xt7hqb9v1p2m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7hqb9v1p2m/data/mets.xml Hall, Richard Boylston. 1895  books b98-47-42334655 English s.n.], : [Chicago : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Horseshoeing. Every man his own farrier  : common-sense instructions for shoeing horses, balancing trotter, pacer, runner without aid of mechanical appliances / R. Boylston Hall. text Every man his own farrier  : common-sense instructions for shoeing horses, balancing trotter, pacer, runner without aid of mechanical appliances / R. Boylston Hall. 1895 2002 true xt7hqb9v1p2m section xt7hqb9v1p2m 





















N. B.-Any special cases of peculiar action, irreg=
ular, fatiguing and interfering with proper and
rhythmical motion, that may seem to be too com=
plicated to be corrected by instructions contained
in the following pages, can have the attention of
the author either by mail-form of information re-
quired in such cases is printed on pages 66 and 67
-or personally at regularly stipulated prices to be
made known upon application at his office or by
correspondence. He will visit any point in the
country on satisfactory terms.

 





SLeel-GIad flluminum Horseshoe
         FOR TRACK AND ROAD USE.



                   T his slice
                smade with or with-
            out bars for track use.
          The reason for putting the
          bar in this shoce is to give it  
       strength and prevent spreading,
       sthey are made very thin and light.
     They wear longer and give much
     better satisfaction than any other shoe
  w where a horse requires light weight.
    My road sioe is made steel-clad and boundc
    with steel to prevent roughing up. It has
    been tested in every way that a shoe could
    be tested and its durability is found to be
    double that of a steel shoe twice its
      weight. These slices do not require to
        beheated, and in fact, they must
        not be heated, but any alteration
        in the shape of the slice is
          readily done cold.  They are
          perfectly level being made in
          steel dies under 2400 tons
     pressure.
             Send for illustrated cata-
logue and price list to

            C. C. JEROME,
35-37 S. Canal St.                  CHICAG
                 (Mention this, Book.)



0.

 



ST. LOUIS EXHIBITION OF ART, NEW ZEALAND INT. EXHIBITION,
      AMERICA.           AUSTRALIA.
FlRST PREMIUMS AD DIPLOMAS.  GOLD MEADL AD  DIPLOMIA, FIRST
  1Q74. 1078. 1076. 10r77. 1070.  ORDER or  CERIT. 1882.
       ESTASLISH ED 187.2


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   Mirrors and Shocks,
Mirror Signs, Mirror Novelties, Etc.
     Re-Silvering Old Mirrors.

            OFFICE AND FACTORY:
   160o162 E. Superior Street,

           CHICAGO.
 (Mention this Book.)

 







              CONTE NrTS.

