that attach it.
When the foot is lifted up backwards, we SET
the sole and the frog. The sole is the part thai
lies within the wall it is slightly hollow 10 8
good foot, and is thick, strong, and covered with
! fakes of loose horn in one which has not been
/ pared by the farrier's knife. The frog is soft
triangular piece of horn IN the middle of the sole
towards the heel 1t is very elastic, and serves q
most important purpose. az it acts as a cushion
to prevent conclusion and also binders the horse
from slipping. The sole, frog and lower bOrver
of the wall have all to come in contact with
the ground and loose stones; therefore nature
has furnished them with abundance Of horn to
make them strong unough to bear the horses
weight withstand wear, and keep the delicate
parts inside from injury.
So long as the horse is not compelled to work
on hard roads its hoofs well suited to all that
is required Of them; but our civilization demands
that we should have paved and macadamized
streets, and on these the hoofs would quickly be
torn away, especially if the horse had to draw or
carry heavy loads; consequently lameness would
eusue. 1t is therefore absolutely necessary to
prevent this mishap by shoeing the hoof with
iron. as we shoe carriage wheels with tires, the
ends Of walking-sticks with ferules, &c. This
shoeing has been great boon TO mankind, as it
has rendered the horse hundred fold more use
fol than it would otherwise be- and has made it
independent Of the kind Of roads over which it
has to travel.
The primitive idea of shoeing was TO protect
the lower border of the hoof from undue wear
and no doubt for many ages this idea was ad-
hered to, and shoe was only applied when the
horn had been worn away so much as to endanger
the horses utility. In time, however, the farrier
began to improve upon nature, as he thought.
Cutting instruments were brought into free use
was cut away from the sole and frog to such
degree that the poor animal, if it CHANGED to put
its foot suddenly upon stone, either came down
with crash, or lnped along from the pain caused
by the injury to the sensitive parts, which had
now been almost completely exposed. In addi-
ton to this aud to compensate for rObbing the
foot of the horn, heavy, wide-surfaced shoes were
put on to cover the mutilated sole and frog; these
required large number of big nails to attach
them securely, and these nails split the hoof and
pressed upon the quick so that what between
the painfully tender sole and frog, the unweldly.
eg-tiring, clumsy shoes, and the numerous large
nails that squeezed ID upon the sensitive parts,
we can not wonder that the unfortunate horse
suffered an amount of torture that makes ones
flesh creep to think Of, and which soon crippled
him. and prematurey ended his days.
In addition to this barbarous treatment, in
order TO make fine work, the outer surface of the
of the dense. smooth ibres-was
-asped numerically away as high almost as the
hair roots, and this exposed the soft immature
ibres within; these shriveled up and broke, and
being unable to sustain the nails, the shoes fire.
luently came off and not only was the foot still
more damaged, but the " cast or lost shoe was
source of inconvenience and annoyance. Nay,
he lives of individuals, or the fate of Kingdoms,
nay at times have been at stake through such an
apparently trivial misfortune as shoe coming of
owing to this improper treatment
We all remember how Benjamin Franklin, ]
earnestly solicitous of impressing upon Us the
great value of attending to the smallest details
IF everyday life, in order sometimes to avoid
great calamities makes Poor Richard say, A
title neglect may breed great mischief For want
If nail the shoe was lost for want of shoe |
he horse was lost 4; and for want of horse the
ider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the |
.nemy all for want of little care about horse
hoe nail"
These evils of iarriery are as prevalent and de-
tructive to-day as they we're fifty years ago. The
lumber of horses tortured and ruined by this I'M
easonable pairing and rasping. IN addition TO the
eavy shoes, too small for the feet and badly
ormed, is beyond computation. The frog and
ole should never be pared they fake off gradu-
lily when they have reached certain and proper
thickness; and as they have to come in contact
18th the inequalities of the ground, and with the
,ose sharp stones so frequently on its surface, is
not reasonable to urge that they should be al
wed to retain their natural condition? Who
yer pares, or causes to be pared, horses sole
frog, is guilty of cruelty to the horse whose
ct are so mutilated.
The front of the wall should never be rasped.
destroys it, and makes it thin and brittle. 1t
lght to be allowed to retain its close, glossy,
ugh surface, so well adapted for resisting the
Gather and holding the nails. AS the wall is
ways growing, and as the shoe prevents its be.
G worn down to a natural length, when the old
zoe is taken off in the operation of shoeing, the
wer end only of this part of the hoof should be
sped down until the excess of length has been
more.
The shoes shonld be as light as possible, and
Stoned on with as small number of nails as
IL retain them. They ought to be the full size
the circumference of the hoof, and the hoof
ould never be made to 6t the SHOE but the
oe to fit the hoof.
A proper and rational method of shoeing is a
on to the horse and its owner; an improper
ethod, which destroys the integrity of the hoof
d wearies the limbs, is a curse and torture to
e one and loss and ANNOYANCE to the other