Hoof Model

Bracy Clark’s Hoof Model

This curious item is a model of a horses’ hoof, consisting of various labelled, detachable parts. It’s made of pasteboard and fits neatly inside its own 6-inch square wooden box. It comes with an interpretative pamphlet entitled A New Exposition of the Horses’ Hoof, explaining how to take the model to pieces. It’s dated 1820 and was the brainchild of Bracy Clark.

Bracy Clark (1771-1860) was born in Oxfordshire and left school at the age of 14 to become an apprentice surgeon. He subsequently switched to the study of veterinary medicine in 1792 (the year after the London Veterinary School opened) and gained his diploma in 1794.

Bracy Clark subsequently became Vice President of the RCVS in 1857 and around this time gave a complete set of his works to our Library. Presumably this model was part of this same generous donation.

In 2016 colleagues at the Royal Veterinary College produced an interactive 3D model of the hoof, which can be accessed via the link below.