                                                   PAGO.
Action, About Irregular ...................................... . . 19
A rticulation................. ............    ...................  24
Bonner, Robert, What He Says.                                      8
Breeders and Owners ............................... ............. 9
Bars, The...........                             ....... 18
Bedding, Proper, for Feet..................            21
Balancing Trotter and Pacer............... .0... W
Calkins, How to Proportion..................           16
Clips Rarely Necessary................... ................ .... 17
C o rn s ................ ..............................................  22
Corns, Explanation of.                  .................. 23
Contraction..................                          26
'Cross Firing. ........................... 58
Exercise, Walking ......... ...................................... 22
Enquiries, Special, for Shoeig.                      66,67
Farir    a..............      .........       ...........  7
Foals,    Fetof.................................................  9
Frog, About the .17
  "  the, Again......... ...           ... ............. 18
Floor, Level .......... .......... .................. ............... 19
Feet, Particular Care.      ............................... 20
Foot, The, Needs no Protection.                        21
     Cuts1,2,3,4 ......................_.......................... 28
     A Perfect................................................. 29
     Proper Dimensions ......................2..................... !9
     Cut 5, Outward Growing. ......   ............    . 31
        6, Ankle Affected ............................ ..... .... 32
        7, Producing Curbs, Spavins, etc ............... ...... 33
        8 and 18, Knuckling, etc ............. ................. 34
        9, 9,., 10, Knee Banging ...................... .... 35,36,37
        11, 12, Toe In .3839
        13, Too Wide ........................................... 38,39
        14, Contracted ... ... ................................. 40,41
        15, Jay-Eye-See and Direct ...................... ...... 42
        16,17, Knee Sprung.......................   43-45
        20,22, Knuckling, etc .         ....................... 45,46
        19,21,23, Elbow Hitting     .......................    47,48
        24. Contracted Hind.      ....................... 48,49
     Hind Ones Interfering.......................      56
     " " Growth of .                                  57
     Balancing with Rasp, not Shoe.             ........ 57
Horses, Abusing, at the Shop.   ...    ................... 15
Hopples or Hobbles................   ...........7..   . - F7
Horses, Draught......             .. -....................4.......... . M
"H itching  ........     ......................... .......... ...  58
Instructions, General, and Comments        ................. ...... IS
Introduction     ........... .....................................  7
Knife, Farrier's.................................................52,53
Nails. Proper Manner of Driving .16
Protection, Nature's ............................................... 20
Quarter Cracks..                                       24
Reader, To The..                                       10
R unner ............ .... ............. ...........  ..............  58
Shoes, Remove Every Three Weeks ...................0 ......... 1
      Regular, Forms of ................    .. ........... ....... 15
      Cuts  7, 2, 32, 33 ........ .... ........ ................ 44,54,55
           25,26,30,31 ...................................... ... 50,51
           Hind Ones, Wear Irregularly....................... 56
Smith, Let The, Live .20
Sole, The .... .......................................... _       17
Stringhalt ....... . ..... .58
Tendons and Ligaments of Fore Leg .13
Toeing Out and In .24
Upper Jaw Bit .       .......................... ... .............. 59
Weights, Toe arid Side. .
                            3

 























- "ruth crushed to earth shall rise again,-
    Tie eternal years of God are hers;
But Brror, wounded, writhes with pain,
   And dies among his worshippers."

 



















TO



      MY BEST FRIEND,

        THIS BOOK

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

            BY

      THE AUTHOR.



5

 




A HORSE BLANKET
Is just as essential as a horse shoe. Much depends on
the blanket. Buy a

IurI nfol       n       Stao-On
          STABLE BLANKET.












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No horse can wear them under his feet.
        No Come-off to them.
WE CONFINE OUR SALES TO JOBBERS ONLY.
ut!  IF YOUR DEALERS DO NOT KEEP THEM,
BUMUS: we will, in order to convince you of the superi-
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imitations and old style blankets, send only one blanket
to any address, express paid on receipt of price.
        Write for Catalogne and Prices.

BURLINGTON BLANKET CO.
           BURLINGTON, WIS.
  (Mention this Book.)

 







              INTRODUCTION.
  Having been importuned by many friends and for
many years to publish a book on Farriery and Horse-
shoeing, I have finally concluded to do so. Recognizing
full well that it costs time and money to properly pre-
pare such a work, for there are so many kinds of feet of
horses, dissimilar often only in so slight a degree, that
my fear has been it would require too large a volume
to contain the necessary information and directions
so plainly expressed, and written- "that he who runs
may read"-so as to be easily and readily understood by
all who would require such information. It shall be
the aim of this book of instruction to avoid, as nearly
as possible, technical and high sounding words or
phrases, and to keep down to commonplace horse-
shoer's talk, with proper regard to giving plainly and
fully all necessary directions to govern in the prepa-
ration and shoeing of any and all of the many differ-
ent sorts of feet that may occur to the writer;
endeavoring not to let slip any of the many peculiar
ones that have come under his eye in his long and
varied experience.
                    Farriery.
 Webster's definition of a Farrier is a "Shoer of a
 horse." As practiced in his day his duties were,
 apparently, only the paring of the foot and the nailing
 on of the iron shoe. But now it carries with it a
 broader meaning, it has become an Art; the under-
 standing of the motor power of the horse, directing
 the preparation of the foot and so adjusting its angle
 to the limb it supports as to conform strictly to
 Nature's Laws of Propulsion, form the most import-
ant duties of the Farrier; next in importance are the
directions given the smith as to the fitting of the
shoe to the foot after it has been made ready to
receive it. Thus it will be seen that the art of Far-
riery is not merely paring the foot and making and

