The Rock Island Argus., 1884-05-30
Horseshoes and Their Uses.

"A display line in a sporting newspa
per reads: Rolling motion horseshoe
hoof expander and toe weight
This led to asking famous horsemai
whether shoes had much to do with i'm
proving horse's speed.
''More than most persons can imag
inc. Ii Maud S., that has made TIN
fastest time to harness, and Edwin For
rest, the best to wagon, had not beei
trained to toe weights, they would neve
have been worth $500" r
'.Will you kindly impart information,
as to the different varieties of shoes ant
their uses?"
81 am hardly prepared to do so
present, but | can direct you to 3 MAJ
who can give you more points of genera
interest about them than any other per
son | ever knew or heard of.
The man referred to was found in
large blacksmith shop up town. Severa
forges were in full blast Each sparl
from the myriads that flew from red-ho
iron that was being beaten into.shape
pointed to horseshoes that studded thu
walls as thic!lly as links in coat
mail. Five workmen and four horse
were in the shop. The horses stood witt
their tails toward the pyrotechnic show
ers. The men paid no more attention
to the flying sparks than they woul(
have done to fire flies
The boss horseshoer lead the way int
an Office partitioned off from the maii
shop. Shoes hung on all sides of TN
Office, they protruded from beneath th,
covers of boxes used as seats, and MANI
of unique pattern were spread ON the
desk.
'How many kinds of shoes are there?'
THAT is impossible to say. We neveI
shoe two horses precisely alike. "
''Have you the first shoe ever made?'
Il hardly believe | have; but here i:
pattern of it producing a wide, fla
shoe OF the same thickness all the way
around, without toe or heel corks /
Horses are not much better shod now
| in principle or effect, than formerly -
when and where were shoes frs
made?''
That is difficult to say Ancien
shoes have been found in and adiacen
to the valley of the Nile. believe ,ha
is the first ground occupied by man ans
his friend, the horse, on the face of the
earth. While one wild tribe shed theil
horses, others near at hand never pro
tected the hoofs of their courSers.
They must have had great number
of lame horses"
Not so many in proportion as il
these days OF hard and stony roads.
honestly believe that ninety-nine case
of lameness out of one hundred are dut
to wrong shoeing."
What is the lightest shoe made?'
Plates for young racers. They
weigh from three TO four ounces, ant
are from three-eighths to half ap incl
wide. They are fitted on level. witt
the sole short distance inside the wal
of the hoof For young trotters tht
plates are not set in. They are from
half to nn inch in width, and weigl
about six ounces. The heaviest shoes
including toe weights, run from two NJ
to four pounds each. Weight regulate
the speed for many. A difference il
weight has converted pacing into :
trotting gait. Some horses gain il
weight after change in shoes.
''Here is a saucer shoe, covering tn
whole hoof On dry and hard tract
certain horses that have lost their speet
have recovered it with this pecuha
shoe.
This is the grab shoe for track pun
! poses, and this four-cork shoe gives
transverse, central bearing.
''In the rolling-motion shoe there ar
several notifications.
These springfield shoes are Cali
fornia invention. They are supposed t
lesson the conclusion. The purpose o
these shoes with bars across the heels
to better sustain the weight of tn
horse"
Taking up q shoe with powerful In
side spring, he said: This is one {
the most ingenious inventions yet mad
to cOunteraet the contraction OF feet a
the frog. This contraction often cause
lameness. and sometimes entirely di;
ables a horse.
Here are shoes for cavalry horses
shoes for forging horses, shoes f1
foundered horses, shoes for horses tbs
interfere and cut themselves, shoes wit
joints to ease parts of the foot. shoe
for horses with pumiced feet, shoes wit
an elevation to compel horses to stan
in position that win cure Il lame foe
and bring it into use again, and shoe
l. with rings for the same purpose, shoe
for horses with corns, and shoes to teac
horses to use their feet without stum
: bling
. Il will show you an illustration {
what shoeing will do,' continued I'll
Z shoer, as he led the way to large hors
in the far corner of the shop. He raise
/ one of the horses hind feet, showing a
: immense shoe built with an inner pal
tition an inch from the outside rim. III
e shoe was at least two inches high.
+ Tom, come and lead this hors
around, shouted the boss to a workman
d The animal started on slow wall
without hobbling.
when that horse was brought hel
three days ago he could not touch h
: foot to the ground"
n Noticing that the shoer spoke with
+ foreign accent at times, and had the az
II pearance of n man who had seen som,
r thing of the world, he was asked no
C our smith work compared with othe
; places He replied, America leads. ,"
e ~ Y. Mail and Express.
The man who disappears from h