'5. That this very rare accident never produces the bad effects attributed to it.
'6. Consequently there does not now exist any plausible or valid reason for substituting cold for hot shoeing.
'7. Lastly, the advantages attributed to podometric shoeing, especially that which allows the preparation of the shoes without the horses being present, and applying them away from the forge, are not sufficiently demonstrated; and in any case, if they were, they could not compensate for the inconveniences inherent in this procedure.'[1]
And one of the highest authorities on shoeing. Professor Rey,[2] of Lyons, thus sums up the advantages and disadvantages of both methods:—
'Advantages of cold-shoeing.—Cold shoeing does not expose the horse to the danger of having his feet burned. It may be executed either in the stable or in the middle of the highway. It evades the necessity of taking the horse to the forge to be shod, and where the flame of the fire might frighten it. This is an argument of little value, as, with scarcely an exception, horses are not afraid of the forge. Cold shoeing is preferable for weak, flat, or foundered feet, with thin soles. This is, in our opinion, the only real advantage.
'Inconveniences of cold shoeing.—The greatest defect in cold shoeing consists in its want of solidity. When we fit a shoe cold the horn is hard and resists every blow of the hammer, while, by the action of heat, it is a little