 




nailing on the shoe. It is therefore important, in
fact necessary, that every Owner and Breeder should
fully understand Farriery, and this work is published
for the sole purpose of imparting such information;
hence the title, "lEvery Man ills Own Farrier."
  By far the most important matters in connection
with the proper preparation and shoeing of the feet, as
explained in these pages, will be such as apply more
particularly to light harness and carriage horses. Quite
a deal of attention will be given to the "Balancing of
the Trotter, Pacer and Runner" for speed pur-
poses. The extra attention is not given to the
class of horses mentioned to the detriment of the
comfort of those that 'work for a living" as it
were, for they will receive proper consideration
herein, but because the more rapid action of
the former make them more amenable to the
many forms of lamenesses that afflict too large a per-
centaqe of our horses-afflictions almost invariably
traceable to their unbalanced and improperly shod
feet. One point it seems important to make emphasis
of right here is: Never undertake to obtain what is
called a "seating" for the shoe on the foot, by applying
it hot. The shoe should never be applied to the foot of the
animal twhen too hot for the smith to hold in his hand.

  Something that Mr. Robert Bonner Says.
  In a paper read at the dinner of the New York
Farmers recently by Mr. Robert Bonner, that gentle-
man says: "I have been often asked why is it
trainers and blacksmiths know so little about shoe-
ing    Because they know nothing, generally
speaking, of the anatomy of the foot and have no dis-
position to give the requisite time to acquiring a
knowledge of it. Besides they are too old to learn.
It is to the rising generation that we must look for
improvement in this line. In my experience I have
found that while old trainers and blacksmiths may
appreciate two or three new points about the horse's
foot, you will make them, with a very few exceptions,
angry with you and disgusted with themselves by
giving them too many valuable points-points which
                        8

 




they can neither comprehend nor 'digest.' The
result of this will be that they will feel like abandon-
ing the study of the whole subject as being too
intricate and complicated."
The sole object of this work is to instruct the pres-
ent, as also the " rising generation," in plain language
-avoiding as far as possible the use of all "hard
words "-bow comparatively easy it is to acquire a
thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the foot and
how to shoe it, to fit the horse to perform with com-
fort, all the duties his master, man, requires of him.
Not to antagonize the trainers and blacksmiths but
to give them some points of information that may be,
some of them at least, new to them. This book is a
pocket manual and can be readily referred to to assist
them, possibly, upon some points on which they may
be in doubt.
            Breeders and Owners.
  Every breeder and owner of horses should under-
stand farriery and horseshoeing. It will be found of
great benefit to their stock, and of consequent pecun-
iary advantage to themselves to possess sufficient
knowledge on these points to be enabled to put such
into practical use, with the resultant advantages
promised from careful practice of the many beneficial
points to be learned, and which the author of this
work, from his many years of study and practice, feels
confident he can give plainly and fullp and will en-
deavor to do so and in language easily understood.
                  Feet of Foals.
  The class to whom this article is addressed will
best conserve their interests as "breeders and
owners," by giving quite a considerable portion of
their time and attention to that most important
matter, the keeping of the feet of their foals carefully
looked after while they are still sucklings. When
they shall have become say about four to five weeks
old, yes, even younger than that, if any irregularity of
growth shall have been discovered, the farrier (horse-
shoer) should be called to the farm and the youngsters'
feet should all be looked over and the rasp brought
                         9

 




into use to true and balance them if requisite; at
this stage of growth nothing but the rasp will be
needed, the knife not being necessary. If this im-
portant part of the duties of the careful breeder
are judiciously attended to, then, when the foals are
ready to go into the hands of the smith to be regularly
shod, he will have but little to do except smooth off
their feet and adjust the shoes.

