Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/656

 doomed never to be adopted; expensive machines have been devised for the speedy manufacture of shoes of a particular shape or quality of metal; and individuals have given various designations to eccentric or trivial deviations from the ordinary pattern; yet what is the result? That, with one or two exceptions, little change has been wrought, and shoes resembling in shape those in use ages ago are still in universal repute, and are not likely to be supplanted for some time to come; while the mode of fastening them to the hoofs by nails, cannot, it appears, be replaced by any other yet proposed. The reason for this most probably depends upon the fact, that the supposed improvements have been either too extravagant or speculative in their aim, and gave rise to disappointment after a brief trial; or they were so elaborate, or unsuited to the foot and its functions, that they could not be adopted.

The shady aspect of civilization, as regards an artificial existence, is manifested in the horse as palpably almost as in man; and of the many ills entailed upon this creature by domestication and continual employment upon made roads, none are more grievous, more frequent in their occurrence, or more difficult to remedy, than those attributed, directly or indirectly, justly or unjustly, to shoeing. Hence the avidity with which any reasonable proposal for the avoidance of these evils was jumped at, and the inevitable reaction and disappointment which ensued when they failed; until now, so firmly established has the present mode of shoeing become, the announcement of any improvement seldom obtains more notice than a smile of incredulity, or a hesitating and often prejudiced trial.