Rational Libri GmbH Rational Horse-Shoeing

EVILS OF COMMON SHOEING.Every horseman finds his chief difficulty in the fact that he has to pro-tect the natural foot from the wear incident to the artificial condition inwhich the horse is placed in his relation to man. In those important indus-tries where great numbers of horses are used, and the profit of the businessdepends upon the efficiency of the animal, the question becomes a very se-rious one, and the life term of the horse, or the proportion of the numberof animals that are kept from their tasks by inability, make the differencebetween profit and loss to the great transportation lines that facilitate thebusy current of city life. But notwithstanding the importance of this sub-ject, upon the score equally of economy and humanity, the world is, for themost part, just where it was a thousand years ago, possibly worse off, for theoriginal purpose of shoeing was only to protect the foot from attrition orchipping, and but little iron was used, but, as the utility of the operation be-came apparent, the smith boldly took the responsibility of altering the formof the hoof to suit his own unreasoning views, cutting away, as superfluous,the sole and bars, paring the frog to a shapely smoothness, and then nailingon a broad, heavy piece of iron, covering not only the wall but a portion of3 JOHN E. (JOHN EDWARDS) RUSSELLthe sole also, thus putting it out of the power of the horse to take a natural,elastic step.In a short time the hoof, unbraced by the sole and bars, begins to contract,the action of the frog upon the ground, which in the natural foot is threefold-acting as a cushion to receive the force of the blow and thus relieve the nervesand joints of the leg from concussion, opening and expanding the hoof byits upward pressure, quickening the circulation and thereby stimulating thenatural secretions,-this all important part of the organization, withoutwhichthere is no foot and no horse, becomes hard, dry, and useless. Then followsthe whole train of natural consequences. The delicate system of joints in-closed in the hoof feel the pressure of contraction, the knees bend forwardin an attempt to relieve the contracted heel. In this action the use of the legis partially lost. The horse endeavors to secure a new bearing, interferes inmovement, or stands in uneasy torture.Nature frequently seeks relief by bursting the dry and contracted shell, inwhat is known as quarter or toe crack, and the miserable victim becomespractically useless at an age when his powers should be in their prime.Every horseman will acknowledge that his experience has a parallel in thepicture here presented. Many men have at various times attempted reform,but the difficulty heretofore encountered has been that the mechanical ap-plication was in the hands, not of the owners and reasoners, but in those of