    Shoes Removed Every Three Weeks.
 Now, then, comes up another and fully as import-
 ant a point in the matter of keeping the feet of the
 colts, and maturer animals, trued, balanced, in
 proper proportion and in proper angle to the limbs
 they support, so that the articulation shall be as near
 smooth and frictionless as possible, and that is, never
 allow the shoes to remain on the feet longer than
 three weeks, when they should be removed, reset, or
 new ones put on, as the case may require. The im-
 portance of this is obvious. The feet in a healthy
 state of growth, grow about three eighths (X") of an
 inch each month and they grow irregularly, therefore,
 to keep the animal "plumb on his pins," advantage
 must be taken of the irregularities of growth by
 observing the rule pointed out, as to duration of rtime
 the shoes should remain on the feet, without removal.



            TO THE READER.


  After reading over the pages of this work care-
fully, examining the illustrations, etc., please
acknowledge receipt and write on postal card, sent
under cover with book, your opinion of it, and
oblige,
                 Very respectfully,

                             THE AUTHOR.
                        10

 




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    Breeders and dealers are invited to ship
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                     11

 




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                     1'2

 





TENDONS AND LIGAMENTS OF THIE FORE LEG.



                          j,     _A  Flexor perfor-

                                     -- 3 Flexor perfor-
                                         ans.
                                      C Metacarpal
S-Splint                                   ligament.
     bone.                         D   Superior sesa-
                                         moideal liga-
E-Extensor    -ment.
     tendon.L

metGrearpaD                            Superior sesa-
mer carnon                             moideal liga-
borcnnon                                Miet.
           bone.                    R Flexor perfor-
                                         ans.

  E xtendo. EA                        Flexor perfor-
                                         atus.



                                         Blifureation of
                                         the sesa-
                                         moideal lig-a-
                                         ment.


                                       Continuation
                                         forward of
                                         branch of
                                         the sesa-
                                         mnoldeal liga-
                                         ment.



                              - -    Continuation

                                      of the flexor
                                         perforans I n-
                                         serted Into
                                         the lower
                                         side of the
                                         coffin or
              /                        pedal bone.

 



      J L DAY,

Draper and T ailor

          AUDITORIUM ANNEX,
   222 MICHIGAN AVENUE,    CHICAGO, ILL.


T  HE author takes pleasure in inserting the
     advertisement of his friend

JOE DAY              .....

     and as " JOE" has left it to him to say
     what he chooses, he is pleased to say:

JOEL_,:n
     keeps abreast of the times, is broad-
     gauged, " up to date," and is always the
     first to have in stock the latest nov-
     elties of cut and pattern.  The only
     trouble with his clothes is, they won't
     wear out, inside or outside, for the linings
     and trimmings correspond in texture and
     durability with the stuff the garments are
     cut from.
       When you come to this great city, call
     and see " Joe " and tell him you read what
     his friend Hall said.
                   14

 





    General Instructions and Comments.
 One of the first essentials for the smith-the horse-
 shoer-to enable him to practice, with the desired
success, on the points laid down in these instructions,
is a fairly smooth level floor to his shop. If hie has not
such, and cares not to goto the expense of laying one,
he can have a platform made, say about 10 feet by 5
feet, that he can use as he wishes, and place at one
side when not required for use. This certainly would
not put him to great expense. Have such a platform
made of fairly clear stuff, that is, free from knots, so
that it will wear and keep comparatively smooth.

         Abusing Horses at the Shop.
 Patience is a virtue and an essential for a horse-
 shoer. Remember it is a dumb animal that is being
 dealt with; he cannot talk and inform the smith that
 it hurts him to stand on one foot while he is prepar-
 ing the other and opposite one to be shod. The
 crowding on the nerves at the base affects the whole
 nerve system to its entire centre and the poor animal
 is in the same nervous condition that human beings
 often are. Therefore, be patient in the work of shoe-
 ing their feet and under no circumstances ever strike a
 horse in the shoeing shop and particularly never about the
 head. Firmness, but kindness, will accomplish more
 than harsh treatment. The natural disposition of the
 horse is to do what is right and in nearly all cases
 where they do not behave well, it arises from having
 been abused, or from not having been taught to
 understand what is wanted of them. It may at times
 be necessary to use a " twitch " on the nose of restive
 colts and nervous horses, but don't abuse the use of it
 and don't abuse them in any way.

