Sentence:  At and in the neighbourhood of North Meoks, near Ormskirk in Lancashire, there is a whole country of peat, and how deep this soil is God only knows, for the horses which plough thereon wear <WSD>pattens</WSD> to keep them from sinking to the bellies: here I was not long ago deluded, by my ignorance of the country and a team in <WSD>pattens</WSD>, to attempt riding over ploughed ground to inquire my way. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A circular wooden plank attached to a horse's foot to prevent it from sinking into a bog while plowing. (18th–19th c.)