Mr Youatt,[1] in his in many respects deservedly popular treatise on the horse, refers to shoeing; and as his opinions must have had much influence on the practice of the art in Britain, if we can form any criterion by the large sale of the work, it will be well to give them a brief notice. In the anatomy of the foot, he dwells upon its expansive properties—especially at the quarters, though he does not mention having tested this in any way. Speaking of the bars, or inflections of the wall, he writes: 'The arch which they form on either side, between the frog and the quarters, is admirably contrived, both to admit of, and to limit to its proper extent, the expansion of the foot.' 'When the foot is placed on the ground, and the weight of the animal is thrown on the little leaves (laminæ), we can imagine these arches shortening and widening, in order to admit of the expansion of the quarters; and we can see the bow returning to its natural curve, and powerfully assisting the foot in regaining its usual form.' He protests against removing these bars, and the evil results which follow their destruction. 'Too many smiths cut them perfectly away. They imagine that that gives a more open appearance to the heels of the horse,—a seeming width which may impose on the unwary. Horses shod for the purpose of sale have usually the bars removed with this view, and the smiths in the neighbourhood of the metropolis and large towns, shoeing for dealers, too often habitually pursue, with regard to all their customers, the injurious practice of removing the bars. The horny frog, deprived of its guard, will speedily contract, and become elevated and thrushy; and the whole of the heel,
- ↑ The Horse, London, 1846.