           Regular Form for Shoes.
  When the feet are fairly sound, true and level, need-
ing no peculiar style of shoes, always shoe them with a
plain shoe of even thickness from heel to heel, the hind
feet as well as the fore ones, except in "sharpening."
  One of the errors of horseshoe making, in nearly all
machine as also most of the hand-made ones, is that
                        1I

 




of turning them thicker at the heels than in the front
of the shoe. This is wrong; the front part of the
shoe wears away the fastest, therefore, as the foot is
supposed to be level when the shoe is adjusted, this
irregular wear is gradually throwing it out of level.
By having the shoe of even thickness when first placed
on the foot, this irregular wear is not productive of
much evil, as far as the shoe itself is responsible.
          Calkins, How to Proportion.
  Calkins are rarely needed for the shoes of our light
harness and carriage horses, for either foot-that is,
not even for the hind ones-except for the snow path
in winter. When calkins are used on the shoes they
should be placed as follows: The toe calkins, all of
them, back across the inside of the web of the shoe,
and they should not be made too long, from side to
side, never over one and one-half inches in length.
They should not be made too deep (say about one-half
of an inch for the toe calkins and three-eighths [Y"] of
an inch for those at the heels) ; the toe calkins
should always be made deeper in proportion than
those for the heels, say as about four (4) parts of depth
at the toe to three (3) parts at the heels; that is, the
depth of the shoes, calki ns included, must be, at
the heels, about three-fourths of that of the front.
This will assist in equalizing the wear and prove a
strong feature in the tendency to keep the ground lay
of the feet level.
       Proper Manner of Nail Driving.
  As a general rule to be observed in nailing the shoes
to the feet the nails should never be driven too far
back-except in some case or cases that will be men-
tioned in this volume-they should never be driven
into the wall of the foot back of a point just a shade
in front of the line of the wings of the coffin or pedal
bone. Nails driven back of this point will bind the
foot together at the only point where Nature has ar-
ranged to give it a spring, or easement, to the blow on
the ground. These are general ideas of nail driving
to govern in the ordinary routine of horshoeing; special
cases will be treated by themselves.
                         16

 




In making the nail holes in the shoe, it is better,
for many reasons, to punch each hole by itself and
properly countersink on the ground surface to obtain
a flrm seating for the heads. When the shoe is
creased for the holes, the nails have more play, are
more apt, therefore, to break and the shoe is also
weakened. This manner of construction will be
found to be the rule on any and all the shoes shown
in this work and it is, unquestionably, the more cor-
rect way.
The wall of the hind different from that of the
fore foot is the thickest and strongest at the back
part, nails can, therefore-when necessary to retain a
firmer hold for the shoe and to prevent a not infre-
quent accident, that of their spreading at the heels-
be driven further back towards the heels without
seriously interfering with the natural expansion of
the foot.
            Clips Rarely Necessary.
 Clips on shoes should rarely or never be used. Shoes
 can scarcely be fitted properlywith clipson them; they
 are a device fit only for the careless and hurried smith
 who uses them rather than take a little more time and
 properly fit the shoes to the feet. There are feet that
 require the use of clips on the shoes and on such they
 mast be uced, as will be explained under the proper
 heading, in describing the class of feet to which they
 are necessary.
                    The Sole.
  The sole should not be removed from the foot
-for it sheds at proper time-only so much of it as is
immediately under the shoe, to avoid its pressing on it.

               About the Frog.
  The frog may be left untouched, except that it shall
show any evidence of thrush, when it should be care-
fully cleaned out at the crevice and at the sides, thus
removing all diseased parts so that any remedies it
may be thought proper to apply shall have oppor-
tunity to act. Also the ragged edges of any diseased
frog should be cleaned off so as not to afford a lodg-
                        17

 




ment for deleterious substances.  The frog is a
cushion placed under the navicular bone and joint of
that name to ease the action at that point as also that
of the flexor tendon that passes under the navicular
and fastens on to the coffin or pedal bone. Its
India-rubber-like consistency, which is its condition
when in health, fully justifies this definition of its
use, and experience has shown that to be its office;
it exerts no influence by itself whatever in expanding or
contracting the foot.

