STABLE MANAGEMENT 251 



and skilfully done nothing can be better ; but if at all slurred 

 a horse may readily be lamed, or at an}'^ rate he will lose 

 his action to such an extent as to go like " a cat on hot 

 bricks." No smith the writer has ever yet come across 

 is content to continue treading the path which has been 

 pointed out as the true one. When he is told that 

 every smith invariably after a time is certain to ignore 

 the plain directions, and will not beHeve it to be absolutely 

 necessary to follow them strictly, a covert ineffable smile 

 curls his lips, and he hints that he at least is superior 

 to such weakness. Young, old, and middle-aged, I have 

 found them always the same, and they follow in the 

 footsteps of those who have gone before them ! At first 

 the man takes great pains to do as he is told, believing 

 all the time in his heart of hearts that the animal he is 

 experimenting upon will never be able to walk out of 

 the forge. To his unconcealed astonishment the horse 

 proceeds on his way, with as free action as when he arrived, 

 and then the smith becomes inflated with his own cleverness, 

 and thinks nothing can happen when such skill as his is 

 treating the case. The next stage is that he begins to 

 imagine the simple rules laid down for his guidance are 

 but foolish fads, entailing considerable trouble, and therefore 

 he neglects them ; nor can his carelessness be detected until 

 the shoe is taken off. In a da}^ or two the groom begins 

 to notice that the horse is going very short, and tells all his 

 cronies that " he knew all along it would never do." Very 

 possibly he persuades his master to revert to the old style, 

 when all concerned combine to find fault with Charlier 

 shoes, and tell their friends not to try them, or they will 

 assuredly lame their horses. But possibly the owner 

 may have sufficient faith to appeal to an expert for advice, 

 who will promptly summon the smith, have the shoes 

 removed, and the careless errors of the man will then most 

 certainly stand revealed. Every smith follows this same 

 routine — it seems quite impossible for them to avoid doing so ; 

 but the able, clever man, having once realised that there is 

 much more in it than he ever believed, will thenceforward 

 scrupulously attend to the instructions, and thereby reap 



