Veterinary Medicine in the United States

Veterinary schools in the United States were not established until the early nineteenth century. Because of this much of the early US veterinary literature comes from farriers. Much like their European and Asian predecessors, American farriers relied on home remedies to treat the various ailments of horses. Even after the establishment of veterinary schools in the US, equine medicine continues to be an important part of the profession.

The gentleman's new pocket farrier, Richard Mason, 1825

This is the most important early American horse book.

The displayed plate is showing the nicking and pullying of a horse, "performed for the purpose of making a horse carry an elegant artificial tail, which adds much to his beauty and value". Nicking an pullying was a way to permanently alter the horse's anatomy.

Practical horse farrier; or, The traveller's pocket companion, William Carver, 1820

William Carver was a farrier practicing in New York. Carver adapted text and images from earlier European horse manuals to reflect the conditions faced by horses in North America. The plate illustrates a horse's teeth at different stages of development.