                    The Bars.
  The same may be said of the bars; they do not in
any way prevent contraction or prevent expansion.
They are placed there as a strength-giving support
to the "horny box," the foot, the same as are the walls
that they assimilate so nearly to in texture. They
should not therefore be removed only to such an
extent that they do not protrude below the surface
lay of the wall and need not necessarily have any
bearing on the shoe. In fact, in the case of contracted
feet care should be taken that they do not bear on
the shoe, as they would thus force the commissures
up into the sensitive foot. hurting the animal as
would the nails of a man's boot heels forced through
the inner sole and pushing up against his foot heel.

                The Frog Again.
  Now having defined the duties of the frog, it must
be seen that it must always he free to "give and
take" as it were. it must never, therefore, under any cir-
curastances be confined by a bar across the heels of
the shoe, by using what is commonly called one of
the most pernicious inventions, a "bar shoe." Neither
must it have a concussive blow. For two reasons this
last is wrong:
First. To properly perform the duties laid down
for and required of it, it should not be subjected to
any jarring )0low that can be avoided by properly pre-
paring the foot so that its surface shall not be too
close to the ground.
                         14

 




  Second. It is rarely that a foot will be found where
the heels can be pared down to so slight a depth as to
afford the so-called "frog pressure," (most absurd
nonsense) that they will not be so low as to throw the
articulation all out of gear and cause serious trouble
to it; as also more or less injury to the tendons and
muscles.
               Irregular Action.
 All irregular action of the limbs and feet must be
 attributed, almost invariably, to a want of balance in
 the foot or feet. Therefore, to correct faulty action
 look carefully at the base to ascertain what causes the
 trouble. Never undertake to correct such evils by
 more weight of iron on one side of the foot than on
 the other, or by more thickness of iron, except ill the
 rarest of cases-and such necessity will be shown in
 these pages- at one point of the shoe than at another.
 All such artificial attempts at correcting faulty
 articulation will result in dire injury to the motor
 power of the animal and must be strenuously avoided
under any and all circumstances. Examine carefully,
at all times, as directed, the base of the machinery,
for the motor power of the horse is live nwachinery, and
must be treated on the same plane of scientific me-
chanics as any other machinery.

                  Level Floor.
  Now, with reference to the use of the smooth level
floor. This is required so that the horse shall be able
to stand as plumb as it is possible for him to do so,
having nothing in the way of an uneven floor to make
him stand otherwise. This is necessary; for in order
to true and balance his feet,the eye of the smith must
be cast up and down the front line of each leg to ascer-
tain if the line of the centre of the leg would meet a
line drawn through the centre of the foot from front
to back of such foot, for no man living can true and
balance the foot of a horse by looking at and around
the surface, while the foot is held back of the leg and
indhand. When the foot shall look to be true and
balanced from viewing the leg and foot from the front,
then stand at the side of the animal, or rather a little
                        19

 




way off, and judge if the bearing of the limb shall
look to be in a comfortable position in the foot from
that standpoint of observation. If so you have now
the foot prepared to receive the shoe.
  Directions for fitting the shoes will be found in their
proper places, as describing the various sorts of
fitting for the many variety of foot shapes.

              Let the Smith Live.

  Remember, owners, the most important of all things,
as regards utilizing the best efforts of your horses, is
to give the most painstaking care to their feet and
the shoeing of them, therefore let the smith have a
chance to live. Employ his services as often as they
shall be needed. Pay him a fair price for the use you
make of his time and skill and you will be the winner
"by a large majority." Penuriousness in this respect
will be found to be expensive economy.

            Particular Care of Feet.

  There is no need of anxiety on the score of colts
and horses not receiving sufficient food and of good
quality, but there is cause for much anxiety as to a
continuous state of health of the motor powers of the
animals, so they shall be ready and willing, at all
ti