This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 edition. Excerpt: ... that the practices which were maintained to facilitate these supposed functions have been productive of an immense amount of suffering and loss of animal life. It should be ever most strenuously insisted upon, that the whole lower face of the hoof, except the border of the wall, must be left in a state of nature; the horn of the sole, frog, and bars, has an important duty to fulfil; it is the natural protection to this part of the hoof, and no protection of iron, leather, or other material, is half so efficacious; in addition, it is a capital agent in sustaining weight, and in keeping the whole foot healthy and perfect in form. THE SHOE. The Ordinary Shoe.--The hoof having been prepared by the farrier, according to his fancy, for the reception of the metal plate which is to garnish it, here again we find that ignorance prevails and is productive of inconvenience and injury. "Improved principles " demand that a particular-shaped shoe be applied: no matter whether the animal be for saddle, harness, or draught purposes, it must have a shoe that rests only on the margin of the hoof--on the wall. Therefore, except a narrow border to correspond with this margin, the upper or foot-face of the shoe is bevelled away, so as to leave a wide space between it and the sole, and throw all the weight and strain on the outer parts of the foot (fig. 14), thus inducing a tendency to deformity and impaired movement; in addition to which disadvantage, this space is admirably contrived to lodge stones, gravel, hardened mud, or snow, and in heavy ground it Fig. 14. Section Of The Front Part Of The Horse's Foot and the ordinary shoe, to show the disadvantage of resting the hoof only on the wall. increases the suction immensely. But, as will be easily understood...