Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/80

 of matter, or by some voluntary act of your own, or by the under part having been injured by some obstacle in the way, and have been a long time lame, this is the cure.’ The principal remedy proposed for these hoof-worn animals consisted essentially of pitch and rosin melted, and applied to the sole and the part coming in contact with the ground. It may be well to note here, that in the East Indies, melted pitch is largely applied to the feet of elephants when they become lame from journeying, or are about to travel over rocky ground.

Perhaps a stronger proof than any that horses were not accustomed to be shod at this time, lies in the fact, that in the many directions given with great detail as to the management of the feet, and the performance of various operations in and on the sole, not a word is said as to removing the shoe previously, or replacing it afterwards. Besides, Renatus mentions every malady to which the unshod foot is liable; had nailed shoes been in vogue he must have spoken of the accidents arising from their use, such as pricks from the nails, which give rise to great lameness and often dangerous consequences now-a-days; and he could scarcely omit noticing wounds and fractures caused by kicks from shod hoofs. Mention is made, however, of horses and mules being squeezed or bruised with the stroke of a wheel or an axle-tree.

Vegetius appears to have been no stranger to the manners and customs of other and oftentimes distant countries, and to have been perfectly acquainted with the breeds of horses in them. For instance, in treating of the characteristics of horses, by which their native country