CHAPTER XII.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LONDON VETERINARY

SCHOOL. M. ST BEL. MOORCROFt. THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD SHOE. COLEMAN. ERRORS IN PHYSIOLOGY. CONCLUSIONS OF COLEMAN AS то SHOEING. IMPRACTICABLE SHOEING. BRACY CLARK. EXAGGERATED NOTIONS AND RE-DISCOVERIES. FUTILE EXPERIMENTS. VARIOUS WRITERS. MR GOODWIN'S METHOD. ITS RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPROPRIATENESS. ITS COMPOSITE CHARACTER.

PREPARATION OF THE HOOF AND APPLICATION OF THE SHoe. ERRORS IN THIS METHOD. THE BAR AND JOINTED SHOE. DISCOURAGEMENT OP VETERINARY SCIENCE IN BRITAIN. THE YOUATT AND HIS TEACHING. MILES'

UNILATERAL SHOE.

FALLACIOUSNESS. HOT-FITTING.
ITS DISADVANTAGES.

HALLEN AND FITZWYGRAM'S METHOD.
MAVOR'S PATENT SHOE.

TOWARDS the termination of the 18th century, a veterinary school, which might be termed private, was commenced in London, and its first teacher, M. St Bel, published a small treatise on shoeing. This, however, appears to be nothing more than a commendation of Bourgelat's method. The shoe advised to be worn, nevertheless, was concave on the ground surface, to correspond to, or resemble, the concavity of the sole, and plane towards the hoof, something like the hunting-shoe of the present time. It was constantly used when the College was first established. More important was the little work

by William Moorcroft,' assistant professor, and afterwards the daring explorer of Central Asia. After describing, like some of his later predecessors, the anatomy of the foot and the principles which ought to prevail in its defence, and pointing out that in proportion as a greater quantity of crust is brought to bear flat on the shoe the firmer the horse must stand; and the less pressure that takes place between the sole and the shoe, the less chance will there be of his being lamed, he speaks of various shoes. As those intended for the fore-feet have always, and rightly, been looked upon as the most important, considering that they have to bear the principal portion of the weight, and that the fore-feet are by far the most frequently lamed, the defences for this region will only be noticed here. Moorcroft describes the narrow shoe, or plate-a flat shoe, the exact breadth of the crust, and of a moderate thickness: this was only serviceable for racing-horses and hunters. A flat shoe, of the exact breadth of the crust, and of a moderate thickness, would defend this part sufficiently as long as it lasted; but as it would wear out in a few days, or even in a few hours, when the friction happened to be violent, and as very frequent shoeing is expensive, as well as hurtful to the hoof itself, this kind of shoe is only fit for racing, or hunting on soft ground." Then the shoe with a flat upper surface, and broader than the crust, is figured. This he thinks objectionable, as it would press on a portion of the sole and cause lameness; so that, to avoid such a mishap, the sole is required to be pared or hollowed out, which

I

Cursory Account of the Various Methods of Shoeing Horses. London, 1800. Op. cit., p. 6.

2

MOORCROFT'S METHOD.

517

Moorcroft thought very injurious. Next, the shoe in common use is noticed. This is the same as that so strongly commented upon by Osmer and Clark, with its upper surface sloping downwards from the outer to the inner edge. Its defects are indicated in a similar manner, and it is shown that a shoe ought to possess the following qualities: it ought to be so strong as to wear a reasonable time; it ought to give to the crust all the support it can receive; it ought not to alter the natural shape of the foot; and it ought not to press at all on the sole, or to injure any of the natural functions of the foot. The shoe best calculated to answer these purposes was that so strongly recommended by Osmer and Clark, and which Mr Moorcroft designated the 'seated shoe;' all the experiments he had instituted for a number of years led him to this conclusion. His directions as to paring the sole and frog are similar to those of Mr Clark; though the nature and functions of the latter appear to have been imperfectly understood by him, as he complains of the frog becoming hard and losing its spongy texture when allowed to remain unpared and in contact with the ground. Eight nails for each shoe are found to be enough for saddle and light draught horses; but for such as are employed in heavy draught, ten are required. A smaller number does not hold the shoe sufficiently fast; and a greater number, by acting like so many wedges, weaken the hoof, and rather dispose the crust to break off than give additional security. . . . . It may be laid down as a general rule, that the last nail should not be nearer to the heel than from two inches to an inch and a half'

This new method of shoeing, so long advocated by Osmer and Clark, had gained but trifling success up to the time when Moorcroft wrote his treatise. That gentleman, full of enthusiasm in the new-born profession, and sanguine as to the benefits to be derived from the seatedshoe, had the aid of machinery invoked to make this kind of armature more rapidly and less expensively than it could be manufactured by hand; and this, together with his deservedly high reputation as a veterinarian, brought it into general use, and so firmly established it in public opinion, that it is still the common shoe. It has also made some progress on the continent, where it is known as the English Shoe.'

In the opinion of Mr Moorcroft, this particular kind of defence was better adapted for ordinary wear than the semi-lunar or 'tip' shoe of Lafosse, or even the thin-heeled shoe; though he was a strong advocate for frog and heel pressure on the ground.

About this period Professor Coleman, successor to M. St Bel, published his elaborate work' on the horse's foot and shoeing, which was dedicated to His Majesty George III. An analysis of this voluminous monograph cannot be attempted here; suffice it to say that, amid much error as to the physiology of the foot, and consequent incorrect deductions in the application of this to shoeing, there is yet much truth. Every allowance must be made in criticizing many of Coleman's notions with regard to shoeing. Though a most promising surgeon

I

Observations on the Structure, Economy, and Diseases of the Foot of the Horse, and On the Principles and Practice of Shoeing. London, 1798, 1802.

COLEMAN'S OPINIONS.

519

before joining the Veterinary College, his opportunities for studying comparative pathology, and especially the subject now under consideration, must have been rare. Medical men, it must be remembered, unless they study these matters as carefully as they have done those connected with their own profession, are apt to commit very grave mistakes, their special knowledge being, at times, more liable to mislead than to guide them.

Coleman repeats the statement as to the evil influences of paring and bad shoeing; and, owing to his exaggerated notions of the elasticity and expansive properties of the foot, adopted almost entirely Lafosse's ideas as to the manner in which it ought to be shod. These were, as we have noticed, frog and heel pressure. The conclusions at which he arrived were these:

‘1. That the natural form of the fore-feet of horses, before any art has been employed, approaches to a

circle.

2. The internal cavity of the hoof, when circular, is completely filled by the sensible parts of the foot.

3. The hoof is composed of horny insensible fibres, that take the names of crust, sole, bars, and frog.

4. The crust is united with the last bone of the foot, by a number of laminated, elastic substances.

5. The uses of the lamina are, to support the weight of the animal, and, from their elasticity, to prevent concussion.

6. The horny sole is externally concave, internally convex, and united by its edge with the inferior part of the crust.

7. The uses of the horny sole are to act as a spring,