106 BOARD" OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. BowDiTCH. All I can say is, that I have been inter- 

 ested in shoeing horses for more than two years ; and I have 

 never had any trouble with my own horses' feet, without 

 any special care to speak of, merely from the effect of shoe- 

 ing. Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of all the 

 trouble in horses' feet come from shoeing : in fact, practi- 

 cally all. To illustrate : this " corpse " that I speak of, that 

 I drive fast down hill occasionally, belonged to a friend of 

 mine, and was in the knacker's yard to be killed. She was 

 to be killed, because the doctor who had her in charge 

 wanted her legs as specimens of inflammatory rheumatism. I 

 asked my friend, as a favor, if he would let me take her, be- 

 cause I did not think she had inflammatory rheumatism, and 

 I would like to try and cure her ; and, if I did not succeed, 

 the legs should go to the veterinary who wanted them as 

 specimens. I had to bring her sixteen miles ; and it took me 

 eight hours, with a man leading her, and a boy behind 

 switching her ; and, as they express it in the country, every 

 leg was in front of her. She had a little shrivelled frog. I 

 cut her hoofs very low indeed, until I got a little bit of frog- 

 bearing ; but it hurt her to put her foot to the ground. The 

 frog had no life in it, no circulation. About two months 

 after I took her, I thought I would try her, and see if it was 

 inflammatory rheumatism. She took her eighteen miles in 

 an hour and a half, although she was a little lame. I was 

 satisfied she would come out perfectly sound. To-day I am 

 driving that mare. She has never had her frog off of the 

 ground since I had her, winter or summer. Her heel is 

 steadily growing wider, and her frog is growing every day. 

 I have driven her, within the last fortnight, from Boston to 

 my farm, some twenty-three miles. I can do that with this 

 little mare in an hour and forty minutes, and repeat it the 

 same day in an hour and forty-five minutes, and she will not 

 go lame a single step. She will go in the .middle of the 

 road, and step on stones without flinching. 



Question. How would you shoe heavy draught-horses ? 



Mr. BowDiTCH. Put on as little iron as you can get on ; 

 never a heel or toe calk. 



Mr. . My horses slip when the calks are worn down. 



Mr. BowDiTCH. As horses are generally shod, the thick- 

 ness of the shoe, without a heel-calk, keeps the frog from 

 touching the ground. 



