478 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and that they are ruined men ; but little heed was paid to like pleas 

 when they wei'e urged for the drivers and attendants of coaches and 

 coach-horses when the first railways were constructed. Matters will 

 adjust themselves in this case as they did in the other. But, that the 

 change can not be effected in a day or a week, no one will venture to 

 deny. The feet of horses are ordinarily treated, not wantonly but 

 through ignorance, with a cruelty which is simply shocking. With 

 vast numbers.of animals which are not kept for purposes of drudgery, 

 and in whose appearance their owners feel a pride, the hoof is a mere 

 wreck, and the sight of the mangled and split hoof may well excite 

 not merely pity but wonder that any can passively allow such evils to 

 go on. A few, however, will always be found with resolution enough 

 to shake off the fetters of traditionalism ; and some of these have al- 

 ready expressed their opinion with sufficient emphasis. One of these, 

 writing in November, 1878, says : "The argument against horseshoes 

 seemed to me so strong, and the convenience of doing without them 

 so great, that I resolved to try the exi^eriment. Accordingly, when 

 my pony's shoes were worn out, I had them removed, and gave him 

 a month's rest at grass, with an occasional drive of a mile or two on 

 the high-road while his hoofs were hardening. The result at first 

 seemed doubtful. The hoof was a thin shell, and kept chipping away, 

 until it had worn down below the holes of the nails by which the shoes 

 had been fastened. After this the hoof grew thick and hard, quite 

 unlike what it had been before. I now put the pony to full work, 

 and he stands it Avell. He is more sure-footed, his tread is almost 

 noiseless, and his hoofs know no danger from the rough hands of 

 the farrier, and the change altogether has been a clear gain, with- 

 out anything to set off against it. The pony was between four 

 and five years old, and had been regularly shod up to the present 

 year. He now goes better without shoes than he ever did with 

 them." 



A well-known Cumberland farmer, writing about the same time, 

 speaks of a farm-horse in his possession, which, having been lamed by 

 a nail driven into its foot, had been for many months in the hands of 

 the farrier. Tired out with this annoyance, the owner had his shoes 

 taken off and turned him out to pasture. While still rather lame, the 

 horse was set to work on the land ; and he is now, we are told, 

 " doing all sorts of farm-work, and dragging his load as well as any 

 shod horse, even over hard pavement." If judgment based on knowl- 

 edge is to carry weight, the question would soon be settled. We 

 have already seen the opinions expressed by the most able writers on 

 the horse, and especially on the structure and treatment of his feet, 

 as well as by the best veterinary surgeons. The verdict of the "Lan- 

 cet " is almost more emphatic. " As a matter of physiological fitness," 

 it says, " nothing more indefensible than the us6 of shoes can be im- 

 agined. Not only is the mode of attaching them by nails injurious to 



