Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/48

 have irregularly-shaped stones inserted in the ground (or be paved), and close to one another, similar to a horse's hoofs in size; for such stable floors give firmness to the feet of horses that stand on them.’ In alluding to grooming a horse out of doors, he continues: ‘The ground outside the stable may be put into excellent condition, and serve to strengthen the horse's feet, if a person throws down in it, here and there, four or five measures full of round stones, large enough to fill the two hands, and each about a pound (?) in weight; surrounding them with an iron rim, so that these may not be scattered; for as the horse stands on these, he will be in much the same condition as if he were to travel part of every day on a stony road.

Isaac Vossius observes on this passage, that Xenophon speaks of iron shoes ωερι ιωωιχης, where he directs the hoofs of horses to be protected with iron ωεριχηδωαι σίδηρου. This is the iron hoop to bind the stones. He also says that in an old manuscript of the Greek Hippiatrics in his possession, which was illustrated with paintings, the marks and traces of the nails that pierced their hoofs were plainly seen. No reliance can be placed on this author's statements, unfortunately, for marks on a hoof in an old drawing are no great proofs of shoeing; and besides, the strange construction he puts on Xenophon's words, furnishes another instance of how little he could be received as an authority on such a subject. He was remarkable for believing the strangest inconsistencies, and almost anything but the truth; which caused Charles II. to say of him, ‘This learned divine is a strange man; he believes everything but the Bible.’