CHAPTER III. 



Ofi SHOEING. 



If the surface of the earth had remained m its 

 natural verdant state, the necessity of an artifi- 

 cial defence for the horse's foot would not have 

 existed. But since it has been found more con- 

 venient to the general interest of the commu- 

 nity to construct roads of hard materials, shoe- 

 ing the animal has become an unavoidable 

 evil. 



From the first moment a colt is shod, the 

 contest between nature and the blacksmith may 

 be said to take place. 



The foot of a colt, as already described, is 

 concave in the sole, it will therefore be obvious, 

 that the most prominent parts of the sole must 



come 



