In presenting the observations contained in the following pages, we are aware that we appeal to practical men who judge by results, and have but slight patience with mere theory. We wish, therefore, to state clearly at the outset, that the system of horse-shoeing herein advocated, and the shoe offered by us to accompany it and accomplish its purpose, are the result of years of patient study of nature, and actual experiment; and that although we have had to contend with ignorance and interest on the part of the farriers, and indifference and prejudice on the part of owners of horses, we have finally succeeded in interesting the most practical and capable men in America, England, and France in the matter; and, at the time of this publication, thousands of horses, engaged in the most arduous labors of equine life—upon railways, express wagons, transfer companies, and other similar difficult positions—are traveling upon our shoes, their labors lightened by its assistance, their feet preserved in a natural, healthy state, and their lives prolonged to the profit of their owners and the advancement of that cause—one of the evidences of the progress of our age in true enlightenment—which has for its beneficent object the prevention of cruelty to the dumb and helpless companions of our toil.